Laboratory for Archaeological Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
Facultad de Ciencias Antropológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, km. 1, Carr. Mérida Tizimín, CP 97305, Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2019 Sep;170(1):98-115. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.23879. Epub 2019 Jul 11.
The ancient city of Chichén Itzá in the northern Yucatán of Mexico was one of the most important in the Maya area, but its origins and history are poorly understood. A major question concerns the origins of the peoples who founded and later expanded the ancient city. Hundreds of people were ritually executed and their bodies thrown into the waters of the Sacred Cenote at Chichén.
In this study, we use strontium and oxygen isotopes to study the place of origin of a large sample of these individuals. Isotopes are deposited in human tooth enamel. Enamel forms during the first years of life, remains largely unchanged long past death, and can provide a signature of the place of birth. If the isotope ratios in enamel are different from the place of death, the individual must have moved during his/her lifetime.
Comparison of our results from the cenote with information on isotope ratios across the Maya region and elsewhere suggests that the individuals in the cenote came from a number of different parts of Mexico and possibly beyond.
It is not known if all of the sacrificial victims resided in Chichén Itzá, but their suggested origins likely reflect patterns of population movement and social networks that existed between Chichén Itzá and both neighboring and distant regions. Various lines of evidence point to places in the Yucatán, along the Gulf Coast, Central America, or even in the Central Highlands of Mexico.
墨西哥尤卡坦半岛北部的奇琴伊察古城曾是玛雅地区最重要的城市之一，但它的起源和历史却鲜为人知。一个主要问题涉及到建立和后来扩展这座古城的民族的起源。数百人被仪式处决，他们的尸体被扔进奇琴伊察的圣井水中。
在这项研究中，我们使用锶和氧同位素来研究这些个体的大量样本的起源地。同位素沉积在人类牙釉质中。牙釉质在生命的头几年形成，在死亡后很长一段时间内基本保持不变，可以提供出生地的特征。如果牙釉质中的同位素比值与死亡地点不同，则该个体在其一生中必须发生过迁移。
将我们从圣井中得到的结果与玛雅地区和其他地区的同位素比值信息进行比较，表明圣井中的个体来自墨西哥的许多不同地区，甚至可能来自更远的地方。
目前尚不清楚所有的祭祀受害者是否都居住在奇琴伊察，但他们的起源地可能反映了奇琴伊察与周边和遥远地区之间存在的人口流动和社会网络模式。各种证据表明，这些人可能来自尤卡坦半岛、墨西哥湾沿岸、中美洲，甚至是墨西哥的中央高地。
