Chupicuaro archaeological sites: from magnetic survey to excavation (Late pre-classic period, Middle Lerma Valley, Mexico)

Multianalytical characterization of pigments from funerary artefacts belongs to the Chupicuaro Culture (Western Mexico): Oldest Maya blue and cinnabar identified in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica

Abstract The colours used in Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica to decorate walls, codices or artefacts have been the subject of numerous studies, with particular attention to Maya blue, red and white pigments. However, most of these studies have been focused on emblematic cultures of the Classic period (ca. 300–1000 CE), such as Teotihuacan and Maya cultures. This work proposes a new chronology of the preparation and use of these pigments, particularly Maya blue, by analysing samples of the Pre-Classic period (ca. 1800 BCE–300 CE). The samples belong to ceremonial artefacts decorated with blue, red and white pigments, in a funerary context from the Chupicuaro culture, which was developed between 600…

Magnetic survey on Chupicuaro's archaeological sites (late preclassic period, middle Lerma valley, Guanajuato - Mexico)

The Chupicuaro exploitation of hydrothermal resources, Mexico (600 B.C.- 300 A.D.): geochimical and mineralogical identification and archaeological inferences

International audience

The hydrothermal carbonated complexes in the Acambaro Valley: precolumbian and modern human impacts

Intra-skeletal variability in trace elemental content of Precolumbian Chupicuaro human bones: the record of post-mortem alteration and a tool for palaeodietary reconstruction.

14 pages; International audience; This study applies an intra-skeletal sampling strategy to examine post-mortem alteration of archaeological human bone from west Mexico, and to reconstruct ancient diet. Human bone from the Chupicuaro culture (Mexico, Preclassic period) constitutes an ideal material with which to examine subsistence strategies because the specific hydrothermal environment in which the population lived would have provided certain food components (hydrothermal waters and carbonates) with distinct signature in Ca, Mg, F, Li, Sr, Mn, V and U values. Four to ten samples were taken from the long bones of six skeletons. Bone trace element content (Ca, P, F, Mn, Mg, Na, Li, V, Zn, R…

Tiempos de crisis y cambios socioculturales en Chupicuaro al final del Preclásico: evidencias paleoambientales e indicadores arqueológicos en el valle de Acámbaro, Guanajuato, México

International audience; "Los trabajos realizados en el valle de Acámbaro evidenciaron para finales del Preclásico (hacia 100 a.C.), una serie de cambios que denota un tiempo de crisis y de transición. El estudio revela una reducción drástica del número de sitios del Preclásico Terminal (fase Mixtlán: 1-250 d.C.), así como una nueva configuración espacial. Las excavaciones avalan las observaciones de superficie y comprueban que, a partir de 100 a.C., los asentamientos sufren una desocupación: en dos sitios excavados observamos estratos de abandono y luego de reocupación, y en los demás constatamos un abandono definitivo. Esta evolución parece coincidir con una baja demográfica. Los acontecim…

Magnetic survey on Chupicuaro archaeological sites (late pre-classic period, Middle Lerma Valley, Guanajuato, Mexico)