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Description
Samples for this histological analysis (DCIA) were collected at el ex-Convento de Cuilápam de Guerrero during the 2014 field season in Oaxaca, Mexico. The 28 individuals (45 teeth) belong to the Late Formative site of Cerro de la Cruz (400BCE - 100CE), which was originally excavated in 1988 as part of the Río Verde Formative Project. Cerro de la Cruz is an important site, as it represents one of the earliest transitions from a hunter/gatherer subsistence into an agricultural subsistence. The site consists of three habitation areas, Zone A (22 individuals) a public cemetery while Zone B (2 individuals) and Zone C (4 individuals) contain domestic burials. The Dental Cementum Increment Analysis (DCIA) provided challenges, answered questions proposed in this thesis, and provided previously unknown data (season of death). Originally it was unknown if samples from this region and time period would provide any results. Preservation of the samples was the biggest concern and after analysis, this thesis shows that teeth from an archaeological context of great antiquity can provide an age and season of death. In answering the questions proposed, it was shown that an individual’s burial location was not influenced by sex, age, body position, or season of death (p-value >= ⍺/.05). Second, a reliable age estimate was provided for 23 individuals (n=28 total) and for 24 individuals (n=28 total) a season of death was determined. Third, DICA analysis shows a greater number of summer deaths (n=15) than winter deaths (n=9). This new information suggests a greater susceptibility to infection and disease during the rainy season (summer). Finally, it was shown that age estimates from DCIA and estimates from other skeletal elements agree on the majority. All together this histological analysis has contributed to the bio-archaeological understanding of the people from Cerro de la Cruz.
