Building Mexican isoscapes: Oxygen and hydrogen isotope data of meteoric water sampled across Mexico

Oxygen and hydrogen isotope data of meteoric water samples are compiled from several States across Mexico. This dataset includes 287 oxygen and hydrogen (and deuterium excess) isotope data corresponding to meteoric water collected from the surface, groundwater wells, irrigation and observation wells, and water supply boreholes. These data facilitate the development of maps to determine the spatial distribution of water stable isotopes, also known as “isoscapes”, of the Mexican territory. As such, this dataset (and the isoscapes built from it) is useful in geographic mobility studies that aim to evaluate geographic origins and residency of particular human and/or non-human individuals in antiquity and in contemporary times. Further discussion about the data and an example of an isoscape of Mexico using the meteoric water oxygen isotope data are provided in “Residential Patterns of Mexica Human Sacrifices at Mexico-Tenochtitlan and Mexico-Tlatelolco: Evidence from Phosphate Oxygen Isotopes” (Moreiras Reynaga et al., 2021). Overall, the dataset is useful in developing interpolated maps of water stable isotopes for relevant archeological, bioarchaeological, forensic, hydrogeological, and ecological research

Cueva del Lazo: Child Sacrifice or Special Funerary Treatment? Discussion of a Late Classic Context from the Zoque Region of Western Chiapas (Mexico)

The text discusses the archaeological remains from Cueva del Lazo (Chiapas, Mexico), a ritual precinct that yielded a group of 11 Late-Terminal Classic children’s partially mummified remains. Uncommon and rich contextual information, mainly derived from the exceptional preservation of perishable materials due to the dry climate of the cave, suggests that the interments could be interpreted as postsacrificial deposits or, alternatively, as funerary contexts whose special character could be linked to the specific sociocultural identity of the buried individuals, all of whom are under six years of age. In order to discuss these possibilities, we describe the archaeological context of the cave as well as review the available archaeological and ethnohistorical information on child sacrifices in Mesoamerica, in order to sketch a meaningful framework useful for interpreting the excavated burials