Children of Casas Grandes: An Osteological Examination of Subadults at Convento and Paquimé

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Bioarchaeological research has played a significant role in understanding the Casas Grandes region of Northwest Mexico. Excavations at the archaeological sites of Convento and Paquimé recovered ~652 burials dating to AD 700–1450, providing a robust skeletal population for investigations, including research on population demographics, violence patterns, and social stratification. While there is extensive literature on these individuals, previous research focusing on subadults is nonexistent outside of our own. Integrating research on subadults with those of adults is necessary for a more comprehensive understanding of past societies and is particularly useful in understanding the prehispanic Casas Grandes perception of childhood. This study focuses on constructing biological profiles through osteological analyses to gain further understanding of experienced trauma, disease, and demographic information of the subadult population compared to their adult counterparts at Convento and Paquimé. Combined with molecular data, the resulting information is used to address key issues involving Casas Grandes population demographics. Newly constructed biological profiles will provide updated age-at-death and biological sex estimations, trends in physiological stress and trauma experienced by subadults, and any correlations between demographic factors, health, and violence. This will allow for a more comprehensive understanding of Casas Grandes society.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39374.0