Humans have always been fascinated by wild carnivores. This has led to a unique interaction with these beasts, one in which these key figures played an important role as main icons in state imperialism and domination. At the Classic period site of Teotihuacan, Mexico (100/1 B.C. to A.D. 550/650), this was no exception, as large beasts (jaguars, pumas, wolves, eagles, serpents, etc.) were used in large dedicatory caches and were plastered on elaborate mural paintings. Under the supervision of Dr. Richard Meadow, Nawa Sugiyama will complete her dissertation research analyzing the zooarchaeological remains excavated at three pyramidal structures at Teotihuacan: the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, the Moon Pyramid and the Sun Pyramid. By analyzing the fauna recovered from dedicatory caches and surrounding areas at the ceremonial precinct four main research questions will be investigated: 1) What were the dynamic ritual processes that took place during the dedication ritual? 2) What changes do we see in the types of human-animal interactions with wild carnivores? 3) What was the importance of animals in public rituals at the central ceremonial precinct? And, 4) what role did these animals play in constructing state-level hierarchies?
A multi-methodological approach, integrating zooarchaeological, isotopic, spatial and iconographic analyses will be used in the light of existing ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and religious studies literature. This project will also contribute to another important aspect in understanding past human behavior, one that examines the initiation of human control over nature. Preliminary results demonstrate evidence of pathologies and surface modifications that demonstrate some of the carnivores deposited in these dedicatory caches were in kept in captivity for prolonged periods. For example, several individuals demonstrate they survived fatal injuries that would have restricted the animal's movement, making it unable to hunt in the wild. The Teotihuacan state thus had not only symbolic, but physical control over these wild carnivores. At these dedication rituals, the fauna were part of a state program of power negotiation and embodiment where these animals became social actors. This case study points to the importance of fauna in the construction of social hierarchies, a relationship that should be investigated for ancient civilizations worldwide.
This study will contribute to graduate student training as well as support international collaboration among specialists in zooarchaeology, biology, and isotope bone chemistry. Preliminary results are already being presented at international conferences and have led to publications in both English and Spanish. Furthermore, the consolidation and long term preservation of the faunal collection is of central concern, as these materials are part of offering caches that are considered part of national patrimony and have already been utilized in various museum exhibits. Each individual is carefully restored and consolidated for long term preservation for future research and for public education. The data accumulated through this project will become accessible to a wider academic community, as one of the goals for this project is to create a three dimensional database for the Moon Pyramid Project from burial contexts using the three dimensional map created by the project.
Spanish conquistadors entering the Aztec capital marveled at the existence of Moctezuma’s zoo where ferocious carnivores and exotic fauna were kept in captivity for ritualistic purposes. This project – investigating the animal remains from Teotihuacan, Mexico – has pushed back this practice of specialized animal management for ritualistic purposes more than nine centuries earlier than the 15th century when the first explorers left vivid descriptions of caged pumas, jaguars, wolves, serpents and eagles. In the Moon Pyramid and Sun Pyramid at Teotihuacan, large state-sponsored dedicatory caches embedded these same carnivores as sacrificial victims and as part of ritual paraphernalia. Nearly two hundred animals from this context were analyzed, not only to determine what species, age, and sex these animals were, but also to reconstruct how the Teotihuacan population interacted with and conceptualized these ferocious beasts. The results of this investigation have provided the first direct evidence for capturing wild carnivores for ritual purpose as determined by analysis of skeletal pathologies and paleodietary reconstructions based on isotope analysis. As a case in point, we know that a female puma 18 months old injured its right femoral head, causing her to limp. In the wild, this would have been a fatal injury to a solitary predator that would not have been able to hunt, but bone remodeling around this injury shows that she survived this wound. In addition in her stomach cavity were found the remains of cooked rabbits, this providing direct evidence that she was fed. Results of bone isotopic investigation confirm this interpretation, as many of the carnivorous animals deposited as sacrificial victims consumed high levels of C4 grasses such as maize. In reconstructing how individual animals moved through natural and cultural landscapes, one must question what effects a fundamental shift in human-animal interactions, now characterized by subordinance and control, would have had on the socio-political landscape. This project highlights the elemental process of how key symbols in ritualized performances were created, reified, and solidified as the Teotihuacan state developed a highly effective state ideology. The research brought together rigorous scientific methods (zooarchaeology and isotope bone chemistry) with iconographic, ethnohistoric and ethnographic approaches to create a holistic understanding of the role of animal medians in state imperialism and domination. Details previously unattainable about the ritualized process – from the capture and maintenance of the animal, to the selection process as individual animals were set apart and consecrated as sacred animals suitable for sacrifice – were retrieved through this multi-methodological investigation.
