No. 15 (2017): enero-junio
Research article

Identification of Human Tissue Remains on Mexican Pre-Hispanic Ritual Instruments

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  • Luisa Mainou Cervantes,
  • Silvia Antuna Bizarro,
  • Teresa Fortoul,
  • Luisa Straulino Mainou
Luisa Mainou Cervantes
Coordinación Nacional de Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural (CNCPC), Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), México
Bio
Silvia Antuna Bizarro
Universidad Autónoma de México
Bio
Teresa Fortoul
Univerisidad Autónoma de México
Bio
Luisa Straulino Mainou
Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
Bio

Published 2025-01-16

Keywords

  • pre-columbian instruments,
  • sacrifice,
  • self-sacrifice,
  • organic remains,
  • Mexico,
  • electron microscopy
    • ...More
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Copyright (c) 2017 Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Identification of Human Tissue Remains on Mexican Pre-Hispanic Ritual Instruments. (2025). Intervención, Revista Internacional De Conservación, Restauración Y Museología, 15, 5-21. https://doi.org/10.30763/Intervencion.2017.15.171

Abstract

This research focuses on seven ritual instruments, whose formal typology has been liked with sacrifice and self-sacrifice in different pre-Hispanic cultures of today Mexico. Its purpose was to find  organic human remains that would link the artefacts with the abovementioned practices. The study began by obtaining samples from four elements made of obsidian, a maguey spike, and two tip points carved out of bone, all which were subjected to scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Finally, an interdisciplinary team of restoration and medicine professionals interpreted the results, which concluded with the identification of diverse organic diagnostics remains, such as blood cells and human tissue remains.

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