Modern Migration Theory and Their Applicability to Prehispanic Mesoamerican Populations

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Misinformation and Misrepresentation Part 1: Reconsidering “Human Sacrifice,” Religion, Slavery, Modernity, and Other European-Derived Concepts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Modern migration theories are based on a capitalistic view of economic forces for people (mostly males) to migrate in search of better economic conditions. However, the dynamics that characterize modern times are hardly applicable to prehispanic societies. Trade between and within regions was an important force driving human mobility, so economic reasons cannot be ruled out a priori because they did represent a factor also present in ancient times. Yet, the direct analysis of individual mobility based on strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotopes in dental enamel provides many possible reasons behind individuals’ mobility. In the prehispanic northern Maya lowlands, when nonlocal people are analyzed by sex, age at death, social status, funerary attire, and burial location, the emerging picture encompasses multiple factors. This paper argues that the equal representation of males and females and the presence of infants and children speaks in favor of families moving according to kinship networks. Nonlocal elite females suggest marriages to strengthen political networks. The presence of royals also indicates the development of outposts and the expansion of political domains. Finally, the lack of specific mortuary settings and locations for nonlocals suggests that they had been integrated into the local society regardless of their origin.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• Misinformation and Misrepresentation Part 1: Reconsidering “Human Sacrifice,” Religion, Slavery, Modernity, and Other European-Derived Concepts

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38031.0