Intra-and-inter Regional Variation of Dental Modification and Social Complexity: a Test Case from the Lower Río Verde Valley, Oaxaca

Summary

Dental modifications are symbolic representations permanently etched into human dentition that can have different cultural interpretations. Often done for aesthetic purposes, these modifications may reflect status, represent social inclusion or exclusion, or display regional variation. Bioarchaeological analysis of skeletons from three sites (Yugüe, Loma Don Genaro, and Río Viejo) from the Lower Río Verde Region of Oaxaca, Mexico (100 CE-800 CE) shows an increase in the frequency of dental modifications as well as in the number of individuals whose burial practices suggest differing social position both in life and death. This study discusses dental modification among adult males and females from all three sites. Additionally, a range of variation in the types of modification may suggest both intra-and-inter regional influences. Previous studies have indicated that dental modification appears in early archaeological populations within Mexico, with some of the oldest examples found in Oaxaca at Monte Alban and Monte Negro. It should not be surprising then, that dental modification makes a somewhat early appearance in the lower Río Verde Valley on the Pacific Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico. However, the dental and archaeological evidence reveal changing patterns of social complexity across time.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Bioarchaeology of Oaxaca: Talking with the Dead from Southern Mexico   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage