Geographic Origins, Status, and Identity at Paquimé, Northwest Chihuahua, Mexico

Offenbecker, Adrianne M.

Geographic Origins, Status, and Identity at Paquimé, Northwest Chihuahua, Mexico

dc.contributor.advisor	Katzenberg, Mary Anne
dc.contributor.author	Offenbecker, Adrianne M.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Wilson, Warren M.
dc.contributor.committeemember	McCafferty, Geoffrey G.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Wieser, Michael E.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Wright, Lori Ellen
dc.date	2018-06
dc.date.accessioned	2018-05-03T13:54:37Z
dc.date.available	2018-05-03T13:54:37Z
dc.date.issued	2018-04-27
dc.description.abstract	This thesis examines migration at Paquimé, an important prehistoric site in northwest Mexico that is widely recognized for its mix of Mesoamerican and Southwestern traits. The presence of foreign objects and ideology has stimulated debate over whether Medio Period (A.D. 1200-1450) culture change was due to the arrival of foreign elites in the Casas Grandes region or to local developments. A crucial step in addressing this debate is to determine if high status immigrants were indeed present at Paquimé, which is the goal of this study. This is accomplished by using radiogenic strontium and stable oxygen isotope analyses to determine the geographic origins of a large sample of individuals from Paquimé and the Viejo Period Convento site. Comparative samples from sites within and outside the Casas Grandes region were analyzed to identify potential geographic origins of non-local individuals. Mortuary analyses were then conducted to assess social status and identity. Finally, two bioarchaeological case studies from mortuary contexts with suspected human sacrifices are presented to examine the relationship between geographic origins and ritual violence, and to explore the impacts of migration on Medio Period social dynamics. The results indicate that ~87% of Paquimé individuals were born locally or came from within the Casas Grandes region, while 13% migrated from neighbouring regions, including the American Southwest and other parts of northwest or west Mexico. At Convento, ~92% were local to the Casas Grandes region. Although the Medio Period was characterized by migration from more distant locations when compared to the preceding Viejo Period, none of the immigrants from neighbouring regions received high status mortuary treatment. Instead, the most elaborate burials at Paquimé belong to locally-born individuals, whose status was likely linked to ritual authority. Furthermore, most of the sacrificial victims were non-locals. These results suggest that Medio Period culture change was driven primarily by internal stimuli, including population aggregation from within the Casas Grandes region and sociopolitical maneuvering by local elites. The results also indicate that social tensions and competition for status, power, and/or resources led to asymmetrical power dynamics between locals and immigrants, which sometimes played out in ritually-charged contexts.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Offenbecker, A. M. (2018). Geographic Origins, Status, and Identity at Paquimé, Northwest Chihuahua, Mexico (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/31879	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/31879
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/106593
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.publisher.faculty	Arts
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.publisher.place	Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	bioarchaeology
dc.subject	isotope analysis
dc.subject	mortuary archaeology
dc.subject	ritual violence
dc.subject	human sacrifice
dc.subject	northwest Mexico
dc.subject.classification	Education--Physical	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Anthropology	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Archaeology	en_US
dc.title	Geographic Origins, Status, and Identity at Paquimé, Northwest Chihuahua, Mexico
dc.type	doctoral thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Archaeology
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true