Captive management and sacrificial power: Using ancient genomics to study animal sacrifice in Teotihuacán

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Excavations of the Moon and Sun Pyramids (1998-2004) at Teotihuacan have yielded both human and animal sacrifices, interred as part of state rituals. These rituals demonstrated the power of the state, and the species chosen reflected that power. Isotopic and zooarchaeological analyses of the sacrificed animals show that some of them were held for extended periods of time before their deaths—they have skeletal lesions associated with restraints and evidence of maize based diets—while others were sacrificed fairly quickly. We conducted genomic analysis on golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) remains that were sacrificed and interred in Teotihuacán to determine the relationships among sacrificed individuals and compared them with extant populations. These relationships provide insight into how the eagles were procured and managed before sacrifice. By investigating the resource cost for obtaining and keeping these animals for sacrifice, we can improve our understanding of the ritual economy in Teotihuacán and the greater Mesoamerican region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33489