Seventeen hundred years ago, a female spider monkey was presented as a treasured gift – and later brutally sacrificed – to strengthen ties between two major powers of pre-Hispanic America, according to a new study.
The paperPublished Monday in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences(PNAS), compared Teotihuacan’s offering of Maya elites to Teotihuacan with China’s panda diplomacy which accompanied normalization in Sino-US relations in 1970s.
By using multiple techniques – including extraction of ancient DNA, radiocarbon dating, and chemical dietary analysis – researchers were able to reconstruct the life and death of the primate, finding she was likely between five and eight years of age when buried alive.
Nawa Sugiyama, University of California Riverside’s lead author, told AFP that archaeology is an exciting field because of the new methodology.
The project began in 2018 when Sugiyama discovered the remains of an animal in Teotihuacan ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the arid Mexican Highlands.
Spider monkeysAteles GeoffroyiSugiyama was left with a puzzle: Who brought the animal, why was it sacrificed, and what is the native species of the animals?
The remains’ location provided crucial clues. Teotihuacan (pronounced tay-uh-tee-waa-kaan), which lies 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Mexico City, was an important site of cultural exchange and innovation in Classic Mesoamerica.
Perhaps the most famous thing about it is its pyramids. The MoonThe Sun, Feathered Serpent, and the Sun. However, there is increasing interest for Plaza of the Columns another monument. This complex was where the Maya remained a presence similar to a modern-day Embassy.
Feasts and treasures as well as murals
The monkey’s skeletal remains were found in the complex alongside a golden eagle – an emblem of Mexico even today – and surrounded by a collection of high-value items, including obsidian projectile points, conch shells, and precious stone artifacts.
A grand feast of ceramic shards was also found, along with a Maya mural featuring the spider monkey.
Sugiyama stated that this was another evidence of an exchange that occurred at the highest level and preceded the Teotihuacan government’s later rise to military involvement in Maya towns by the year378 CE.
Chemical analysis of two canine teeth indicates that the monkey lived in a humid environment before she was taken to captivity. She also ate roots and plants.
After being captured and brought to Teotihuacan, her diet was more like that of humans, with corn and chili peppers.
The spider monkey could have been an “exotic curiosity alien to the high elevations at Teotihuacan,” SubmittedSugiyama, her colleagues, and the fact that she was a fellow primate may have added to her charisma.
The animal died in a horrible accident: “Hands tied behind its back and tethered to its feet indicate that it was dead.” en vivo“Burial, common among human sacrifices and animal sacrifices at Teotihuacan,” said the authors Submitted.
Though savage to modern eyes, “we need to understand and contextualize these cultural practices… and what it meant to be able to give up that which is most precious to you,” said Sugiyama.
