Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Victims of Sacrifice: Isotopic Evidence for Place of Origin

  • Chapter
New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Ritual Body Treatments in Ancient Maya Society

Part of the book series: Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology ((IDCA))

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

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Åbergberg, G., G. Fosse, and H. Stray. 1998. Man, Nutrition and Mobility: A Comparison of Teeth and Bone from the Medieval Era and the Present from Pb and Sr Isotopes. The Science of the Total Environment 224:109–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayliffe, L.K., and Chivas A.R., 1990, Oxygen Isotope Composition of the Bone Phosphate of Australian Kangaroos: Potential as a Palaeoenvironmental Recorder. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 54:2603–2609.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, E.E., M.A. Canuto, and R.J. Sharer. (editors) 2003. Understanding Early Classic Copán. University of Pennsylvania Museum Press, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanton, R.E., Kowalewski, S.A, Feinman, G.M., and Appel J., 1981, Ancient Mesoamerica: A Comparison of Change in Three Regions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boone, E. (editor), 1984, Ritual Human Sacrifice in Mesoamerica. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braswell, G.R., 2003, The Maya and Teotihuacán: Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction. University of Texas Press, Austin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Budd, P., Montgomery, J., Barreiro, J., and Thomas R.G., 2000, Differential Diagenesis of Strontium in Archaeological Human Dental Tissues. Applied Geochemistry 15:687–694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buikstra, J.E., Price, T.D., Wright, L.E., and Burton J.H., 2004, Tombs from the Copán Acropolis: A Life History Approach. In Understanding Early Classic Copán, edited by E.E. Bell, M.A. Canuto, and R.J. Sharer, pp. 191–212. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coe, W.R., 1990, Tikal Report No. 14 Volume II: Excavations in the Great Plaza, North Terrace and North Acropolis of Tikal. The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coe, M.D., 1992, Breaking the Maya Code. Thames and Hudson, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coggins, C.C., 1979, A New Order and the Role of the Calendar: Some Characteristics of the Middle Classic Period at Tikal. In Maya Archaeology and Ethnohistory, edited by N. Hammond and G.R. Willey, pp. 3–20. University of Texas Press, Austin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Comar, C., Russell, R.S., and Wasserman R.H., 1957, Strontium—Calcium Movement from Soil to Man. Science 126:485–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowgill, G.L., 1992, Toward a Political History of Teotihuacan. In Ideology and PreColumbian Civilizations, edited by A.A. Demarest and G.W. Conrad, pp. 87–114. School of American Research Press, Santa Fe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cucina, A., and Tiesler V., 2006, The Companions of of Janaab' Pakal and the “Red Queen” from Palenque, Chiapas: Meanings of Human Companion Sacrifice in Classic Maya Society. In Janaab' Pakal of Palenque. Reconstructing the Life and Death of a Maya Ruler, edited by V. Tiesler and A. Cucina, pp. 102–125. University of Arizona, Tucson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elias, R.W., Hirao, Y., and Patterson C.C, 1982, The Circumvention of the Natural Biopurification of Calcium Along Nutrient Pathways by Atmospheric Inputs of Industrial Lead. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 46:2561–2580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ezzo, J.A., Johnson, C.M., and Price T.D., 1997, Analytical Perspectives on Prehistoric Migration: A Case Study from East-Central Arizona. Journal of Archaeological Science 24:447–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faure, G., 1986, Principles of Isotope Geology. John Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faure, G., and Powell J.L., 1972, Strontium Isotope Geology. Springer-Verlag, New York.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fricke, H.C., and O'Neil J.R., 1996, Inter- and Intra-tooth Variation in the Oxygen Isotope Composition of Mammalian Tooth Enamel Phosphate: Implications for Palaeocli- matological and Palaeobiological Research. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 126:91–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillespie, S.D., 2001, Personhood, Agency and Mortuary Ritual: A Case Study from the Ancient Maya. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 20:73–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hess, J., Bender, M.L., and Schilling J.G., 1986, Evolution of the Ratio of Strontium-87 to Strontium-86 in Seawater from the Cretaceous to Present. Science 231:979–984.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillson, S., 2005, Teeth. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hodell, D.A., Quinn, R.L., Brenner, M., and Kamenov G., 2004, Spatial Variation of Strontium Isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) in the Maya Region: A Tool for Tracking Ancient Human Migration. Journal of Archaeological Science 31:585–601.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kidder, A.V., Jennings, J.D., and Shook E.M., 1946, Excavations at Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 561, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohn, M.J., 1996, Predicting Animal δ18O: Accounting for Diet and Physiological Adaptation. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 60:4811–4829.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohn, M.J., Schoeninger, M.J., and Valley J.W., 1996, Herbivore Tooth Oxygen Isotope Compositions: Effects of Diet and Physiology. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 60:3889–3896.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohn, M.J., Schoeninger, M.J., and Barker W.W., 1999, Altered States: Effects of Diagenesis on Fossil Tooth Chemistry. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 63:2737–2747.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laporte, J.P., 1989, Alternativas del Clásico Temprano en la Relación Tikal-Teotihuacán: Grupo 6C-XVI, Tikal, Petén, Guatemala. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation. Universidad Autónoma de México, Mexico City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levinson, A.A., Luz, B., and Kolodny Y., 1987, Variations in Oxygen Isotopic Compositions of Human Teeth and Urinary Stones. Applied Geochemistry 2: 367–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Longinelli, A., 1984. Oxygen Isotopes in Mammal Bone Phosphate: A New Tool for Paleohydrological and Paleoclimatological Research? Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48:385–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luz, B., and Kolodny Y., 1985, Oxygen Isotope Variations in Phosphate of Biogenic Apatites. I V. Mammal Teeth and Bones. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 75: 29–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luz, B., and Kolodny Y., 1989, Oxygen Isotope Variation in Bone Phosphate. Applied Geochemistry 4:317–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luz, B., Kolodny, Y., and Horowitz M., 1984, Fractionation of Oxygen Isotopes Between Mammalian Bone-phosphate and Environmental Drinking Water. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48:1689–1693.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luz, B., Cormie, A.B., and Schwarcz H.P., 1990, Oxygen Isotope Variations in Phosphate of Deer Bones. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 54:1723–1728.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manzanilla, L., Tejida, S., and Martínez J.C., 1996, Implicaciones del análisis de calcio, estroncio y zinc en el conocimiento de la dieta y la migración en Teotihuacán, México. Anales del Antropologia 33:13–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, S., and Grube N., 2000, Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. Thames and Hudson, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millon, R., 1973, The Teotihuacan Map, Part 1: Text. Urbanization at Teotihuacan, Mexico, Vol. 1. University of Texas Press, Austin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millon, R., 1981, Teotihuacan: City, State, and Civilization. In Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 1, Archaeology, edited by J.A. Sabloff, pp. 198–243. University of Texas Press, Austin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pereira, G., Spence, M.W., and White C.D., 2004, Análisis preliminar de los restos humanos encontrados en el Entierro 5 de la Pirámide de la Luna, Teotihuacán. Paper presented at the Society for American Archaeology, 69th Meeting, Montreal

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, T.D., Manzanilla, L., and Middleton W.H., 2000, Residential Mobility at Teotihuacan: a Preliminary Study Using Strontium Isotopes. Journal of Archaeological Science 27:903–913.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price, T.D., Burton, J.H., Fullagar, P.D., Wright, L.D, Buikstra, J.E., and Tiesler V., 2006, 87Sr/86Sr Ratios and the Study of Human Mobility in Ancient Mesoamerica. Latin American Antiquity, in press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rattray, E., 1993, The Oaxaca barrio at Teotihuacan. Monografias Mesoamericanas No. 1. Cholula, Universidad de las Américas, Puebla.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reents-Budet, D., and Culbert T.P., 1999, Las ofrendas del período Clásico Temprano de Tikal y Kaminaljuyu: Relaciones regionales y internacionales. Paper presented at the XIII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, Guatemala City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, G., and Hawkesworth C.J., 1989, A Geochemical Traverse Across the North Chilean Andes: Evidence for Crust Generation from the Mantle Wedge. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 91:271–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, H.L., 1981, Content of Stable Strontium in Man and Animal Biota. In Handbook of Stable Strontium, edited by S.C. Skoryna, pp. 503–514. Plenum Press, New York.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, W.T., and Michels J.W., 1977, Teotihuacan and Kaminaljuyu: A Study in Prehistoric Culture Contact. Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, Pennsylvania.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, W.T., Parsons, J., and Santley R., 1979, The Basin of Mexico. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoeninger, M.J., Hallin, K., Reeser, H., Valley, J.W., and Fournellec J., 2003, Isotopic Alteration of Mammalian Tooth Enamel. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 13:11–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schroeder, H.A., Nason, A.P., and Tipton I.H., 1972, Essential Metals in Man: Strontium and Barium. Journal of Chronic Diseases 25:491–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarcz, H.P., and Schoeninger M.J., 1991, Stable Isotope Analysis in Human Nutritional Ecology. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 34:283–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarcz, H.P., Gibbs, L., and Knyf M., 1991, Oxygen Isotope Analysis as an Indicator of Place of Origin. In Snake Hill: An Investigation of a Military Cemetery from the War of 1812, edited by S. Pfeiffer and R.F. Williamson, pp. 263–268. Dundurn Press, Toronto.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sempowski, M.L., and Spence M.W. (editors), 1994, Mortuary Practices and Skeletal Remains at Teotihuacan. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharer, R.J., Traxler, L.P., Sedat, D.W., Bell, E.E., Canuto, M.A., and Powell C., 1999, Early Classic Architecture Beneath the Copán Acropolis. A Research Update. Ancient Mesoamerica 10:3–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shook, E.M., and Popenoe de Hatch M., 1999, Las Tierras Altas Centrales: Períodos Preclásico y Clásico. In Historia General de Guatemala, Tomo 1, edited by L. Lujan, pp. 296–318. Asociación de Amigos del País, Fundación para la Cultura y el Desarrollo, Guatemala City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence, M., 1992, Tlailotlacan, a Zapotec Enclave in Teotihuacan. In Art, Ideology, and the City of Teotihuacan, edited by J. Berlo, pp. 59–88. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence, M., 2002, Domestic Ritual in Tlailotlacan, Teotihuacan. In Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamerica, edited by P. Plunket, pp. 53–66. Institute of Archaeology Monograph No. 46. University of California, Los Angeles.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence, M., White, C.D., and Longstaffe F.J., 2004, Victims of the Victims: Human Trophies Worn by the Sacrificed Soldiers from the Feathered Serpent Pyramid. Ancient Mesoamerica 15:1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spence, M., White, C.D., and Longstaffe F.J., 2005, Past Lives in Different Places: The Origins and Relationships of Teotihuacan's Foreign Residents. In Early Civilizations, Settlement and Subsistence: Essays in Honor of Jeffrey R. Parsons, edited by R.E. Blanton. Cotsen Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence, M., White, C.D., Gazzola, J., Gómez, S., and Longstaffe F.J., 2006, Oxygen-Isotope Values and Population Movements in Structure 19, Teotihuacan. Paper presented at the Society for American Archaeology, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

    Google Scholar 

  • Storey, R., 1992, Patterns of Susceptibility to Dental Defects in the Deciduous Dentition of a Precolumbian Skeletal Population. In Recent Contributions to the Study of Enamel Developmental Defects, edited by A.H. Goodman and L.L. Capasso, pp. 171–184. Edigrafital Teramo, Chieti, Italy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuart, D., 2000, The Arrival of Strangers: Teotihuacan and Tollan in Classic Maya History. In Mesoamerica's Classic Heritage: Teotihuacan to the Aztecs, edited by D. Carrasco, L. Jones, and S. Sessions, pp. 465–513. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuart-Williams, H.L.Q., Schwarcz, H.P., White, C.D., and Spence M., 1996, The Isotopic Composition and Diagenesis of Human Bone from Teotihuacan and Oaxaca, Mexico. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 126:1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiyama, S., Cabrera, R., and López L., 2004, The Moon Pyramid Burials. In Voyage to the Center of the Moon Pyramid: Recent Discoveries in Teotihuacan, pp. 20–30. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torres, I., Verma, S.P., and Carrasco G., 2000, Compilation of Radiogenic Isotope Data in Mexico and their Implications. Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences (Earth and Planetary Sciences) 109:67–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valdés, J.A., and Wright L.E., 2004, The Early Classic and its Antecedents at Kaminaljuyu: A Complex Society with Complex Problems, In Understanding Early Classic Copán, edited by E.E. Bell, M.A. Canuto, and R.J. Sharer, pp. 327–346. University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss-Krejci, E., 2003, Victims of Human Sacrifice in Multiple Tombs of the Ancient Maya: A Critical Review. In Antropología de la eternidad: La muerte en la cultural maya, edited by A. Ciudad, M.H. Ruz, and M.J. Iglesias, pp. 355–381. Sociedad Española de Estudios Mayas y Centro de Estudios Mayas, Madrid.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss-Krejci, E., 2004, Mortuary Representations of the Noble House. A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between Collective Tombs of the Ancient Maya and Dynastic Europe. Journal of Social Archaeology 4:368–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, C.D., Spence, M.W., Stuart-Williams, H.L.Q., and Schwarcz H.P., 1998, Oxygen Isotopes and the Identification of Geographical Origins: The Valley of Oaxaca Versus the Valley of Mexico. Journal of Archaeological Science 25:643–655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, C.D., Spence, M.W., Longstaffe, F.J., and Law K.R., 2000, Testing the Nature of Teotihuacan Imperialism at Kaminaljuyu Using Phosphate Oxygen-Isotope Ratios. Journal of Anthropological Research 56:535–558.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, C., Longstaffe, F.J., and Law K.R., 2001, Revisiting the Teotihuacan Connection at Altun Ha: Oxygen-Isotope Analysis of Tomb f-8/1. Ancient Mesoamerica 12: 65–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, C.D., Spence, M.W., and Longstaffe F.J., 2002, Geographic Identities of the Sacrificial Victims at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid: Implications for the Nature of State Power. Latin American Antiquity 13:217–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, C.D., Spence, M.W., and Longstaffe F.J., 2004a, Demography and Ethnic Continuity in the Tlailotlacan Enclave of Teotihuacan: The Evidence from Stable Oxygen Isotopes. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23:385–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, C.D., Storey, R., Spence, M.W., and Longstaffe F.J., 2004b, Immigration, Assimilation and Status in the Ancient City of Teotihuacán: Isotopic Evidence from Tlajinga 33. Latin American Antiquity 15:176–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, L.E., 2004, Osteological Investigations of Ancient Maya Lives. In Continuities and Change in Maya Archaeology, edited by C. Golden and G. Borgsted, pp. 201–215. Routledge Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, L.E., 2005a. Identifying Immigrants to Tikal, Guatemala: Defining Local Variability in Strontium Isotope Ratios of Human Tooth Enamel. Journal of Archaeological Science 32:555–566.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, L.E., 2005b. In Search of Yax Nuun Ayiin I: Revisiting the Tikal Project's Burial 10. Ancient Mesoamerica 16:89–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, L.E., and Schwarcz H.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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, L.E., and Schwarcz H.P., 1999, Correspondence Between Stable Carbon, Oxygen, and Nitrogen Isotopes in Human Tooth Enamel and Dentine: Infant Diets and Weaning at Kaminaljuyú. Journal of Archaeological Science 26:1159–1170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yurtsever, Y., and Gat J.R., 1981, Atmospheric Waters. In Stable Isotope Hydrology: Deuterium and Oxygen-18 in the Water Cycle, Technical Report Series, no. 210, edited by J.R. Gat and R. Gonfiantini, pp. 103–142. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

A number of individuals have contributed to this study in various ways. We would specifically like to thank Jane Buikstra, James Burton, Linda Manzanilla, Paul Fullager, Mike Spence, and Vera Tiesler. The National Science Foundation, Wenner Gren Foundation, Texas A&M University, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Canada Research Chairs Program have provided funding for the isotopic analyses.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for ArchaeologicalChemistry, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    T. Douglas Price & James H. Burton

  2. Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Lori E. Wright

  3. Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

    Christine D. White & Fred Longstaffe

Authors
  1. T. Douglas Price
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. James H. Burton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lori E. Wright
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Christine D. White
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Fred Longstaffe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Antropológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico

    Vera Tiesler  & Andrea Cucina  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2007 Springer Science + Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Price, T.D., Burton, J.H., Wright, L.E., White, C.D., Longstaffe, F. (2007). Victims of Sacrifice: Isotopic Evidence for Place of Origin. In: Tiesler, V., Cucina, A. (eds) New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Ritual Body Treatments in Ancient Maya Society. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-48871-4_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation