No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
Stable Isotope Analysis of Ancient Maya Skeletal Remains from Late Postclassic Iximche’, Guatemala
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2025
Abstract
War, captives, and human sacrifice were parts of Late Postclassic (AD 1250–1524) Maya culture in highland Guatemala. Las Casas (1958:152) wrote that the supreme lord “put the heads of the sacrificed on some poles on a certain altar dedicated only to this, where they had these for some time, after which they buried them.” These cultural aspects show up in human remains excavated at Iximche’, the Kaqchikel Maya capital. Here, we integrate previously published and unpublished results of stable isotope analyses and explore their implications for diets and the geographic origins of individuals who were buried at the site on the eve of the Spanish conquest. Data from Iximche’ are compared with available results from other ancient Maya sites.
Resumen
La guerra, los cautivos y los sacrificios humanos eran parte de la cultura maya del Posclásico Tardío (1250–1524 dC) en las tierras altas de Guatemala. Las Casas (1958:152) escribió que el señor supremo “[c]olocó las cabezas de los sacrificados en unos postes en cierto altar dedicado solo a esto, donde los tuvieron durante algún tiempo, después de lo cual los enterraron”. Estos aspectos culturales aparecen en los restos humanos excavados en Iximche’, la capital maya kaqchikel. Aquí, integramos resultados previamente publicados y no publicados de análisis de isótopos estables y exploramos sus implicaciones para las dietas y los orígenes geográficos de los individuos que fueron enterrados en el sitio en vísperas de la conquista española. Los datos de Iximche’ se comparan con los resultados disponibles de otros sitios mayas antiguos.
Keywords
- Type
- Article
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for American Archaeology
References
References Cited
Ambrose, Stanley H., and Norr, Lynette. 1993. Experimental Evidence for the Relationship of the Carbon Isotope Ratios of Whole Diet and Dietary Protein to Those of Bone Collagen and Carbonate. In Prehistoric Human Bone: Archaeology at the Molecular Level, edited by Lambert, Joseph B. and Grupe, Gisela, pp. 1–33. Springer-Verlag, New York.Google Scholar
Beck, Lane A., and Sievert, April K.. 2005. Mortuary Pathways Leading to the Cenote at Chichén Itzá. In Interacting with the Dead: Perspectives on Mortuary Archaeology for the New Millennium, edited by Rakita, Gordon F. M., Buikstra, Jane E., Beck, Lane A., and Williams, Sloan R., pp. 290–304. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Borg, Barbara E. 2003. Iximché and the Cakchikels, ca. 1450–1540. In Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Iximché, by Roger Nance, C., Whittington, Stephen L., and Borg, Barbara E., pp. 17–38. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Bowen, Gabriel J. 2006. Online Isotopes in Precipitation Calculator. waterisotopes.org. Electronic document, http://www.waterisotopes.org, accessed September 4, 2023.Google Scholar
Cheung, Christina, Jing, Zhichun, Tang, Jigen, Weston, Darlene A., and Richards, Michael P.. 2017. Diets, Social Roles, and Geographical Origins of Sacrificial Victims at the Royal Cemetery at Yinxu, Shang China: New Evidence from Stable Carbon, Nitrogen, and Sulfur Isotope Analysis. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 48:28–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coleman, David C., and Fry, Brian (editors). 1991. Carbon Isotope Techniques. Academic Press, San Diego, California.Google Scholar
Conroy, Ronán M. 2012. What Hypotheses Do “Nonparametric” Two-Group Tests Actually Test? Stata Journal 12(2):182–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daux, Valérie, Lécuyer, Christophe, Héran, Marie-Anne, Amiot, Romain, Simon, Laurent, Fourel, François, Martineau, François, Lynnerup, Niels, Reychler, Hervé, and Escarguel, Gilles. 2008. Oxygen Isotope Fractionation between Human Phosphate and Water Revisited. Journal of Human Evolution 55(6):1138–1147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DeNiro, Michael J. 1987. Stable Isotopy and Archaeology. American Scientist 75(2):182–191.Google Scholar
DeNiro, Michael J., and Epstein, Samuel. 1978. Influence of Diet on the Distribution of Carbon Isotopes in Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 42(5):495–506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeNiro, Michael J., and Epstein, Samuel. 1981. Influence of Diet on the Distribution of Nitrogen Isotopes in Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 45(3):341–351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, William N. 2005. Understanding Veneration and Violation in the Archaeological Record. In Interacting with the Dead: Perspectives on Mortuary Archaeology for the New Millennium, edited by Rakita, Gordon F. M., Buikstra, Jane E., Beck, Lane A., and Williams, Sloan R., pp. 207–227. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Emery, Kitty F., Thornton, Erin K., Cannarozzi, Nicole R., Houston, Stephen, and Escobedo, Hector. 2013. Ancient Animals of the Southern Maya Highlands: Zooarchaeology of Kaminaljuyu. In Archaeology of Mesoamerican Animals, edited by Götz, Christopher and Emery, Kitty, pp. 381–416. Lockwood Press, Atlanta, Georgia.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forgey, Kathleen, and Williams, Soan R.. 2005. Were Nasca Trophy Heads War Trophies or Revered Ancestors? Insights from the Kroeber Collection. In Interacting with the Dead: Perspectives on Mortuary Archaeology for the New Millennium, edited by Rakita, Gordon F. M., Buikstra, Jane E., Beck, Lane A., and Williams, Sloan R., pp. 251–276. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Fox, John W., and Smith, Timothy J.. 2006. Iximche’. Electronic document, https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195108156.001.0001/acref-9780195108156-e-302?rskey=mmWakR&result=301, accessed December 26, 2024.Google Scholar
Freiwald, Carolyn. 2023. Oxygen Isotope Values in the Maya Region. In Isotopic Proveniencing and Mobility, edited by Douglas Price, T., pp. 67–84. Springer, Cham, Switzerland.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fuentes, y Guzmán, , Antonio de, Francisco. 1932 [1690]. Recordación Florida: Discurso historial y demostración natural, material, militar y política del Reyno de Guatemala, Tomos I–III. Biblioteca Goathemala de la Sociedad de Geografía e Historia. Tipografía Nacional, Guatemala.Google Scholar
Guillemin, George F. 1967. The Ancient Cakchiquel Capital of Iximché. Expedition 9:22–35.Google Scholar
Guillemin, George F. 1969. Exploration du Groupe C d'Iximché (Guatemala). Bulletin de la Société Suisse des Américanistes 33:23–33.Google Scholar
Guillemin, George F. 1977. Urbanism and Hierarchy at Iximché. In Social Process in Maya Prehistory: Studies in Honor of Sir Eric Thompson, edited by Hammond, Norman, pp. 227–264. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Hedges, Robert E. M., Clement, John G., Thomas, David L., and O'Connell, Tamsin C.. 2007. Collagen Turnover in the Adult Femoral Mid-Shaft: Modeled from Anthropogenic Radiocarbon Tracer Measurements. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 133(2):808–816.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hedges, Robert E. M., and Reynard, Linda M.. 2007. Nitrogen Isotopes and the Trophic Level of Humans in Archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Science 34(8):1240–1251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iacumin, Paola, Bocherens, Hervé, Mariotti, Andre, and Longinelli, Antonio. 1996. Oxygen Isotope Analyses of Co-existing Carbonate and Phosphate in Biogenic Apatite: A Way to Monitor Diagenic Alteration of Bone Phosphate? Earth and Planetary Science Letters 142(1–2):1–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennett, Douglas J., Masson, Marilyn A., Serafin, Stanley, Culleton, Brendan J., and Lope, Carlos Peraza. 2016. War and Food Production at the Postclassic Maya City of Mayapán. In The Archaeology of Food and Warfare: Food Insecurity in Prehistory, edited by VanDerwarker, Amber M., and Wilson, Gregory D., pp. 161–192. Springer, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Körner, Christian, Farquhar, Graham D., and Roksandic, Z.. 1988. A Global Survey of Carbon Isotope Discrimination in Plants from High Altitude. Oecologia (Berlin) 74(4):623–632.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lachniet, Matthew S., and Patterson, William P.. 2009. Oxygen Isotope Values of Precipitation and Surface Waters in Northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala) Are Dominated by Temperature and Amount Effects. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 284(3–4):435–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Las Casas, Bartolomé de. 1958. Apologética historia. In Obras escogidas de Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, Tomo IV, edited by de Tutela Bueso, Juan Pérez. Biblioteca de Autores Españoles Tomo 106, Madrid.Google Scholar
Lee-Thorp, Julia A., and van der Merwe, Nikolaas J.. 1987. Carbon Isotope Analysis of Fossil Bone Apatite. South African Journal of Science 83(11):712–715.Google Scholar
Levene, Howard. 1960. Robust Tests for Equality of Variance. In Contributions to Probability and Statistics: Essays in Honor of Harold Hotelling, edited by Olkin, Ingram, pp. 278–292. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, California.Google Scholar
Lightfoot, Emma, and O'Connell, Tamsin C.. 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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Locker, Angelina, Valdez, Fred Jr., Breecker, Daniel O., Banner, Jay L., Loewy, Staci L., Luzzadder-Beach, Sheryl, Drake, Stacy M., Hyde, David M., Trachman, Rissa M., and Lewis, Brandon S.. 2023. Ancient Maya Movement in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area, NW Belize. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 49:104052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104052.Google Scholar
Longinelli, Antonio. 1984. Oxygen Isotopes in Mammal Bone Phosphate: A New Tool for Paleohydrological and Paleoclimatological Research? Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48(2):385–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAnany, Patricia A. 1995. Living with the Ancestors: Kinship and Kingship in Ancient Maya Society. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
McBryde, Felix W. 1947. Cultural and Historical Geography of Southwest Guatemala, Vol. 4. Smithsonian Institution, Institute of Social Anthropology, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Miller, Mary Ellen. 2012. The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec. 5th ed. Thames and Hudson, New York.Google Scholar
Reynaga, Moreiras, Diana, K., Millaire, Jean-François, Balderas, Ximena Chávez, Román Berrelleza, Juan A., Lujan, Leonardo López, and Longstaffe, Fred J.. 2021. Building Mexican Isoscapes: Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotope Data of Meteoric Water Sampled across Mexico. Data in Brief 36:107084. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2021.107084.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nance, C. Roger, Stephen L. Whittington, and Barbara E. Borg. 2003. Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Iximché. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Nelson, Bruce K., DeNiro, Michael J., Schoeninger, Margaret J., and DePaolo, Donald J.. 1986. Effects of Diagenesis on Strontium, Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen Concentration and Isotopic Composition of Bone. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50(9):1941–1949.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsen, Karyn C. 2006. Dedication and Sacrifice: An Oxygen-Isotope Study of Human Remains from Altun Ha, Belize and Iximché, Guatemala. Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.Google Scholar
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
Price, T. Douglas, Manzanilla, Linda, and Middleton, William H.. 2000. Immigration and the Ancient City of Teotihuacan in Mexico: A Study Using Strontium Isotope Ratios in Human Bone and Teeth. Journal of Archaeological Science 27(10):903–913.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rand, Asta J., Freiwald, Carolyn, and Grimes, Vaughn. 2021. A Multi-Isotopic (δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S) Faunal Baseline for Maya Subsistence and Migration Studies. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 37:102977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102977.Google Scholar
Recinos, Adrián. 1991. Memorial de Sololá, Anales de los Kaqchikeles, Título de los Señores de Totonicapán. 2nd ed. Editorial Piedra Santa, Guatemala City.Google Scholar
Ruiz, Judith. 2021. Sacrificio humano y posible culto a Xipe Totec en el umbral del posclásico en Toniná, Chiapas. In Tratamientos mortuorios del cuerpo humano: Perspectivas tafonómicas y arqueotanatológicas, edited by Tiesler, Vera, Suzuki, Shintaro, and Pereira, Grégory, pp. 347–377. Centro de Estudios Mesoamericanos y Centroamericanos / Okayama University, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Scherer, Andrew K. 2015. Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Scherer, Andrew K., de Carteret, Alyce, and Newman, Sarah. 2015. Local Water Resource Variability and Oxygen Isotopic Reconstructions of Mobility: A Case Study from the Maya Area. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 2:666–676.Google Scholar
Schwarcz, Henry P., and Schoeninger, Margaret J.. 1991. Stable Isotope Analyses in Human Nutritional Ecology. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 34(Suppl. S13):283–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharpe, Ashley E., Arroyo, Bárbara, Estrada, Javier, Ajú, Gloria, and Serech, Emanuel. 2022. Dogs for the Gods, Fish for the Feast: The Ceremonial Role of Animals at Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala. Latin American Antiquity 33(2):221–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sillen, Andrew. 1989. Diagenesis of the Inorganic Phase of Cortical Bone. In The Chemistry of Prehistoric Bone, edited by Douglas Price, T., pp. 211–229. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Society for American Archaeology. 2021. Statement Concerning the Treatment of Human Remains. Electronic document, https://www.saa.org/quick-nav/saa-media-room/news-article/2021/04/29/draft-statement-concerning-the-treatment-of-human-remains-(2021), accessed October 19, 2023.Google Scholar
Standley, Paul C. 1946. Food Plants of the Indians of the Guatemalan Highlands. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 27(4):395–400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stansell, Nathan D., Steinman, Byron A., Lachniet, Matthew S., Feller, Jacob, Harvey, William, Fernandez, Alejandro, Shea, Christopher J., et al. 2020. A Lake Sediment Stable Isotope Record of Late-Middle to Late Holocene Hydroclimate Variability in the Western Guatemala Highlands. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 542:116327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szpak, P., White, Christine D., Longstaffe, Fred J., Millaire, J. F., and Vásquez Sánchez, V. F.. 2013. Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopic Survey of Northern Peruvian Plants: Baselines for Paleodietary and Paleoecological Studies. PLoS ONE 8(1):e53763. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0053763.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tedlock, Dennis (translator). 1996. Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life. Revised ed. Touchstone, New York.Google Scholar
Tiesler, Vera, and Miller, Virginia E.. 2023. Heads, Skulls, and Sacred Scaffolds: New Studies on Ritual Body Processing and Display in Chichen Itza and Beyond. Ancient Mesoamerica 34(2):563–585.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tykot, Robert H. 2006. Isotope Analyses and the Histories of Maize. In Histories of Maize: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Prehistory, Linguistics, Biogeography, Domestication, and Evolution of Maize, edited by Staller, John E., Tykot, Robert H., and Benz, Bruce F., pp. 131–142. Elsevier Academic, Boston.Google Scholar
Ubelaker, Douglas H. 1989. Human Skeletal Remains. Manuals on Archaeology 2. Taraxacum, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Wassenaar, Leonard I., Van Wilgenburg, Steven L., Larson, Keith, and Hobson, Keith A.. 2009. A Groundwater Isoscape (δD, δ18O) for Mexico. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 102(3):123–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, Christine D. 1997. Ancient Diet at Lamanai and Pacbitun: Implications for the Ecological Model of Collapse. In Bones of the Maya: Studies of Ancient Skeletons, edited by Whittington, Stephen L. and Reed, David M., pp. 171–180. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.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(4):535–558.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, Christine D., Spence, Michael W., Longstaffe, Fred J., Stuart-Williams, Hilary, and Law, Kimberley R.. 2002. Geographic Identities of the Sacrificial Victims from the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan: Implications for the Nature of State Power. Latin American Antiquity 13(2):217–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whittington, Stephen L. 2003. Analysis of Human Skeletal Material Excavated by Guillemin. In Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Iximché, by Roger Nance, C., Whittington, Stephen L., and Borg, Barbara E., pp. 241–304. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Wright, Lori E. 1994. The Sacrifice of the Earth? Diet, Health, and Inequality in the Pasión Maya Lowlands. PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Chicago.Google Scholar
Yurtsever, Y., and Gat, Joel R.. 1981. Atmospheric Waters. In Stable Isotope Hydrology: Deuterium and Oxygen-18 in the Water Cycle, Technical Report Series No. 210, edited by Gat, Joel R. and Gonfiantini, Roberto, pp. 103–142. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.Google Scholar
Whittington et al. supplementary material 1
Whittington et al. supplementary material
File
26.5 KB
Whittington et al. supplementary material 2
Whittington et al. supplementary material
File
29.1 KB
Whittington et al. supplementary material 3
Whittington et al. supplementary material
File
26.4 KB
Whittington et al. supplementary material 4
Whittington et al. supplementary material
File
32.6 KB