Chemical Residue Analysis, Foodways, and Ceramic Consumption in Tlajinga, Teotihuacan

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Tlajinga is the southernmost district of Teotihuacan, a cosmopolitan city that thrived in Central Mexico during the Classic Period. Previous research done in Tlajinga includes surface collection associated with the Teotihuacan Mapping Project and the excavation of one apartment compound, during the 70’s. Recent investigations carried out by the Proyecto Arqueológico Tlajinga Teotihuacan (PATT) have yielded new data concerning ceramic function and chronology to assess the domestic lifeways in the district. Two compounds (17:S3E1 and 18:S3E1) and two platforms (2:S4W1 and 4:S4W1) that formed part of a barrio center were excavated by the project in three seasons beginning in 2013.

A data set made of 400 samples from complete and semi-complete vessels, as well as selected sherds from primary contexts were analyzed for traces of carbonates, phosphates, proteins, fatty acids, carbohydrates, and pH levels to investigate ceramic function in relation to cooking practices. The chemical residue analysis done in ceramics from Tlajinga along with the established typology at this site provide social insights into different aspects of the quotidian life. It generates diverse lines of evidence that aid our assessment of ceramic consumption at a household level, with implications for understanding its distribution over the centuries of Teotihuacan’s occupation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36184.0