The bioarchaeology of the Cerro de la Cruz cemetery, Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract

This paper discusses preliminary bioarchaeological findings from the Late Formative cemetery at Cerro de la Cruz in the lower Río Verde Valley on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca. The Cerro de la Cruz cemetery has figured prominently in a long-running debate over the hypothesized conquest of the region by Monte Albán. We discuss the results of detailed bioarchaeological analyses of 25 individuals from Cerro de la Cruz, including 5 from the cemetery, in the context of an ongoing regional study. Although taphonomic processes complicate the analysis, the individuals from the cemetery do not reveal evidence of traumatic injuries consistent with warfare. Instead, the range of pathological conditions visible on the bones is consistent with broader regional patterns. Although the age profile of the cemetery is clearly biased toward adults, this pattern appears to be the result of cultural selection and not death in battle. We also discuss the migration implications of a strontium isotope analysis from individuals in the cemetery. We consider the Cerro de la Cruz cemetery in relation to four cemeteries discovered in the region that span the Late Formative to the Early Classic periods.