Human Migration in Ancient Mesoamerica

本研究的主要问题涉及古墨西哥的移民和人类运动。T. Douglas Price博士和来自墨西哥、美国和加拿大的同事将使用同位素示踪剂调查个人移动的证据。我们将利用涉及史前骨骼化学的新技术，直接评估过去的人类运动。就像医生使用同位素来追踪你体内的路径一样，人类骨骼和牙齿中的锶同位素使考古学家能够追踪过去人们在一个地区的活动。在新大陆，这项研究将首次使用三种同位素（锶、氧和铅）的组合来提高迁移证据的分辨率。这种结合应该为确定移徙者和原籍地提供强有力的手段。这种方法的原理很简单。出生地环境的同位素永久地固定在牙釉质中。然而，在人的一生中，骨头会不断地自我重建，骨头中的同位素将代表死亡地点的环境。牙釉质同位素和死亡地点同位素之间的差异意味着这个人一生中一定从一个地方搬到另一个地方。在某些情况下，可以确定这个人来自哪里。锶、铅和氧的同位素反映了出生地的地质和气候的不同信息。因此，结合使用几种同位素将提高我们识别移民和寻找其原籍地的能力。就学术价值而言，该项目将提供有关前拉美时期中美洲人类运动的性质和规模以及该地区不同民族和文化之间关系的新信息。我们希望对精英、平民和牺牲者的起源、城市发展的本质、主要中心之间的政治关系以及特奥蒂瓦坎与其他古典中美洲国家之间关系的本质提供深入的见解。该研究还将记录同位素方法在人类迁移调查中的应用。与此同时，我们正在开发史前人类遗骸来源的新方法。这项研究的更广泛的影响将是展示新的科学方法对古老的考古问题的应用，并使一些年轻学者参与这一过程。该项目是一个由资深科学家、年轻同事和研究生合作的项目。这是一个国际性的研究项目，来自北美各地的学者都参与其中。我们的工作还将与危地马拉、伯利兹和洪都拉斯的当地考古学家进行交流。这项研究将产生至少一篇博士论文，并在各种期刊上发表，包括拉丁美洲古代和考古科学杂志等。

The major question of this research involves migration and human movement in ancient Mexico. Dr. T. Douglas Price and colleagues from Mexico, the U.S., and Canada will be investigating evidence for the movement of individuals using isotopic tracers. We will utilize new techniques involving the chemistry of prehistoric bone that allow direct evaluation of past human movement. Just as medical doctors use isotopes to follow pathways in your body, strontium isotopes in human bones and teeth allow archaeologists to follow past peoples in their movement across a region. For the first time in the New World, this research will use a combination of three isotopes (strontium, oxygen, and lead) for enhanced resolution of migration evidence. This combination should provide powerful means for identifying both migrants and places of origin.The principle of the method is straightforward. The isotopes of the environment of the place of birth are permanently fixed in tooth enamel. Bone, however, rebuilds itself continuously through a person's life and the isotopes in bone will represent the environment of the place of death. A different between the enamel isotopes and the place of death isotopes means that the person must have moved from one place to another during life. In some cases it is possible to determine where that person came from. Strontium, lead, and oxygen isotopes reflect different kinds of information on the geology and climate of the place of birth. Thus the use of several isotopes in combination will improve our ability to identify migrants and to search for their place of origin.In terms of intellectual merit, this project will provide new information on the nature and scale of human movement in prehispanic Mesoamerica and on relationships between different peoples and cultures in this region. We hope to provide insight on the origins of elite, commoners, and sacrificial victims, of the nature of urban growth, political relationships between major centers, and the nature of the relationship between Teotihuacan and the rest of Classic Mesoamerica. The study will also document the application of isotopic methods for the investigation of human migration. At the same time we are developing new methods for the proveniencing of prehistoric human remains.The broader impact of study will be to demonstrate the application of new scientific methods to old archaeological questions and involve a number of young scholars in the process. The project is cooperative one among senior scientists, younger colleagues, and graduate students. This is an international research project involving scholars from throughout North America. Our work will also interface with local archaeologists in Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. The research will result in at least one PhD dissertation as well as publications in a variety of journals including Latin American Antiquity and the Journal of Archaeological Science, among others.