Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Monte Alban and Teotihuacan connections: can stable isotope analysis of bone and enamel detect migration between two ancient Mesoamerican urban capitals?

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A Correction to this article was published on 28 November 2022

This article has been updated

Abstract

Migration is an important factor in the process of urbanization in past and present cities. This study presents new stable carbon and oxygen isotope data from 38 human individuals buried at the ancient Zapotec city of Monte Alban in the modern state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Both bone and enamel tissues were sampled, providing the opportunity to explore mobility over different phases of individuals’ lives. The results document the presence of two statistical outliers and three other individuals who were likely born in foreign locations. One of these non-local individuals (T.8-1(A)) exhibits exceptionally high stable oxygen isotope values in both bone and enamel tissues, suggesting he was born and spent most of his life in a region outside of the valley of Oaxaca, perhaps within the city of Teotihuacan in the Basin of Mexico. The other non-local and possible non-local individuals exhibit outlying stable isotope values in their teeth, but not their bones, suggesting they had moved to Monte Alban many years before death. The results of this study are contextualized within a broader discussion about the nature of the relationship between Monte Alban and Teotihuacan and the possibility of using stable oxygen isotope analysis to detect migration in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

References

  • Ambrose S, Norr L (1993) Experimental evidence for the relationship of the carbon stable isotope ratios of whole diet and dietary protein to those of bone collagen and carbonate. In: Lambert JB, Grupe G (eds) Prehistoric Human Bone: Archaeology at the Molecular Level. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp 1–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Bender M (1971) Variations in the 13C/12C ratios of plants in relation to the pathway of photosynthetic carbo dioxide fixation. Phytochemistry 10(6):1239–1244. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(00)84324-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernal I (1965) Archaeological synthesis of Oaxaca. In: Handbook of MiddleAmerican Indians. University of Texas Press, Austin, pp 788–813

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanton RE (1976) The origins of Monte Albán. In: Cultural Change and Continuity: Essays in Honor of James B. Griffin, Academic Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanton RE (1978) Monte Albán: settlement patterns at the ancient Zapotec capital. Academic Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanton RE (1990) Theory and practice in Mesoamerican archaeology: a comparison of two modes of scientific inquiry. In: Marcus J (ed) Debating Oaxaca Archaeology, Anthropological Papers. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Museum of Anthropology, pp 1–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanton RE, Kowalewski S (1981) Monte Albán and after in the valley of Oaxaca. In: Sabloff J (ed) Supplements to the handbook of Middle American Indians. University of Texas Press, Austin, pp 94–116. https://doi.org/10.7560/775565-006

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Blanton RE, Kowalewski SA, Feinman G, Appel J (1982) Monte Albán’s Hinterland, Part I: the Prehispanic settlement patterns of the central and southern parts of the valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Blanton RE, Kowalewsk SA, Feinman GM, Finsten LM (1993) Ancient Mesoamerica. A comparasion of Change in Three Regions. Second ed, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

  • Blanton RE, Feinman GM, Kowalewski SA, Peregrine PM (1996) A dual processual theory for the evolution of Mesoamerican civilization. Curr Antropol 37(1):1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanton RE, Feinman G, Kowalewski S, Nicholas L (1999) Ancient Oaxaca. The Monte Albán State, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. IBSN 052157787X

  • Bowen GJ, Wilkinson B (2002) Spatial distribution of δ18O in meteoric precipitation. Geology 30(4):315–318. https://doi.org/10.1130/00917613(2002)030<0315:SDOOIM>2.0.CO;2

  • Bryant JD, Koch PL, Froelich PN, Showers WJ, Genna BJ (1996) Oxygen isotope partitioning between phosphate and carbonate in mammalian apatite. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 60(24):5145–5148. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(96)00308-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckley G, Storey R, Longstaffe FJ, Carballo DM, Hirth KG, Renson V (2021) New perspectives on migration into the Tlajinga District of Teotihuacan: a dual-isotope approach. Lat Am Antiq 32(3):536–556. https://doi.org/10.1017/laq.2021.20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carballo D (2020) Power, politics and governance at Teotihuacan. In: Hirth K, Carballo D, Arroyo B (eds) The World beyond the City. Dunbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington DC, pp 57–95

    Google Scholar 

  • Casar I, Morales P, Cienfuegos E, Manzanilla LR, Otero F (2017b) Paleodiet reconstruction based on carbon and nitrogen isotopes of teeth from burials in Teopancazco, a Teotihuacan Neighborhood Center. Chapter 4. In: Manzanilla LR (ed) Multiethnic Population in Neighborhood Centers at Teotihuacan: A View from Teopancazco. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL, Cap 4, pp 84–118 http://upf.com/book.asp?id=MANZA002

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Casar I, Morales P, Manzanilla LR, Cienfuegos E, Otero F (2017) Dietary differences in individuals buried in a multiethnic neighborhood in Teotihuacan: stable dental isotopes from Teopancazco. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 9(1):99–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-016-0422-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caso A (1938) Exploraciones en Oaxaca. Quinta y sexta temporadas 1936-1937. Instituto Panamericano de Geografía e Historia, México

    Google Scholar 

  • Caso A (2002) Las últimas exploraciones de Monte Albán. In: Campos de la Rosa R (ed) Obras completas de Alfonso Caso. El México antiguo (Mixtecas y Zapotecas), Vol 1. El Colegio Nacional, México, pp 39–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Coplen TB, Brand WA, Gehre M, Gröning M, Meijer AJ, Toman B et al (2006a) After two decades a second anchor for the VPDB δ13C scale. Rap Commu Mass Sp 20(21):3165–3166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coplen TB, Brand WA, Gehre M, Gröning M, Meijer Harro AJ, Toman B, Verkouteren RM (2006b) New guidelines for δ13C measurements. Anal Chem 78(7):2439–2441. https://doi.org/10.1021/ac052027c

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowgill G (1997) State and society at Teotihuacan, México. Ann Rev Antropol 26:129–116. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.26.1.129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dansgaard W (1964) Stable isotopes in precipitation. Tellus 16(4):436–468. https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v16i4.8993

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delgado J (2017) Albañiles Invisibles. Una aproximacion al estudio del patron de fosas de la Ventilla, Teotihuacan. Arqueologia de la Arquitectura 14. https://doi.org/10.3989/arq.arqt.2017.001

  • DeNiro M, Epstein S (1978) Influence of diet on the distribution of carbon isotopes in animals. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 42(5):495–506. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(78)90199-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeNiro M, Epstein S (1981) Influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 45(3):341–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(81)90244-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeNiro M, Weiner S (1988) Chemical, enzymatic and spectroscopic characterization of “collagen” and other organic fractions from prehistoric bones. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 52(9):2197–2206. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(88)90122-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drennan R (1991) Prehispanic chiefdom trajectories in Mesoamerica, Central America, and Northern South America. In: Timothy E (ed) Chiefdoms Power, Economy, and Ideology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 263–287

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein S, Mayeda T (1953) Variation of O18 content of waters from natural sources. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 4(5):213–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(53)90051-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fahmel B (2019) Los Danzantes de Monte Albán y su relación con el jaguar. Anales de Antropologia. Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, 53 (1):2448-6221 https://doi.org/10.22201/iia.24486221e.0.1.64002

  • Feinman G, Neitzel J (2019) Deflating the myth of isolated communities. Science 366(6466):682–683. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz6574

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feinman GM, Nicholas L (1990) At the margins of the Monte Albán State: settlement patterns in the Ejutla Valley, Oaxaca, Mexico. Lat Am Antiq 1(3):216–246. https://doi.org/10.2307/972162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feinman GM, Nicholas L (1991) The Monte Albán state: a diachronic perspective on an ancient core and its periphery. In: Chase-Dunn CH, Hall T (eds) Core-Periphery Relations Precapitalist Worlds. Westview Press, Boulder, pp 240–276

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinman GM, Nicholas L (2007) The socioeconomic organization of the classic period Zapotec state. In: Scarborough C (ed) The Political Economy of Ancient Mesoamerica. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, Transformations during the Formative and Classic Periods, pp 135–147

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinman GM, Nicholas L (2012a) Compact versus dispersed settlement in Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. The Role of Neighborhood Organization and Collective Action. In: Arnauld M, Manzanilla L, Smith M (eds) The Neighborhood as a Social and Spatial Unit in Mesoamerican Cities. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp 132–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinman GM, Nicholas L (2012b) The Late Prehispanic economy of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico: weaving threads from data, theory, and subsequent history. In: Matejowsky T, Wood D (eds) Political Economy, Neoliberalism, and the Prehistoric Economies of Latin America. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Research in Economic Anthropology, pp 225–258

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Feinman GM, Nicholas L (2016) Reconsiderando la “invasión mixteca” del valle de Oaxaca en el Posclásico. Anales de Antropología 50(2):247–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.antro.2016.05.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feinman GM, Nicholas L (2020) Teotihuacan and Oaxaca: assessing Prehispanic relations. In: Hirth K, Carballo D, Arroyo B (eds) Teotihuacan. The World beyond the City, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC, pp 331–369

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinman G, Blanton R, Kowalewski S (1984) Market system development in the Prehispanic Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. In: Kenneth G (ed) Trade and Exchange in Early Mesoamerica. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, pp 157–178

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinman GM, Kowalewski SA, Finsten L, Blanton R, Nicholas L (1985) Long-term demographic change: a perspective from the valley of Oaxaca. J Field Archaeol 12(3):333–362. https://doi.org/10.1179/jfa.1985.12.3.333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feinman G, Banker S, Cooper R, Cook G, Nicholas L (1989) A technological perspective on changes in the ancient Oaxacan Grayware ceramic tradition: preliminary results. J Field Archaeol 16(3):331–343. https://doi.org/10.1179/jfa.1989.16.3.331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flannery K (1983) The origins of the state in Oaxaca. Introduction. In: Flannery K, Marcus J (eds) The cloud people. Divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations, Academic Press, New York, pp 79–83

  • Flannery K (1986) Guilá Naquitz. Archaic Foraging and Early Agriculture in Oaxaca, Mexico. Academic Press, New York

  • Flannery K, Hole F (2019) Cueva Blanca: social change in the archaic of the Valley of Oaxaca. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, p 60

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Flannery K, Marcus J (1983) The cloud people: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec Civilizations. Academic Press, New York ISBN 978-0971958746

    Google Scholar 

  • Flannery K, Marcus J (1996) Cognitive archaeology. In: Preucel RW, Hodder (eds) Contemporary Archaeology Theory, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford UK, pp 350–363

  • Flannery K, Marcus J (2003) The origin of war: new 14C dates from ancient Mexico. PNAS 100(20):11801–11805. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1934526100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flannery K, Marcus J, Moser C (2015) Excavations at San José Mogote 2. The Cognitive Archaeology. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, p 58

    Google Scholar 

  • Gómez S (2002) Presencia del Occidente de México en Teotihuacan: aproximaciones a la politica exterior del estado Teotihuacano. Ideologia y política a traves de materiales, imagenes y simbolos. Memoria de la Primera Mesa Redonda de Teotihuacan. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico, pp 563–626

    Google Scholar 

  • Gómez S, Núñez J (1999) Análisis preliminar del patrón y la distribución espacial de entierros en el Barrio de La Ventilla. In: Manzanilla L, Serrano C (eds) Prácticas funerarias en la ciudad de los dioses. Los entierros humanos de la antigua Teotihuacan, IIA y DGAPA, UNAM, México, pp 81–147

    Google Scholar 

  • González Licón E (1997) Unidades Habitacionales y organización social del Formativo Tardío al Clásico Temprano en Monte Albán, Oaxaca, México. Congreso Internacional de Americanistas, Quito, Ecuador.

  • González Licón E (2004) Royal palaces and painted tombs: state and society in the Valley of Oaxaca. In: Toby S, Pillsbury J (eds) Palaces of the Ancient New World. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC, pp 83–111

    Google Scholar 

  • González Licón E (2005) Evaluación de indicadores arqueológicos para estudiar el proceso de estratificación social en el Formativo mesoamericano. In: Vargas E (ed) IV Coloquio Pedro Bosch Gimpera, Vol II. Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, UNAM, México, pp 617–640

    Google Scholar 

  • González Licón E (2009) Ritual and social stratification at Monte Albán Oaxaca. Strategies from a Household Perspective. In: Manzanilla L, Chapdelaine C (eds) Domestic Life in Prehispanic Capitals. A Study of Specialization, Hierarchy, and Ethnicity. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Michigan Vol VII, pp 7–20

  • González Licón E (2011) Desigualdad social y condiciones de vida en Monte Albán, Oaxaca. Investigacion/Proa. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México

    Google Scholar 

  • González Licón E, Rodriguez Shadow M (2007) Estado y Sociedad: estudio de genero en el Valle de Oaxaca. In: Memorias de Primera Reunion Internacional de Estudios de Genero. Consejo de Arqueología del INAH, México

    Google Scholar 

  • Hillson S (1986) Teeth. In: Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology. University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirth K (2020) Teotihuacan economy from the inside out. In: Hirth K, Carballo D, Arroyo B (eds) Teotihuacan, the World beyond the City. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington DC, pp 97–136

    Google Scholar 

  • Howland MR, Corr LT, Young SM, Jones V, Jim S, van der Merwe NJ, Mitchell AD, Evershed RP (2003) Expression of the dietary isotope signal in the compound-specific δ13C values of pig bone lipids and amino acids. Int J Osteoarchaeol 13(1-2):54–65. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.658

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iacumin PH, Bocherens H, Mariotti A, Longinelli A (1996) Oxygen isotope analyses of co/existing carbonate and phosphate in biogenic apatite: a way to monitor diagenetic alteration of bone phosphate? Earth Planet Sc Lett 142(1-2):1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(96)00093-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jim S, Ambrose S, Evershed R (2004) Stable carbon isotopic evidence for differences in the dietary origin of bone cholesterol, collagen, and apatite: implications for their use in paleodietary reconstruction. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 68(1-2):61–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(03)00216-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkby A (1973) The use of land and water resources in the past and present Valley of Oaxaca. In: Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, p 5

    Google Scholar 

  • Koch PL, Tuross N, Fogel ML (1997) The effects of sample treatment and diagenesis on the isotopic integrity of carbonate in biogenic hydroxyapatite. J Archaeol Sc 24(5):417–429. https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.1996.0126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohn M (2010) Carbon isotope compositions of terrestrial C3 plants as indicators of (paleo)ecology and (paleo)climate. PNAS 16 107(46):19691–19695. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1004933107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohn M, Schoeninger M, Valley J (1996) Herbivore tooth oxygen isotope compositions: effects of diet and physiology. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 60(20):3889–3896. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(96)00248-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger H, Sullivan CH (1984) Models for carbon isotope fractionation between diet and bone. In: Turnlund JR, Johnson PE (eds) Stable Isotopes in Nutrition, American Chemical Society Symposium Series, Washington DC, pp 205-220 https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-1984-0258.ch014

  • Lee-Thorp JA, Sealy JC, van der Merwe NJ (1989) Stable carbon isotope ratio differences between bone collagen and bone apatite, and their relationship to diet. J Archaeol Sc 16(6):585–599. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-4403(89)90024-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LeGeros R (1981) Apatites in biological systems. Prog in Cryst Growth Ch 4(1-2):1–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/0146-3535(81)90046-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leys CH, Christophe L, Olivier K, Philippe B, Laurent L (2013) Detecting outliers: do not use standard deviation around the mean, use absolute deviation around the median. J Exp Soc Psychol 49(4):764–766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2013.03.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lightfoot E, O’Connell T (2016) On the use of biomineral oxygen isotope data to identify human migrants in the archaeological record: intra-sample variation, statistical methods and geographical considerations. PLoS One 11(4):e0153850. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0153850

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Longinelli A (1984) Oxygen isotopes in mammal bone phophate: a new tool for paleohydrological and paleoclimatological research. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 48(2):385–390. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(84)90259-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luz B, Kolodny Y, Horowitz M (1984) Fractionation of oxygen isotopes between mammalian bono-phosphate and environmental drinking water. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 48(8):1689–1693. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(84)90338-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madupalli H, Pavan B, Tecklenburg M (2017) Carbonate Substitution in the mineral component of bone: discriminating the structural changes, simultaneously imposed by carbonate in A and B sites of apatite. J Solid State Chem 255:27–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssc.2017.07.025

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manzanilla L (2002) Living with the ancestors and offering to the gods: domestic ritual at Teotihuacan. In: Plunket P (ed) Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamerica, The Costen Institute of Archaeology, University of California LA, pp 43-52

  • Manzanilla L (2006) Estados corporativos arcaicos. Organizaciones de excepción en escenarios excluyentes. Cuicuilco 13(36):13–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Manzanilla L (2019) El palacio de Xalla. In: Manzanilla L, Melgar E, Solis R et al (eds) El palacio de Xalla en Teotihuacan. Primer acercamiento, DGAPA-IIA, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, pp 41–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Manzanilla L, Bokhimi X, Tenorio D, Jiménez M, Rosales E, Martínez C, Winter M (2017) Procedencia de la mica de Teotihuacan: control de los recursos suntuarios foráneos por las élites gobernantes. Anales de Antropología 51(1):23–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.antro.2016.09.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcus J (1989) Zapotec chiefdoms and the nature of formative religions. In: Sharer R, Grove D (eds) Regional perspectives on the Olmec. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 148–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcus J (1998) Women’s ritual in formative Oaxaca. Figurine-making, Divinations, Death and the Ancestors. In: Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, p 33

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcus J (2008a) Monte Albán. El Colegio de Mexico. Fondo de Cultura Economica, Mexico

  • Marcus J (2008b) The archaeological evidence for social evolution. Annu Rev Anthropol 37:251–266. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.37.081407.085246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcus J, Flannery K (1996) Zapotec civilization: how urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Thames and Hudson, London ISBN 0500050783

    Google Scholar 

  • Márquez Morfín L, González Licón E (2006) Salud, Nutrición y desigualdad social en Monte Albán durante el Clásico. In: Márquez L, Hernández P (eds) Salud y Sociedad en el México Prehispánico y Colonial. CONACULTA, INAH, PROMEP, México, pp 233–264

    Google Scholar 

  • Márquez Morfín L, González Licón E (2018) Prácticas funerarias diferenciales y posición social de los niños en dos unidades domésticas de Monte Albán. Oaxaca Ancient Mesoam 29(1):63–80. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536116000456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Márquez Morfín L, González Licón E, Hernández P, Granados G (2020) La dinámica demográfica de la ciudad de Monte Albán durante el periodo Clásico: Fecundidad mortalidad y esperanza de vida. Dimensión Antropológica 78:7–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez C, Winter M, Markens R (2014) Muerte y vida entre los xapotecos de Monte Albán. In: Arqueología Oaxaqueña 5. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México

    Google Scholar 

  • Millon R (1967) Urna de Monte Alban IIIA encontrada en Teotihuacan. Boletín del INAH, núm 2:42–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Millon R (1973) The Teotihuacan Map part 2. In: Urbanization at Teotihuacan, México, vol 1. University of Texas Press, Austin

    Google Scholar 

  • Morales-Puente P, Cienfuegos-Alvarado E, Manzanilla-Naim LR, Otero-Trujano FJ (2012) Estudio de la paleodieta empleando isótopos estables de los elementos carbono, oxígeno y nitrógeno en restos humanos y de fauna encontrados en el barrio teotihuacano de Teopancazco. In: Manzanilla LR (ed) Estudios arqueométricos del centro de barrio de Teopancazco en Teotihuacan. Coordinación de la Investigación Científica Coordinación de Humanidades, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, pp 347–423

    Google Scholar 

  • Nado KL, N Zolotova N, Knudson KJ (2017) Paleodietary analysis of the sacrificial victims from the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 9: 117–132

  • Negrete S, Casar I, Somerville A, Morales P, Liendo R (2020) Diet and residential mobility within the Late Classic elite Maya households of Chinikiha, Chiapas. Mexico Archaeol Antropol Sci 12(1):1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01196-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Leary M (1988) Carbon isotopes in photosynthesis. BioScience 38(5):328–336. https://doi.org/10.2307/1310735

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ortega V, Velasco A (2000) Pasado y presente de la presencia oaxaqueña en Teotihuacán. México Cuiculco 21(61):137–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Paddock J (1983) The Oaxaca Barrio at Teotihuacan. In: Flannery K, Marcus J (eds) The cloud people: Divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Academic Press, New York, pp 170–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Palomares M (2007) Ocupación zapoteca en Tlailotlacan, Teotihuacan. Un estudio de identidad y adaptación en la unidad doméstica TL. Dissertation, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico

    Google Scholar 

  • Parson E (1936) Mitla, town of the souls and other Zapoteco-speaking pueblos of Oaxaca, México. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Pasztory E (1992). Abstraction and the rise of an Utopian State at Teotihuacan. In: Berlo JC (ed) Art, Ideology and the City of Teotihuacan. Dumbarton Research Library and Collection, Washington DC, pp 281–320

  • Passey BH, Cerling TE, Levin NE (2007) Temperature dependence of oxygen isotope acid fractionation for modern and fossil tooth enamels. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 21:2853–2859

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paulinyi Z (1981) Capitals in Pre-Aztec Central Mexico. Acta Orient Acad 35(2-3):315–350

    Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrini M, Snoeck C (2016) Comparing bioapatite carbonate pre-treatments for isotopic measurements: impact on carbon and oxygen isotope composition. Chem Geol 420:88–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrini M, Lee-Thorp J, Donahue RE (2011) Exploring the variation of the δ18Op and δ18Oc relationship in enamel increments. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 310(1–2):71–83. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018211000915?via%3Dihub-!

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poage M, Chamberlain C (2001) Empirical relationships between elevation and the stable isotope composition of precipitation and surface waters: considerations for studies of paleoelevation change. Am J Sci 301(1):1–15. https://doi.org/10.2475/ajs.301.1.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podlesak D, Torregrossa A, Ehleringer J, Dearing M, Passey B, Cerling T (2008) Turnover of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in the body water, CO2, hair, and enamel of a small mammal. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 72(1):19–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2007.10.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price T, Manzanilla L, Middleton W (2000) Immigration and the ancient city of Teotihuacan in Mexico: a study using strontium isotope ratios in human bone and teeth. J Archaeol Sci 27(10):903–913. https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.1999.0504

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price T, Nakamura S, Shintaro S, Burton H, Tiesler V (2014) New isotope data on Maya mobility and enclaves at Classic Copan, Honduras. J Anthropol Archaeol 36:32–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2014.02.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rattray E (1993) The Oaxaca Barrio at Teotihuacan (No. 1). Instituto de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de las Americas

  • R Core Team (2020) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria https://www.R-project.org

    Google Scholar 

  • Révész K, Landwehr J (2002) δ13C and δ18O isotopic composition of CaCO3 measured by continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry statistical evaluation and verification by application to Devils Hole Core DH-11 Calcite. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 16(22):2102–2114. https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.833

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosales de la Rosa E, Manzanilla LR (2011) Producción, consumo y distribución de la mica en Teotihuacan. Presencia de un recurso alóctono en los contextos arqueológicos de dos conjuntos arquitectónicos: Xalla y Teopancazco. In: Manzanilla L, Hirth K (eds) La producción artesanal y especializada en Mesoamérica. Áreas de actividad y procesos productivos, Coedición INAH-UNAM, México, pp 131–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Scherer A, de Carteret A, Newman S (2015) Local water resource variability and oxygen isotopic reconstructions of mobility: a case study from the Maya area. J Archaeol Sci R 2:666–676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2014.11.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sellen A (2007) El Cielo Compartido: deidades y ancestros en las vasijas efigies zapotecas. Smith C (ed) First edn, Vol 4. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith C (1983) The valleys of Oaxaca, Nochixtlan and Tehuácan. In: Flannery K, Marcus J (eds) The Cloud People: Divergent Evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec Civilization. Academic Press, New York, pp 13–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith B, Epstein S (1971) Two categories of 13C/12C ratios for higher plants. Plant Physiol 47(3):380–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith CI, Craig OE, Prigodich RV, Nielsen-Marsh CM, Vermeer MM, Collins MJ (2005) Diagenesis and survival of osteocalcin in archaeological bone. J Archaeol Sci 32(1):105–113. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.47.3.380

  • Snoeck C, Pellegrini M (2015) Bioapatite carbonate pre-treatments for isotopic measurements: part 1 impact on structure and chemical composition. Chem Geol 417:394–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spence M (1989) Excavaciones recientes en Tlailotlacan, el barrio oaxaqueño de Teotihuacan. Arqueología 5:81–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence M (1992) Tlailotlacan, a Zapotec enclave in Teotihuacan. In: Berlo JC (ed) Art, ideology, and the city of Teotihuacan. Dumbarton Research Library and Collection, Washington DC, pp 59–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence M (1996) A comparative analysis of ethnic enclaves. In: Mastache G, Parsons J, Santley R, Serra M (eds) . Homenaje a WT Sanders, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Arqueología Mesoamericana, pp 333–353

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence M (2002) Domestic ritual in Tlailotlacan, Teotihuacan. In: Plunket P (ed) Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamerica. Monograph 46, The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology-University of California, Los Angeles

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence M (2005) A Zapotec Diaspora network in Classic Period Central Mexico. In: Stein G (ed) The Archaeology of Colonial Encounters: Comparative Perspectives. School of American Research Press, Santa Fe, pp 173–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence M, Gamboa C (1999) Mortuary practices and social adaptation in the Tlailotlacan Enclave. In: Manzanilla L, Serrano C (eds) Prácticas funerarias en la Ciudad de los Dioses, los enterramientos humanos de la antigua Teotihuacan. DGAPA-IIA Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, pp 173–201

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence M, White C, Rattray E, Longstaffe F (2005) Past lives in different places. The Origins and Relationships of Teotihuacan´s Foreign Residents. In: Blanton R (ed) Settlements, Subsistance and Social Complexity, Essays Honoring the Legacy of Jeffrey R. Parsons. Ideas, Debates and Perpectives, Los Angeles, pp 155–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer C (1990) On the tempo and mode of state formation: neoevolutionism reconsidered. J Anthropol Archaeol 9:1–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer C, Redmond E (2004) A Late Monte Albán I phase (300-100 B.C.) Palace in the Valley of Oaxaca. Lat Am Antiq 15(4):441–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sponheimer M, Lee-Thorp J (1999) The alteration of enamel carbonate environments during fossilisation. J Archaeol Sci 26(2):143–150. https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.1998.0293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiyama S, Castro R (2007) The Moon Pyramid project and the Teotihuacan state polity: a brief summary of the 1990–2004 excavations. Ancient Mesoam 18(1):109–125. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536107000053

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tieszen L, Fagre T (1993) Carbon isotopic variability in modern and archaeological maize. J Archaeol Sci 20(1):25–40. https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.1993.1002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warinner C (2010) Life and death at Teposcolula Yucundaa: mortuary, archaeogenetic, and isotopic investigations of the Early Colonial Period in Mexico. Dissertation, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Warinner C, Tuross N (2009) Alkaline cooking and stable isotope tissue-diet spacing in swine: archaeological implications. J Archaeol Sci 36(8):1690–1697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2009.03.034

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb E, White C, Longstaffe F (2014) Investigating inherent differences in isotopic composition between human bone and enamel bioapatite: implications for reconstructing residential histories. J Archaeol Sci 50:97–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.07.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner S, Bar-Yosef O (1990) States of preservation of bones from Prehistoric sites in the Near East: a survey. J Archaeol Sci 17(2):187–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-4403(90)90058-D

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White C, Spence M, William S, Schwarcz H (1998) Oxygen isotopes and the identification of geographical origins: the Valley of Oaxaca versus the Valley of Mexico. J Archaeol Sci 25(7):643–655. https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.1997.0259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White CD, Storey R, Spence MW, Longstaffe F (2004a) Immigration, assimilation, and status in the ancient city of Teotihuacan: evidence from Tlajinga 33. Lat Am Antiq 15:176–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White D, Spence M, Longstaffe F, Law K (2004b) Demography and ethnic continuity in the Tlailotlacan Enclave of Teotihuacan: evidence from stable oxygen isotopes. J Anthropol Archaeol 23(4):385–403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2004.08.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winter M (1984) Exchange in formative highland Oaxaca. In: Hirth E (ed) Trade and exchange in early Mesoamerica. University of New Mexico Press, Alburquerque, pp 179–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Winter M (1998) Monte Albán and Teotihuacan. In: Rattay EC(ed) Rutas de intercambio en Mesoamérica, III Coloquio Pedro Bosch-Gimpera. Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas,Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, pp 153–184

  • Winter M (2001) Palacios Templos y 1300 Años de Vida Urbana en Monte Albán. In: Reconstruyendo la ciudad Maya: El urbanismo en las sociedades antiguas. Sociedad Española de Estudios Mayas, Madrid, pp 277–301

  • Winter M (2002) Monte Albán: mortuary practices as domestic ritual and their relation to community religion. In: Plunket P (ed) Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamerica. University of California, Los Angeles, pp 67–82

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Winter M, Martínez C, Herrera A (2002) Monte Albán y Teotihuacan: Política e Ideología. In: Gallut M (ed) Ideología y política a través de materiales, imágenes y símbolos. Memoria de la 1° Mesa Redonda de Teotihuacan. CONACULTA- INAH, México, pp 627–644

    Google Scholar 

  • Winter M, Martínez C, Markens R (2020) La Plataforma Norte de Monte Albán. In: Vázquez J, Martínez P (Coord) Patrimonio Cultural de Oaxaca: Investigaciones recientes. Ciudad de México, Secretaria de Cultura-INAH, pp 467–491

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright L, Schwarcz H (1996) Infrared evidence for diagenesis of bone apatite at Dos Pilas: paleodietary implications. J Archaeol Sci 23:933–944

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright L, Schwarcz H (1998) Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in human tooth enamel: identifying breastfeeding and weaning in prehistory. Am J Phys Anthropol 106(1):1–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199805)106:1<1::AIDAJPA1>3.0.CO;2-W

  • Wright L, Schwarcz H (1999) Correspondence between stable carbon, oxygen and nitrogen isotopes in human tooth enamel and dentine: infant diets at Kaminaljuyú. J Archaeol Sci 26(9):1159–1170. https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.1998.0351

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The research was sponsored by a grant from the CONACYT Proyect “La población de Monte Alban, Oaxaca. Prestigio, poder y riqueza”. CB 2013-220643-H, folio INAH 17609. We thank Dr. Sergio López, Héctor López Calvo y José Cervantes for their assistance, to the authorities of Centro INAH, Oaxaca, and the Consejo de Arqueología for their autorization to perform the isotopic analysis. We are deeply indebted to Dr. Ernesto Gonzalez Licon for all his work and teachings. The isotopic analysis was performed at the Laboratorio de Isótopos Estables (LIE) del Laboratorio Nacional de Geoquímica y Mineralogía del Instituto de Geología de la UNAM. Special thanks to Pedro Morales, Edith Cienfuegos, Francisco Otero and Rafael Puente for the isotopic analysis, and to Samantha Negrete and Judith Ruiz Gonzalez for the preparation of the samples. We also thank MS Alan Ulises Loredo Jasso from the Laboratorio de Geoquimica Molecular IGL-UNAM for the ATR analysis We are deeply grateful to Dr. Joyce Marcus, Gary Feinman, Linda Manzanilla and the reviewers for constructive suggestions to improve substantially this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Estado solido, Instituto de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico

    Isabel Casar

  2. Escuela Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, Periférico Sur y Zapote s/n, 14030, Mexico City, Mexico

    Lourdes Márquez & Ernesto González Licón

  3. Laboratorio de Isotopos Estables, Laboratorio Nacioional de Geoquimica y Mineralogia, Instituto de Geologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico

    Edith Cienfuegos

  4. Department of World Languages and Cultures, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Andrew D. Somerville

Author notes

  1. Ernesto González Licón is deceased. This paper is dedicated to his/her memory.

    • Ernesto González Licón

  2. The original online version of this article was revised: The authors regret that the Figure 3 that appears in the original article is incorrect. The correct Figure 3 appears below.

    The original article has been corrected.

    Authors
    1. Isabel Casar
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    2. Lourdes Márquez
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    3. Edith Cienfuegos
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    4. Ernesto González Licón
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    5. Andrew D. Somerville
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    Corresponding author

    Correspondence to Isabel Casar.

    Additional information

    Publisher’s note

    Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

    The original online version of this article was revised: The authors regret that the Figure 3 that appears in the original article is incorrect. The correct Figure 3 appears below.

    The original article has been corrected.

    Rights and permissions

    Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

    Reprints and permissions

    About this article

    Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

    Cite this article

    Casar, I., Márquez, L., Cienfuegos, E. et al. Monte Alban and Teotihuacan connections: can stable isotope analysis of bone and enamel detect migration between two ancient Mesoamerican urban capitals?. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 14, 220 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-022-01683-3

    Download citation

    • Received:

    • Accepted:

    • Published:

    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-022-01683-3

    Keywords

    Search

    Navigation