Where did the Sacrificial Subjects Live? An Oxygen Isotope Study of Individuals Sacrificed by the Aztecs during the Late Postclassic Period
Author(s): Diana Moreiras Reynaga; Jean-Francois Millaire; Fred J. Longstaffe
Year: 2017
Summary
We present preliminary interpretations of the residential patterns of Aztec sacrificial subjects from the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan and the Templo R of Tlatelolco (present-day Mexico City) who died during the Late Postclassic period (A.D. 1400–1519). The study uses oxygen isotope analysis of bioapatite phosphate to assess whether these individuals lived in the Valley of Mexico during the last years of their lives or were brought in from distant Aztec provinces. Tissues analyzed also include individuals from a local residential burial site in nearby Ecatepec, which provides a local phosphate oxygen isotope baseline. We find that, besides a few interesting cases, the majority of the sacrificial subjects (children and adults) resided in the Valley of Mexico prior to being offered to the Aztec gods.
Cite this Record
Where did the Sacrificial Subjects Live? An Oxygen Isotope Study of Individuals Sacrificed by the Aztecs during the Late Postclassic Period. Diana Moreiras Reynaga, Jean-Francois Millaire, Fred J. Longstaffe. Presented at The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, British Columbia. 2017 ( tDAR id: 429826)
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Keywords
Geographic Keywords
Mesoamerica
Spatial Coverage
min long: -107.271; min lat: 12.383 ; max long: -86.353; max lat: 23.08 ;
Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 15419