Received: 15 October 2020 Revised: 20 October 2020 Accepted: 29 October 2020

DOI: 10.1002/asna.202113875

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Ancient high-status burial of a woman at Tlailotlacan, a

neighborhood in the city of Teotihuacan

Jorge N. Archer-Velasco1 Verónica Ortega Cabrera2 Emiliano Melgar Tísoc3

Julia Perez-Perez1

1
Escuela Nacional de Antropología e
Historia, México City, Mexico The discovery of an elite burial in Tlailotlacan, a neighborhood of Teotihuacan,
2
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de gave us a unique opportunity not only to put together a group of multidisci-
México—UAEM, Campus Valle de plinary specialists, but to revive this remarkable woman who inhabited, ate,
Teotihuacán, México City, Mexico
drank, and traveled through most of Mesoamerican. The different analysis
3
Instituto Nacional de Antropología e
Historia, Museo del Templo Mayor, carried out provided us with a unique opportunity to reconstruct part of the
México City, Mexico relations between inhabitants from different regions in ancient Mexico.

Correspondence KEYWORDS
Jorge N. Archer-Velasco, Escuela Nacional
Teotihuacan, Tlailotlacan, Mayas, Zapotecs, Jade
de Antropología e Historia, México City,
Mexico.
Email: archer124@hotmail.com

1 I N T RO DU CT ION (Spence 1989) (Figure 1), as exemplified by presence of

The pre-Hispanic city of Teotihuacan (100 B.D. to 650 A.D.)
was the scene of distinct social dynamics involving groups
from various regions of Mesoamerica. The city ranks as
one of the most historically important, due it’s culture, reli-
gion and commerce giving it power and dominion across
a large territory for more than five centuries, its bestowed
power and dominion in a massive territory. From the evi-
dence found in the numerous archaeological surveys, it
has been found that there was interaction with various
regions of Mesoamerica such as Monte Alban, in the cur-
rent state of Oaxaca, Kaminaljuyú in the Maya area or
Matacapan in Veracruz.
2 TLAILOTLAC AN
The area of Tlailotlacan, is located approximately 3 km
west of the Avenue of the Dead, near the western edge
of the city, was settled by people that migrated mainly
from the Central Oaxacan Valleys at about year A.D. 200
Astron. Nachr. / AN. 2021;1–6.
people of different traditions, mortuary practices (tomb
construction) and the discovery of numerous Oaxacan
potteries, effigy vessels and even an inscription in stone
(Ortega, Díaz y Vargas 2017). Studies conducted in the
area from the early nineteen eighties evidenced a broad
and continuous contact between the inhabitants of Teoti-
huacan and Monte Alban. This proved that a diversity
of beliefs regarding philosophy and other cultural traits
regarding life and death prevailed in the great metropolis
of Teotihuacan.
During recent surveys (2008–2014) conducted by the
INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia),
studies aimed at establishing the social dynamics of this
neighborhood and at attempting to understand its impor-
tance in the urban context in terms of social hierarchies,
interchanging circuits, and interaction systems Ortega
Cabrera (2014).
Evidence confirms that the architectural planning and
distribution of this urban sector adhered to the orientation
and axes of the rest of the city, which then harmoniously
turned into a settlement. This proves that it was designed
www.an-journal.org © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH 1
2 ARCHER-VELASCO et al.

FIGURE 1 The image shows the location of Tlailotlacan, within the city’s immense layout. (after Millon 1973; Ortega Cabrera 2014;
Spence 2002)

under the strictest standards, regardless of the inhabitants’
origin.
Since 2008, eight Tlailotlacan architectural complexes
were partially excavated in a new effort to find the neigh-
borhood that was mainly composed of several multifamily
compounds where three or more families shared common
domestic areas (kitchens, warehouses, and courtyards) as
well as spaces for ritual activities. Many architectural fea-
tures are clear evidence of different types of families who
shared very limited space but always respectful of their
individuality in separate dwellings.
The neighborhood houses were made of stone
and adobe. Moreover, they had drainage and a quite
sophisticated water supply system. The growth of housing
complexes was constant as extensions and modifications
in distribution of spaces are systematically evidenced dur-
ing the excavation (Ortega Cabrera 2014). Evidence shows
that the architectural planning and distribution of this
urban sector followed the orientation and axes of the rest
of the city, harmoniously integrated into the settlement
and proving that it was constructed under strict standards,
regardless of the origin of its inhabitants.
Families who inhabited these places maintained asym-
metric relations with each other, as evidenced by the
amount of foreign materials and the quality of construc-
tion of their homes and the number of tombs found. Sev-
eral sites stood out because of their exceptional qualities;
particularly structure TL6. The house has spacious rooms
ARCHER-VELASCO et al. 3

FIGURE 2 West view from structure TL6

FIGURE 3 General view from burial 13 and the offerings

and excellent construction material as well as a large base

of staggered bodies at the core of a tomb. Most of the rooms
had underground tombs with burials of individuals placed
in an extended position.
It is important to note that a cultural feature typical of
the inhabitants of Tlailotlacan was to bury the dead in spe-
cific architectural structures, built under rooms or court-
yards, which have been called “tombs.” This is a Zapotec
mortuary tradition from the city of Monte Alban, Oaxaca.
In Teotihuacan, most of the individuals were inhumed in
simple semicircular or rectangular pits or “graves” exca-
vated underneath the rooms, courtyards, or squares, where
the bodies were usually buried in a flexed position. In addi-
tion to having good architecture and a large pyramidal base
delimiting a square (Figure 2), the TL6 complex contained
various burials where foreign objects, such as vessels from
Oaxaca and Michoacan were found.

F I G U R E 4 The skull of burial 13 showing the jade tooth and

3 BURIAL 13 “ THE LADY O F
the intentional cranial modification
TLAILOTLAC AN”

One of these burials, called “Burial 13,” was found under-
neath the floor of Room 2, in a semi rectangular shaped pit.
The individual had an offering of 19 pieces of pottery, from
the skull to the pelvic area. It was found in an extended
dorsal position, oriented from east to west (Figure 3).
The burial was a unique, momentous discovery
because the individual had extensive corporal modifica-
tions as well as prestige elements found in the ancient
city of Teotihuacan and in other Mesoamerican sites.
According to the osteological examination, the skeleton
belonged to a female individual who died between the
age of 35 and 40. She had an intentional cephalic mod-
ification (Figure 4), with frontal-occipital compression
which is not common among the Teotihuacan population
(Archer, Jorge and Ortega 2018). It was possible to iden-
tify that the individual had intentional dental modification
in the upper central incisors, type G-3 according to the
Romero (1958) classification. Another interesting feature
is the existence of inlay on the front face using circular
pyrite disk plates which requires a precise perforation in
the enamel. This practice was reported mainly in the Maya
area of Petén and Belize. It is important to note that the G-3
type modification is a combination of two variants: mutila-
tion type B-5, which has been found in the funerary urns of
Monte Alban, and embedding type E-1 which is reported
in the Maya area (Olvera & Velasco 2016; Tiesler 2011).
4 A B O U T T H E J A D E TO OT H
A unique feature of this individual and that has not been
reported earlier in Mesoamerica, is the discovery of a
4 ARCHER-VELASCO et al.
F I G U R E 5 Chemical composition analysis with Electron Microprobe of the greenstone tooth (a, left) in comparison with jadeite from
Motagua Valley in Guatemala (b, right)
prostatic tooth made of mixed jadeite (a silicate of sodium
and aluminum) identified by chemical composition with
Electron Microprobe (Figure 5) and molecular bonds by
Micro-Raman Spectroscopy (Figure 6). The traceological
analysis of the manufacturing techniques of this green-
stone tooth was performed with experimental archaeology,
Optic, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (Figure 7). The
identified tools shared the same patterns of the Mayan lap-
idary tradition of abrading with limestone, cutting with
obsidian, polishing with jadeite nodules and brightening
with leather (Melgar Tísoc 2017). Following these tech-
niques, the lapidary artisans shaped this object as an inci-
sive tooth with a dental inlay E-1 type (Romero 1958).
The prosthetic part may have been a unique feature of
this individual and that has not been reported earlier in
Mesoamerica, is the discovery of a prostatic tooth made
of mixed jadeite (a silicate of sodium and aluminum)
identified by chemical composition with Electron Micro-
probe (Figure 5) and molecular bonds by Micro-Raman
Spectroscopy (Figure 6). The traceological analysis of
the manufacturing techniques of this greenstone tooth
were performed with experimental archaeology, Optic,
and Scanning Electron Microscopy (Figure 7). The identi-
fied tools shared the same patterns of the Mayan lapidary
tradition of abrading with limestone, cutting with obsid-
ian, polishing with jadeite nodules, and brightening with
leather (Melgar Tísoc 2017). Following these techniques,
the lapidary artisans shaped this object as an incisive tooth
with a dental inlay E-1 type (Romero 1958). The prosthetic
part may have been the absolute geomagnetic intensity
record from the pottery sherds of some of the artefacts
dates the funerary deposit in between 570 and 660 A.D.
(Avto et al. 2017), one of the latest periods in the city’s
development and for which the least amount of data are
ARCHER-VELASCO et al. 5

F I G U R E 6 Molecular analysis with Micro-Raman Spectroscopy of the greenstone tooth in comparison with jadeite from Motagua
Valley in Guatemala

available. This proves that at least in this sector, the con-

struction was steady and vigorous, given that this complex
was inhabited at least 50 years after this particular burial
was made. Interestingly and in regard to the late chronol-
ogy of this burial, the presence and quantity of jadeite
in Teotihuacan almost disappeared during the Xolalpan
and Metepec periods, especially after the renowned “Teoti-
huacan Entrance” in the Mayan District in AD 378 (Stu-
art 2000). Prior to this date, there are hundreds of jadeite
pieces in numerous burials and offerings at Xalla, Teopan-
cazco, Pyramid of the Moon, and the Temple of the Feath-
ered Serpent from the Miccaotli to the Late Tlamimilolpa
phases (Tisoc & Ciriaco 2019). For this reason, the jadeite
tooth represents an exceptional discovery in a time when
this valuable greenstone was scarce in Teotihuacan.

5 INFORMATION ON THE
TLAILOTLAC AN’S WO MAN’ S D IET

Through microscope observation, it was possible to iden-

tify some plant anatomical structures present in leaves,
seeds, fruits, and roots. These data can be considered as
direct evidence of its passage through the oral cavity for
their consumption.
The samples of dental tartar contained abundant micro
botanical remains including distinguished fibers, lignified
cells, and rafidia (crystals of calcium oxalate) whose mor-
phology, size, and particular ornamentation were iden-
tified as a possible agavacea (Blunden & Jewers 1973).
Also starch grains, pollen, and phytoliths of the following FIGURE 7 Traceological analysis with Scanning Electron
families of Mesoamerican plants: Chenopodiaceae, Cucur- Microscopy of the surface of the greenstone tooth (a) in comparison
bitaceae, Fabaceae, Poaceae, and Solanaceae. Diagnostical with experimental abrading with limestone (b)
6 ARCHER-VELASCO et al.
anatomical structures of species were also found, such
as corn (Zea mays), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), and
tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum).
The identification of botanical micro remains con-
tained in dental tartar provided us the information related
to subsistence of patterns, diet, and the use of plants by
ancient populations for diet or medicinals purposes.
6 FINAL CO MMENTS
The analysis of burial 13 gave us a unique opportunity to
put together a multidisciplinary team and to revive this
mysterious woman who inhabited, ate, drank, and traveled
throughout most of Mesoamerica before she died in the
ancient city. The elements outlined depict a woman who
most likely belonged to an elite group within this urban
sector, and in life she had access to a series of procedures
that were not common to the inhabitants of Tlailotlacan or
to the rest of the city’s population.
Both intentional cephalic modification and dental
mutilation are embeddings related to cultural practices
from the south of Mesoamerica, mainly the Maya area,
which has allowed us to interpret this individual as a mul-
ticultural character: with Mayan body modification traits,
buried in a neighborhood inhabited by Oaxacan immi-
grants and related to other burials in which foreign objects
were found, including a vessel from western Mesoamerica.
This finding also allows us to visualize that women had
an important participation in the political life of the com-
munity, which earned them social recognition within the
power structure of the Teotihuacan government, they had
privileges within their group, including tobacco use and
drinking intoxicating beverages such as pulque.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to Laura Roman for helping in the transla-
tion of this paper and to Aldo Diaz for the pictures of the
site and burial taken in 2014.
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AU THOR BIOGRAPHY
Jorge N. Archer-Velasco Physical Anthropologist,
M.A. and PHD Candidate in the National School of
Anthropology and History (ENAH). He is a specialist in
bioarchaeological research and also in the analysis and
digitization of funerary contexts.He has collaborated
on multiple projects in Teotihuacan since 2004, includ-
ing but not limited to the Barrio Oaxaqueoject, the
Sun Pyramid, La Ventilla, and the Feathered Serpent
Pyramid.
How to cite this article: Archer-Velasco JN,
Ortega Cabrera V, Melgar Tísoc E, Perez-Perez J.
Ancient high-status burial of a woman at
Tlailotlacan, a neighborhood in the city of
Teotihuacan. Astron. Nachr.. 2021;1–6. https://doi.
org/10.1002/asna.202113875