Vol. 30 No. 87 (2023): Voces de la frontera noroccidental. Territorio, cultura y población
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Health conditions on the Northern Frontier of Mesoamerica:: Two bone samples from the Malpaso Valley, Zacatecas

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  • Almudena Gómez Ortiz,
  • Charles D. Trombold

Published 2023-07-19 — Updated on 2024-01-07

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Keywords

  • Mesoamerican North, Malpaso Valley, Epiclassic, Paleopathology, Bioarchaeology

How to Cite

Health conditions on the Northern Frontier of Mesoamerica:: Two bone samples from the Malpaso Valley, Zacatecas. (2024). Cuicuilco Revista De Ciencias Antropológicas, 30(87), 17-41. https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/cuicuilco/article/view/19572 (Original work published 2023)

Abstract

This article offers an approach to the health conditions of the ancient inhabitants of the Malpaso valley in the current state of Zacatecas, Mexico, through the analysis of the osteological indicators present in two skeletal samples dated to the epiclassic period (c. 500-800 CE) from two archaeological sites close to each other, La Quemada and site MV-206. The osteological sample from La Quemada corresponds to a ceremonial context while that of site MV-206 is from domestic contexts. The results obtained were compared with each other, concluding that both collections manifested similar pathologies, predominantly indicators of iron deficiency (cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis) and suffering from infections (periostitis, osteomyelitis), evidencing that the two population samples studied were subjected to nutritional stress. Other biomarkers of interest were also identified, such as trauma and auditory exostosis. This study provides unpublished data about the diseases that affected the ancient inhabitants of this region located geographically in the center of Mexico.

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