Journal
JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
Volume 29, Issue 2, Pages 155-178Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaa.2010.01.002
Keywords
Kaminaljuyu; Maya; Teotihuacan; Strontium; Oxygen; Carbon; Stable isotope analysis; Elemental analysis; Migration; Diet
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Known for its spectacular tombs and adobe talud-tablero architecture, the highland Guatemalan city of Kaminaljuyu is key to models of long distance interaction in Mesoamerica. We use stable isotopic data from human bone, dentine and tooth enamel to reconstruct Kaminaljuyu's dietary history. Stable carbon isotope ratios and alkaline earth ratios of enamel carbonate indicate a decline in maize consumption from Preclassic to Classic periods, perhaps due to the desiccation of Lake Miraflores, which was used to irrigate Late Preclassic fields. Stable oxygen and strontium isotope ratios in enamel shed light on the geographic origin of Early Classic skeletons, and show that the central skeletons in the tombs were local children. However, four decapitated skulls and two peripheral skeletons show enriched oxygen ratios, similar to Lowland Maya sites. Strontium isotope ratios indicate that most of these are from an area underlain by Cretaceous limestones; one is from a metamorphic region. Two individuals may have traveled to or from Central Mexico. The greater evidence for lowland individuals among the tomb skeletons implies that political connections with the Maya area were more significant to elites at Kaminaljuyu than was direct contact with Central Mexico. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available