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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: [email protected]
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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 

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