Bioarchaeological and Genetic Analysis of the Tzintzuntzan Ossuary

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Looking to the West: New insights into Postclassic Archaeology in Michoacán" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This poster will present the first results from the bioarchaeological analysis of more than half a ton of human skeletal remains recovered from the ossuary of the ancient city of Tzintzuntzan on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. In addition to conventional morphological analysis, more than one hundred individuals from this ossuary have been sampled for ancient DNA analyses. The results of these analyses provide new insights about the population structure of Tarascan-era west Mexico. Ancient DNA analysis has also provided richer insight into the individuals that were placed in the ossuary, as most of the bones were extremely fragmentary and therefore could not have age, sex, stature, or other biological markers assessed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Looking to the West: New insights into Postclassic Archaeology in Michoacán   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38236.0