Stable Isotopes and Zooarchaeology at Teotihuacan, Mexico Reveal Earliest Evidence of Wild Carnivore Management in Mesoamerica

PloS One
Nawa SugiyamaMargaret J Schoeninger

Abstract

From Roman gladiatorial combat to Egyptian animal mummies, the capture and manipulation of carnivores was instrumental in helping to shape social hierarchies throughout the ancient world. This paper investigates the historical inflection point when humans began to control animals not only as alimental resources but as ritual symbols and social actors in the New World. At Teotihuacan (A.D. 1-550), one of the largest pre-Hispanic cities, animal remains were integral components of ritual caches expressing state ideology and militarism during the construction of the Moon and the Sun Pyramids. The caches contain the remains of nearly 200 carnivorous animals, human sacrificial victims and other symbolic artifacts. This paper argues the presence of skeletal pathologies of infectious disease and injuries manifest on the carnivore remains show direct evidence of captivity. Stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of bones and teeth confirms that some of these carnivores were consuming high levels of C4 foods, likely reflecting a maize-based anthropocentric food chain. These results push back the antiquity of keeping captive carnivores for ritualistic purposes nearly 1000 years before the Spanish conquistadors described Moctezuma's zoo at...Continue Reading

References

Mar 1, 1971·Plant Physiology·B N Smith, S Epstein
Jan 6, 2009·The New Phytologist·Margaret M Barbour, David T Hanson
Dec 15, 2011·Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies·Chitoshi Mizota, Toshiro Yamanaka

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Citations

Feb 8, 2018·Royal Society Open Science·Aurelie ManinCamilla F Speller
Mar 21, 2018·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Ashley E SharpeJohn Krigbaum
Jun 24, 2021·Animal Frontiers : the Review Magazine of Animal Agriculture·Andrew D Somerville, Nawa Sugiyama

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Moctezuma

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