7th World Congress on Mummy Studies University of San Diego San ...
7th World Congress on Mummy Studies University of San Diego San ...
7th World Congress on Mummy Studies University of San Diego San ...
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ABSTRACTS.–.Symposia<br />
200 The “Why” <strong>of</strong> the Mortuary C<strong>on</strong>text <strong>of</strong> Mexican Mummies,<br />
ILÁN LEBOREIRO* and JOSEFINA.MANSILLA.(Dirección.<br />
de.Antropología.Fisica,.Instituto.Naci<strong>on</strong>al.de.Antropología.e.Historia,.<br />
Reforma. y. Gandhi. s/n,. Col.. Polanco,. México,. D.F.. 11560;.<br />
ilanleboreiro@hotmail.com)..<br />
The. cultural. practices. around. death. expressed. by. ancient.<br />
human.groups.through.the.bioarchaeological.c<strong>on</strong>text,.has.been.<strong>of</strong>.<br />
great.interest.to.anthropology.since.the.nineteenth.century..Without.a.doubt,.those.practices.imply.the.manipulati<strong>on</strong>.<strong>of</strong>.the.cultural.<br />
material,. reflecting. social. relati<strong>on</strong>s. and. cultural. ideals,. being. the.<br />
human.body.the.principal.element.to.c<strong>on</strong>sider.in.the.mortuary.c<strong>on</strong>text..The.vast.majority.<strong>of</strong>.mummified.bodies.found.in.México.have.been.the.result.<strong>of</strong>.d<strong>on</strong>ati<strong>on</strong>s,.looting,.or.archeological.rescues..Nevertheless,.even.when.the.mortuary.c<strong>on</strong>text.from.which.those.mommies.come.from.is.modified.or.destroyed,.it.is.sometimes.possible.<br />
to.rec<strong>on</strong>struct.that.c<strong>on</strong>text,.meaning.that.we.can.have.an.idea.<strong>of</strong>.the.<br />
“how”.<strong>of</strong>.a.burial.site..But.to.be.able.to.understand.the.“why”.<strong>of</strong>.<br />
a.mortuary.c<strong>on</strong>text,.implies.a.different.methodology..In.this.study.<br />
we.integrate.the.interdisciplinary.analysis.around.the.mortuary.c<strong>on</strong>texts.appealing.to.the.ethnohistorical.testim<strong>on</strong>ies.that.describe.the.<br />
cultural.aspects.<strong>of</strong>.the.ethnic.groups.from.Northeast.México,.and.<br />
c<strong>on</strong>trasted.the.bioarcheological.evidences.with.the.available.data.<br />
from.burial.ritual.practices.<br />
201 Brief Overview about the Mexican Mummies, JOSEFINA<br />
MANSILLA* and ILÁN LEBOREIRO (Dirección. de. Antropología.<br />
Fisica,. Instituto. Naci<strong>on</strong>al. de. Antropología. e. Historia,.<br />
Reforma. y. Gandhi. s/n,. Col.. Polanco,. México,. D.F.. 11560;. dra_<br />
mansilla@yahoo.com)..<br />
Mummified. bodies. in. México. have. been. documented. since.<br />
the.pre-Columbian,.this.phenomen<strong>on</strong>.is.mostly.due.to.the.dry.or.<br />
semiarid.envir<strong>on</strong>ment.<strong>of</strong>.some.caves,.crypts,.underneath.churchs’.<br />
floors,.or.other.places.where.the.corpses.quickly.suffer.dehydrati<strong>on</strong>,.<br />
therefore. avoiding. the. natural. process. <strong>of</strong>. decompositi<strong>on</strong>. changes.<br />
attributed.to.microbial.and.autolytic.acti<strong>on</strong>s..The.aim.<strong>of</strong>.this.paper.<br />
is.to.describe.and.compare.the.different.bioarchaeologial.characteristics.<strong>of</strong>.some.<strong>of</strong>.these.corpses.through.different.epochs.in.México.<br />
202 México’s Most Ancient <strong>Mummy</strong>: Tm-c-247 at Romero´s Cave,<br />
JOSEFINA MANSILLA* . and ILÁN LEBOREIRO.(Dirección.<br />
de.Antropología.Fisica,.Instituto.Naci<strong>on</strong>al.de.Antropología.e.Historia,.Reforma.y.Gandhi.s/n,.Col..Polanco,.México,.D.F.,.11560;.<br />
dra_mansilla@yahoo.com).<br />
Back.in.the.1950´s.the.archeological.research.c<strong>on</strong>ducted.by.<br />
Richard. McNeish. in. the. South. <strong>of</strong>. Tamaulipas. has. been. <strong>of</strong>. great.<br />
significance.for.the.modern.Mexican.archaeology..His.methodical.<br />
excavati<strong>on</strong>s.in.the.regi<strong>on</strong>.unraveled.the.history.<strong>of</strong>.the.Prehispanic.<br />
groups.that.inhabited.that.area..In.the.Southwest.z<strong>on</strong>e.<strong>of</strong>.the.state,.<br />
in.1955,.McNeish.excavated.the.caves.at.the.Infiernillo.Cany<strong>on</strong>,.<br />
particularly.the.Romero,.Valenzuela.and.Ojo.de.Agua..He.established.a.stratigraphical.cultural.sequence.based.<strong>on</strong>.food.remains.and.<br />
archaeological.material,.covering.approximately.from.7000.B.C..to.<br />
1500.A.D..In.the.Romero.cave.at.the.Ocampo.regi<strong>on</strong>,.catalogued.<br />
as.Tm-c-247,.he.reports.nine.human.burials.found.am<strong>on</strong>g.the.sixteen.settlements.in.that.cave..Even.when.he.doesn’t.refer.to.them.<br />
explicitly.as.mummies,.he.thoroughly.details.the.cultural.material.<br />
associated. to. each. <strong>on</strong>e. <strong>of</strong>. these. burials.. Once. he. c<strong>on</strong>cluded. with.<br />
the.excavati<strong>on</strong>s.and.until.the.last.five.years,.the.“McNeish.Mummies”.were.believed.as.vanished..Fifty.years.went.by.until.the.rediscovery.<strong>of</strong>.these.mummies;.we.have.recently.studied.them.and.<br />
106<br />
here. are. some. bioarchaeological. results,. such. as. the. radiocarb<strong>on</strong>.<br />
analysis.which.determined.that.<strong>of</strong>.<strong>on</strong>e.<strong>of</strong>.the.mummies.is.the.most.<br />
ancient.Mexican.mummy.<br />
203 Ancient DNA from Mummified Tissue in México: A Case Study<br />
for the Early Col<strong>on</strong>izati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> the Americas, CRISTINA VAL-<br />
DIOSERA 1 *, COLIN SMITH 1 , MORTEN RASMUSSEN 1 ,<br />
VICTOR MORENO 1 , ESKE WILLERLEV 1 , ILÁN LEB-<br />
OREIRO 2 , and JOSEFINA MANSILLA 2. ( 1 Center.for.GeoGenetics,.Geologiske.Museum,.Oster.Voldgade.5-7;.1350,.Copenhagen.<br />
K,. Denmark;. 2 Dirección. de.Antropologia. Fisica,. Instituto. Naci<strong>on</strong>al.de.Antropologia.e.Historia,.Reforma.y.Gandhi.s/n,.C.P..11560,.<br />
México. D.F.. cvaldioser@yahoo.es;. ilanleboreiro@hotmail.com;.<br />
dra_mansilla@yahoo.com).<br />
Ancient.DNA.can.be.obtained.from.several.different.sources.<br />
such. as. b<strong>on</strong>e,. teeth,. hair,. seeds,. coprolites. and. soil,. <strong>of</strong>. different.<br />
ages.and.envir<strong>on</strong>ments..Mummified.material.represents.an.excellent.source.<strong>of</strong>.DNA.due.to.its.excepti<strong>on</strong>al.molecular.preservati<strong>on</strong>..<br />
Moreover,.mummy.hair.provides.<strong>on</strong>e.<strong>of</strong>.the.best.possible.sources.<strong>of</strong>.<br />
ancient.DNA.as.hair.is.robust.to.human.c<strong>on</strong>taminati<strong>on</strong>.that.blights.<br />
such. studies. and. hair. sampling. is. less. destructive. than. sampling.<br />
teeth.or.b<strong>on</strong>es..Here.we.present.preliminary.results.obtained.from.<br />
ancient.DNA.analysis.<strong>of</strong>.pre-Columbian.mummies.from.México..<br />
As. part. <strong>of</strong>. an. <strong>on</strong>going. project,. this. data. is. combined. with. the.<br />
anthropological. c<strong>on</strong>text,. radiocarb<strong>on</strong>. dates,. and. novel. stable. isotopic.techniques.to.provide.informati<strong>on</strong>.about.the.genetic.diversity.<br />
<strong>of</strong>. Amerindian. populati<strong>on</strong>s. in. México. and. palaeodietary. preferences.<strong>of</strong>.these.individuals..This.data.will.be.integrated.further.into.a.<br />
larger.study.<strong>of</strong>.ancient.DNA.with.samples.spanning.both.the.North.<br />
and.South.American.c<strong>on</strong>tinents.and.the.time.range.<strong>of</strong>.the.earliest.<br />
col<strong>on</strong>izers.. Within. this. c<strong>on</strong>tinental. and. temporal. framework. the.<br />
Mexican.samples.discussed.here.represent.an.optimal.case.study.to.<br />
analyze.the.genetic.diversity.in.the.Americas.right.before.European.<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tact.at.approximately.500.years.ago..Part.<strong>of</strong>.these.populati<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
are.thus.some.<strong>of</strong>.the.latest.samples.(i.e..l<strong>on</strong>gest.surviving.lineages).<br />
and. they. represent. an. important. locati<strong>on</strong>. in. the. c<strong>on</strong>tinent. where.<br />
gene.flow.will.almost.certainly.have.taken.place.<br />
204 Traditi<strong>on</strong>s <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Northern Mexican Desert: Furwrapped<br />
and Flexed Positi<strong>on</strong>ed Mummies <strong>of</strong> Infant Cadavers,<br />
LETICIA GONzALEz 1 *, JOSEFINA MANSILLA 2 , SANDRA<br />
POMPA 3 , MARCO ANTONIO RODRIGUEz 4 , and ILÁN<br />
LEBOREIRO 2 ( 1 Museo. Regi<strong>on</strong>al. de. La. Laguna,. Bosque.Venustiano.Carranza.s/n,.Torre<strong>on</strong>,.Coahuila,.C.P..27000;.<br />
2 Dirección.de.<br />
Antropología. Fisica,. Instituto. Naci<strong>on</strong>al. de.Antropología. e. Historia,.Reforma.y.Gandhi.s/n,.C.P..11560,.México,.D.F.;.<br />
3 Universidad.<br />
Naci<strong>on</strong>al.Aut<strong>on</strong>oma.de.México,.Instituto.de.Ecología,.Laboratorio.<br />
de.Ecologia.y.C<strong>on</strong>servaci<strong>on</strong>.de.Fauna.Silvestre,.Ciudad.Universitaria,.C.P..04510,.México.D.F.;.<br />
4 Universidad.Naci<strong>on</strong>al.Aut<strong>on</strong>oma.de.<br />
México,.Instituto.de.Ecología,.Laboratorio.de.Evolución.Molecular.<br />
y. Experimental,. Ciudad. Universitaria,. C.P.. 04510,. México,. D.F.;.<br />
legoar@yahoo.com)..<br />
In. the. northern. Mexican. desert,. several. infant. mummies,.<br />
flexed-positi<strong>on</strong>ed,.wrapped.in.animal.skin.and.woven.mat.(petate),.<br />
have.been.found.buried.or.in.caves..From.these,.two.cases.from.the.<br />
Cuatrociénegas.regi<strong>on</strong>.with.these.features.are.described.and.analyzed..We.also.discuss.the.<strong>on</strong>e.published.by.Walter.Taylor.(1968).in.the.same.regi<strong>on</strong>..These.two.Mexican.cases.are.compared.and.discussed.with.the.<strong>on</strong>es.described.in.Texas,.being.these.sites.are.ecologically.similar.and.were.used.by.the.same.hunter/collector.tribes.
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