Document Detail


Human cremation in Mexico 3,000 years ago.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  18391213     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Mixtec nobles are depicted in codices and other proto-historic documentation taking part in funerary rites involving cremation. The time depth for this practice was unknown, but excavations at the early village site of Tayata, in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico, recovered undisturbed cremation burials in contexts dating from the eleventh century B.C. These are the earliest examples of a burial practice that in later times was reserved for Mixtec kings and Aztec emperors. This article describes the burial contexts and human remains, linking Formative period archaeology with ethnohistorical descriptions of Mixtec mortuary practices. The use of cremation to mark elevated social status among the Mixtec was established by 3,000 years ago, when hereditary differences in rank were first emerging across Mesoamerica.
Authors:
William N Duncan; Andrew K Balkansky; Kimberly Crawford; Heather A Lapham; Nathan J Meissner
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Historical Article; Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.     Date:  2008-04-07
Journal Detail:
Title:  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America     Volume:  105     ISSN:  1091-6490     ISO Abbreviation:  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.     Publication Date:  2008 Apr 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2008-04-09     Completed Date:  2008-06-10     Revised Date:  2010-09-22    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7505876     Medline TA:  Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  5315-20     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY 14618, USA. bduncan@sjfc.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Archaeology
Funeral Rites / history
History, Ancient
Humans
Mexico
Mortuary Practice / history*
Social Class
Comments/Corrections

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