Strontium Isotopic Evidence Reveals Sustained Levels of Intraregional Migration at the Postclassic City of Mayapán

Summary

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

We examine the process of migration using strontium isotope ratios from human enamel to shed light on the organization of the Mayapán polity during the formation (1200–1250 CE), apogee (1250–1400 CE), and decline (1400–1500 CE) of the city (N = 58). Our results support consistent local aggregation within the Chicxulub Basin and immigration from across the Yucatán Peninsula. Although we did not identify migration from outside the Maya lowlands, the results suggest that intra-regional movements remained a key component of the population structure during all three periods. Strontium data from the third molar of 16 burials suggests high residential mobility during childhood and adolescence prior to interment at Mayapán. While we identified considerable stability between socioeconomic groups within the sample population, we found higher similarity between high-status burials inside the monumental core and most low-status burials across the city than with high-status burials in the settlement zone, who all exhibited origins outside the Chicxulub Basin. Additionally, 13 out of the 17 casualties exhibited nonlocal values. These results suggest that the urban population consisted of a high percentage of first-generation immigrants and demonstrate the regional origins of the cosmopolitan nature of this important Postclassic period center.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39038.0