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

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th 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 at least 652 burials dating to AD 700-1450, almost half of which were designated as subadult burials based on original site documents. This provides a robust skeletal population for subadult investigations, including research on population demographics, patterns of violence, and social stratification. While there is extensive literature on these individuals, research focusing solely on subadults has been nearly nonexistent. This study focuses on the construction of biological profiles through osteological analyses to gain further understanding of experienced trauma, disease, and demographic information of the subadult population at Convento and Paquimé. Combined with molecular data, the resulting information is used to address key issues involving Casas Grandes population demographics. The integration of research of subadults with those of adults is necessary for a more comprehensive understanding of past societies and is particularly useful in understanding the pre-Hispanic Casas Grandes perception of childhood, social organization, and violence. ***This presentation will include images of human remains.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 53711