BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS OF EPICLASSIC (A.D. 550-900) HILLTOP SETTLEMENTS FROM THE TULA REGION OF HIDALGO, MEXICO
Open Access
- Author:
- Kate, Emily
- Graduate Program:
- Anthropology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- March 20, 2021
- Committee Members:
- Kenneth Gale Hirth, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Kenneth Gale Hirth, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
George Robert Milner, Committee Member
Douglas Kennett, Special Member
Stephen Augustus Matthews, Outside Member
Mary Katherine Shenk, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Tim Ryan, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- Cerro Magoni
La Mesa
Tula
Tula Grande
Isotope
Radiocarbon
Diet
Paleodiet
Coyotlatelco - Abstract:
- Researchers have long debated the structure of Tula Grande’s (AD 900-1150) social-political organization and nature of its influence throughout Central Mexico and beyond. After struggling with this issue for decades, researchers have more recently concluded that if we wish to understand Tula Grande’s functioning at apogee, we should first understand the site’s origin and the social dynamics that led to its foundation. To do this, we must momentarily step away from Tula Grande and turn our focus to the settlements in the region directly prior to Tula’s rise to power. The research presented in this dissertation is a direct outgrowth of this perspective, focusing on Epiclassic hilltop settlements associated with the Coyotlatelco culture complex from the Tula Valley. Coyotlatelco refers to a specific ceramic complex with links to northwestern Mexico that became common during the Epiclassic period, especially in the Tula region, and is thought to represent the sustained presence of northwestern populations in Central Mexico after the decline of Teotihuacan (100 BC-AD 550). Overall, archaeological research in the Tula Valley has remained limited, especially when compared to other urban sites, such as Teotihuacan. Work in the region has largely focused on surface survey, settlement archaeology, and architectural, ceramic, and lithic analyses. All of these areas of inquiry are extremely important to Central Mexican archaeology and their contributions have been immense. Despite this progress, relatively few scholars have turned to skeletal remains as a source of important information, and the analyses detailed in this manuscript are an attempt to glean new information about life at Epiclassic (AD 550-900) hilltop settlements using this previously neglected resource. Traditionally, skeletal collections in Highland Mexico have been used to address questions related to population health, but newer approaches incorporate skeletal material into archaeological discourse in innovative ways. The purpose of this dissertation is to demonstrate how human skeletal remains can be leveraged to address longstanding archaeological questions in the Tula region. In the pursuit of this goal, skeletal remains from the Epiclassic hilltop centers of La Mesa and Cerro Magoni were used to better characterized the radiocarbon chronology of the study sites and to situate the settlements within the cultural context of the Tula region. Additionally, paleodietary reconstructions were completed for the study individuals to evaluate the intersection of identity and food consumption practices. Through these analyses it has been possible to confirm long standing, but untested hypotheses, answer new questions, and provide directions for further inquiry. Finally, in addition to the analysis of new radiocarbon dates and isotopic paleodiet data, this dissertation also provides a review of bioarchaeological research in Central Mexico, a short summary of contextual information related to the La Mesa and Cerro Magoni skeletal collections, and a review of current perspectives on archaeological research in the Tula region. Based on the radiocarbon results presented in this dissertation, it is likely that Cerro Magoni and La Mesa were founded very close in time to one another, prior to the end of the Metepec period (AD 550-650). The founding of the sites prior to AD 650 is significant because the bottomlands of the Tula Valley were potentially still inhabited by Classic period remnant populations. Overcrowding may have been one reason why the La Mesa phase settlements were placed on the inhospitable hilltops surrounding the valley, but the nearly simultaneous founding of centers on nine separate hilltops suggests that any animosity between the Coyotlatelco populations and the Classic period communities was not great enough to encourage the La Mesa phase households to live together in a large settlement. Though the La Mesa phase settlements were founded at the same time, Bayesian modelling indicates that the site of La Mesa was abandoned earlier than Cerro Magoni. This suggests that the transition from the hilltop centers to the lowlands was a gradual process, or that hilltop populations eventually merged. Additionally, modelling also shows that La Mesa phase communities were inhabited longer than researchers initially projected, suggesting that life in these settlements was actually more stable than the literature suggests. Additionally, five previously published radiocarbon dates from the site of Tula Chico were entered in to a Bayesian model to assess if the calibration of the dates could be improved and compared with the new data from Cerro Magoni and La Mesa. Unfortunately, the radiocarbon dates from Tula Chico were not significantly improved by the Bayesian model, but it is likely that Tula Chico was founded at the same time or before Cerro Magoni and La Mesa. The burning of Platform 1 at Tula Chico has long been considered one of the final events of the Epiclassic period in Tula, but the evidence presented here suggests that daily life at Cerro Magoni continued for at least several decades after the event. This may mean that the burning of Platform 1 does not symbolize a great societal shift or struggle that immediately led to Tula Grande’s rise, and it may be prudent to reassess narratives that propose the Toltec state was born from violence and conflict. In addition to analyzing radiocarbon dates from Cerro Magoni, La Mesa, and Tula Chico, stable carbon and nitrogen data from bone collagen was analyzed for individuals from Cerro Magoni and La Mesa. Specifically, three questions were addressed. First the dietary structures of the study sites were estimated and compared to one another. These data were also compared with dietary reconstructions from other Central Mexican communities to assess if the inhabitants of Cerro Magoni and La Mesa exhibited differing dietary practices from one another and if the sites were unique when compared to other Central Mexican examples. Overall, the inhabitants of Cerro Magoni and La Mesa likely consumed diets heavy in C4/CAM resources, supplemented with terrestrial animals. Though diets at the two sites were similar, there was a statistically significant difference in stable carbon values, as individuals from Cerro Magoni were more carbon enriched. This may have been the result of increased maize, amaranth, or pulque consumption. Second, variation in the diets of males and females was also studied. No statistically significant differences were identified, but males at Cerro Magoni were typically more carbon enriched than females. Again, this may be the result of higher pulque consumption, and this explanation aligns wells with the ethnographic record. Finally, the effect of time on stable carbon and nitrogen values was also addressed. A statistically significant correlation between time and the stable collagen trends at Cerro Magoni was found, with values increasing over time and peaking at the end of the Epiclassic period. This is significant because researchers have suggested that a shift in agricultural practice may have led directly facilitated Tula Grande’s rise to power in the AD 900. While these observations cannot fully explain Tula Grande’s development, they do provide important new information about the Epiclassic settlements that surely contributed to the socio-political transitions of the Early Postclassic period. The data presented in this dissertation suggests that the La Mesa phase settlements were less ephemeral than researchers have previously suggested and were probably founded near the end of the Metepec period. Additionally, the sites were not abandoned at the same time, suggesting that the sociopolitical transition that led to Tula Grande’s rise was gradual. Finally, dietary evidence from Cerro Magoni and La Mesa suggests that slight differences may have existed between the two sites, and that practices at Cerro Magoni began to shift during the Epiclassic period, leading to carbon enrichment. This may have been the result of increased maize, amaranth, or pulque exploitation.