Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c4f8m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T09:34:01.778Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF CERRO PORTEZUELO BIOARCHAEOLOGY: BURIAL ANALYSIS AND THE (RE)EXCAVATION OF CONTEXTS FROM A 1950s PROJECT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2013

Michael W. Spence ,
Christine D. White  and
Fred J. Longstaffe
Michael W. Spence*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2
Christine D. White
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2
Fred J. Longstaffe
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
*
E-mail correspondence to: spence@uwo.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Only about 19 of the 70 or so skeletons excavated at Cerro Portezuelo were brought back to UCLA, and adequate information is lacking for most of these. A detailed analysis of the excavation and curation records, as well as of the skeletons, was conducted in an attempt to identify their contexts and to evaluate their potential for contribution to our knowledge of the Cerro Portezuelo community. Although subadult dental health was good, adult levels of caries and antemortem loss were comparable to those of other Mesoamerican populations. Oxygen-isotope data suggest only limited long-distance immigration into the area. Further interpretation, however, is hampered by poor contextual data and the inability to assign most individuals to a specific period.

Type
Special Section: Recent Research at Cerro Portezuelo
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , Spring 2013 , pp. 185 - 199
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Baker, Brenda, Dupras, Tosha, and Tocheri, Matthew 2005 The Osteology of Infants and Children. Texas A & M University Press, College Station.Google Scholar
Buikstra, Jane, and Ubelaker, Douglas (editors) 1994 Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains. Arkansas Archeological Survey Research Series No. 44. Arkansas Archeological Survey, Fayetteville.Google Scholar
Clayton, Robert N., and Mayeda, Toshiko K. 1963 The Use of Bromine Pentafluoride in the Extraction of Oxygen from Oxides and Silicate for Isotopic Analysis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 27:43–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, Sarah 2009 Ritual Diversity and Social Identities: A Study of Mortuary Behaviors at Teotihuacan. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University, Tempe.Google Scholar
Crider, Destiny, Nichols, Deborah L., Neff, Hector, and Glascock, Michael D. 2007 In the Aftermath of Teotihuacan: Epiclassic Pottery Production and Distribution in the Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity 18:123–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crowson, Ronald A., Showers, William J., Wright, Ellen K., and Hoering, Thomas C. 1991 Preparation of Phosphate Samples for Oxygen Isotope Analysis. Analytical Chemistry 63:2397–2400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elson, Christina M., and Mowbray, Kenneth 2005 Burial Practices at Teotihuacan in the Early Postclassic Period: The Vaillant and Linné Excavations (1931–1932). Ancient Mesoamerica 16:195–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Firsching, F. Henry 1961 Precipitation of Silver Phosphate from Homogeneous Solution. Analytical Chemistry 33:873–887.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glascock, Michael, and Parry, William 2008 Obsidian from Cerro Portezuelo: Sourcing Artifacts from a Long-Duration Site. Paper presented at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver.Google Scholar
Gómez Serafín, Susana 1994 Costumbres funerarias prehispánicas en Tula, Hidalgo. In Simposium sobre arqueología en el Estado de Hidalgo. Trabajos recientes, 1989, edited by Fernández Dávila, Enrique, pp. 81–93. Colección Científica 282. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Gómez Serafín, Susana, Sansores, Francisco Javier, and Fernández Dávila, Enrique 1994 Enterramientos humanos de la época prehispánica en Tula, Hidalgo. Colección Científica 276. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Hauser, Gertrud, and De Stefano, Gian Franco 1989 Epigenetic Variants of the Human Skull. E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart.Google Scholar
Hicks, Frederic 2005 Excavations at Cerro Portezuelo, Basin of Mexico. Unpublished manuscript on file, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Hicks, Frederic 2013 The Architectural Features of Cerro Portezuelo. Ancient Mesoamerica 24:73–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linné, Sigvald 2003 Archaeological Researches at Teotihuacan. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Longinelli, Antonio 1984 Oxygen Isotopes in Mammal Bone Phosphate: A New Tool for Paleohydrological and Paleoclimatological Research? Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48:385–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovejoy, C. Owen, Meindl, Richard, Pryzbeck, Thomas, and Mensforth, Robert 1985 Chronological Metamorphosis of the Auricular Surface of the Ilium: A New Method for the Determination of Adult Skeletal Age at Death. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 68:15–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luz, Boaz, Kolodny, Yehoshua, and Horowitz, Michal 1984 Fractionation of Oxygen Isotopes between Mammalian Bone-Phosphate and Environmental Drinking Water. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48:1689–1693.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McArthur, John M., and Herczeg, A. 1990 Diagenetic Stability of the Isotopic Composition of Phosphate-Oxygen: Palaeoenvironmental Implications. In Phosphorite Research and Development, edited by Notholt, Arthur John George and Jarvis, Ian, pp. 119–124. Geological Society London Special Publication No. 52. The Geological Society Publishing House, Bath.Google Scholar
Manzanilla, Linda 2005 Migrantes epiclásicos en Teotihuacan. Propuesta metodológica para el análisis de migraciones del clásico al posclásico. In Reacomodos demográficos del clásico al posclásico en el centro de México, edited by Manzanilla, Linda, pp. 261–273. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Meindl, Richard, and Lovejoy, C. Owen 1985 Ectocranial Suture Closure: A Revised Method for the Determination of Skeletal Age at Death Based on the Lateral-Anterior Sutures. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 68:57–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moorrees, Coenraad F.A., Fanning, Elizabeth A., and Hunt, Edward E. Jr., 1963a Formation and Resorption of Three Deciduous Teeth in Children. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 21:205–213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moorrees, Coenraad F.A., Fanning, Elizabeth A., and Hunt, Edward E. Jr., 1963b Age Variation of Formation Stages for Ten Permanent Teeth. Journal of Dental Research 42:1490–1502.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nichols, Deborah, Neff, Hector, and Cowgill, George 2013 Cerro Portezuelo: States and Hinterlands in the Pre-Hispanic Basin of Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 24:47–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parfitt, A. Michael 1983 The Physiologic and Clinical Significance of Bone Histomorphometric Data. In Bone Histomorphometry: Techniques and Interpretation, edited by Becker, Robert R., pp. 143–223. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.Google Scholar
Parsons, Jeffrey R. 1971 Pre-Hispanic Settlement Patterns in the Texcoco Region, Mexico. Memoirs No. 3. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phenice, Terrell W. 1969 A Newly Developed Visual Method of Sexing the Os Pubis. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 30:297–302.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Price, T. Douglas, Burton, James H., Wright, Lori E., White, Christine D., and Longstaffe, Fred 2007 Victims of Sacrifice: Isotopic Evidence for Place of Origin. In New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Ritual Body Treatments in Ancient Maya Society, edited by Tiesler, Vera and Cucina, Andrea, pp. 263–292. Springer, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanders, William T. 2001 Commentary. Presented at the XXVI Mesa Redonda, Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología, Zacatecas, Mexico.Google Scholar
Sanders, William T., Parsons, Jeffrey R., and Santley, Robert S. 1979 The Basin of Mexico: Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Scheuer, Louise, and Black, Sue 2000 Developmental Juvenile Osteology. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Seidermann, Ryan, and McKillop, Heather 2007 Dental Indicators of Diet and Health for the Postclassic Coastal Maya on Wild Cane Cay, Belize. Ancient Mesoamerica 18:303–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, B. Holly 1991 Standards of Human Tooth Formation and Dental Age Assessment. In Advances in Dental Anthropology, edited by Kelley, Marc A. and Larsen, Clark S., pp. 143–168. Wiley-Liss, Toronto.Google Scholar
Spence, Michael W., and Pereira, Gregory 2007 The Human Skeletal Remains of the Moon Pyramid, Teotihuacan. Ancient Mesoamerica 18:147–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, Michael W., and White, Christine D. 2009 Mesoamerican Bioarchaeology: Past and Future. Ancient Mesoamerica 20:233–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, Michael W., White, Christine D., Cobean, Robert H., Mastache, Alba Guadalupe, and Longstaffe, Fred J. 2006 The Residential History of the La Mesa People: The Oxygen-Isotope Evidence. Unpublished manuscript on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London.Google Scholar
Storey, Rebecca 1992 Life and Death in the Ancient City of Teotihuacan: A Modern Paleodemographic Synthesis. The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Stuart-Williams, Hilary LeQ., and Schwarcz, Henry P. 1995 Oxygen Isotope Analysis of Silver Orthophosphate Using a Reaction with Bromine. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 58:3837–3841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suchey, Judy, and Katz, Daryl 1998 Applications of Pubic Age Determination in a Forensic Setting. In Forensic Osteology: Advances in the Identification of Human Remains, 2nd ed., edited by Reichs, Kathleen, pp. 204–236. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield.Google Scholar
Sugiyama, Saburo 2005 Human Sacrifice, Militarism, and Rulership: Materialization of State Ideology at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tiesler Blos, Vera 1998 La costumbre de la deformación cefálica entre los antiguos mayas: Aspectos morfológicos y culturales. Colección Científica 377. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Ubelaker, Douglas H. 1978 Human Skeletal Remains: Excavation, Analysis and Interpretation. Aldine Publishing, Chicago.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Price, T. Douglas, and Longstaffe, Fred J. 2007 Residential Histories of the Human Sacrifices at the Moon Pyramid, Teotihuacan: Evidence from Oxygen and Strontium Isotopes. Ancient Mesoamerica 18:159–172.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Spence, Michael W., Longstaffe, Fred J., and Law, Kimberley R. 2000 Testing the Nature of Teotihuacán Imperialism at Kaminaljuyú Using Phosphate Oxygen-Isotope Ratios. Journal of Anthropological Research 56:535–558.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, Christine D., Spence, Michael, Longstaffe, Fred J., Rattray, Evelyn, and Storey, Rebecca 2010 The Teotihuacan Dream: An Isotopic Study of Economic Organization and Immigration. In The “Compleat Archaeologist”: Papers in Honour of Michael W. Spence, edited by Ellis, Christopher J., Ferris, Neal, Timmins, Peter A., and White, Christine D., pp. 279–297. Ontario Archaeology 85–88, Occasional Publication No. 9. London Chapter OAS.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Storey, Rebecca, Longstaffe, Fred J, and Spence, Michael W. 2004 Immigration, Assimilation and Status in the Ancient City of Teotihuacan: Isotopic Evidence from Tlajinga 33. Latin American Antiquity 15:176–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whittington, Stephen L. 1999 Caries and Antemortem Tooth Loss at Copan: Implications for Commoner Diet. In Reconstructing Ancient Maya Diet, edited by White, Christine D., pp. 151–167. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Wright, Lori E. 1997 Intertooth Patterns of Hypoplasia Expression: Implications for Childhood Health in the Classic Maya Collapse. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 102:233–247.3.0.CO;2-Z>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wright, Lori E., and Schwarcz, Henry P. 1998 Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotopes in Human Tooth Enamel: Identifying Breastfeeding and Weaning in Prehistory. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 106:1–18.3.0.CO;2-W>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yurtsever, Yuecel, and Gat, Joel R. 1981 Atmospheric Waters. In Stable Isotope Hydrology: Deuterium and Oxygen-18 in the Water Cycle, edited by Gat, Joel R. and Gonfiantini, Roberto, pp. 103–142. Technical Report Series, No. 210, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.Google Scholar