Monte Alban and Teotihuacan connections: can stable isotope analysis of bone and enamel detect migration between two ancient Mesoamerican urban capitals?

Migration is an important factor in the process of urbanization in past and present cities. This study presents new stable carbon and oxygen isotope data from 38 human individuals buried at the ancient Zapotec city of Monte Alban in the modern state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Both bone and enamel tissues were sampled, providing the opportunity to explore mobility over different phases of individuals’ lives. The results document the presence of two statistical outliers and three other individuals who were likely born in foreign locations. One of these non-local individuals (T.8-1(A)) exhibits exceptionally high stable oxygen isotope values in both bone and enamel tissues, suggesting he was born and spent most of his life in a region outside of the valley of Oaxaca, perhaps within the city of Teotihuacan in the Basin of Mexico. The other non-local and possible non-local individuals exhibit outlying stable isotope values in their teeth, but not their bones, suggesting they had moved to Monte Alban many years before death. The results of this study are contextualized within a broader discussion about the nature of the relationship between Monte Alban and Teotihuacan and the possibility of using stable oxygen isotope analysis to detect migration in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica.