Diet and residential mobility within the Late Classic elite Maya households of Chinikiha, Chiapas, Mexico
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Diet and residential mobility within the Late Classic elite Maya households of Chinikiha, Chiapas, Mexico Samantha S. Negrete 1 & Isabel Casar 2 & Andrew D. Somerville 3
&
Pedro Morales 4 & Rodrigo Liendo Stuardo 5
Received: 13 April 2020 / Accepted: 6 September 2020 / Published online: 27 September 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract This paper provides new information about the social structure of the Late Classic (AD 600–800) Maya by using stable isotope analysis to analyze dietary practices and migration histories of 22 elite individuals from three residential compounds at the archaeological site of Chinikiha in Chiapas, Mexico. The research assess whether intra-elite social differentiation was practiced through consumptive practices and simultaneously explores residential histories of individuals in the sample. Diet is determined by carbon- and nitrogen-stable isotope analysis of both bones and teeth; residential mobility is studied by stable oxygen isotope analysis. The results find no significant differences in stable isotope values between the sexes, between residential compounds, or between individuals with different burial treatments. However, children may have had diets with higher maize consumption than adults. Additionally, three individuals with childhood locations outside of Chinikihá are identified. This study contributes a nuanced understanding of the social structure of the ancient Maya elite, and at least in the case of Chinikiha, suggests minimal intra-household status differentiation in terms of diet. Keywords Ancient Maya . Stable isotopes . Paleodiet . Mobility . Bioarchaeology
Introduction Over the past few decades, bioarchaeological studies have greatly contributed to our understanding of the lifeways of * Andrew D. Somerville [email protected] 1
Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social, Unidad Peninsular, Carretera Sierra Papacal Km 5, Tablaje 31266 s/col. C.P, 97302 Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
2
Instituto de Física, Circuito de Investigación Científica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán, C.P, 2376 Mexico City, Mexico
3
Department of World Languages and Cultures, Iowa State University, 505 Morrill Rd, 3102 Pearson Hall, Ames, IA 50011, USA
4
Laboratorio de isótopos estables, Instituto de Geología, Circuito de Investigación Científica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán,, C.P. 2376 Mexico City, Mexico
5
Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Circuito Exterior, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán,, C.P. 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
the ancient Maya peoples of southern Mexico and Central America (e.g., Whittington and Reed 2006; Scherer 2017). In addition to the traditional bioarchaeological goals of reconstructing health status and paleopathologies (Wright and White 1996; Cucina and Tiesler 2003), studies now routinely employ stable isotope analysis
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