Houses and Ancestors, Altars and Relics:Mortuary Patterns at Teotihuacan,

Central Mexico

Linda ManzanillaInstituto de Investigaciones Antropologicas, UNAM

ABSTRACTThis chapter reviews the mortuary program at Teotihuacan, one of the largest prehispanic cities in Meso-america during the Classic Period (ca. A.D. 150-750). Three different types of practices are identified: (1)domestic funerary rites and ancestors' care; (2) special individuals and relic care; and (3) human sacrifices.In terms of the first practice—which is the most common at Teotihuacan—the location, type of container,position, funerary goods, and funerary rites are examined. With respect to the second practice, mortuarybundles and human relics are considered. The problem of human sacrifice along its distinct parameters (sac-rificial victims related to the main pyramidal structures; decapitation; defleshing and dismemberment; heartextraction) is treated in the third section.

The site of Teotihuacan is located in the Central Mexi-can highlands at an elevation of approximately

2400 meters. Teotihuacan was first settled during theLate Formative (ca. 500 B.C.-A.D. 150). During the EarlyClassic and early Middle Classic periods (ca. A.D. 150-550) Teotihuacan evolved into a prosperous city withregional ties throughout Mesoamerica; Teotihuacan wasthe first state-level society in the Central Mexican high-lands. The urban capital continued to grow over the nexttwo centuries. It collapsed during a transitional periodreferred to as the Epiclassic (ca. A.D. 750-950).

Teotihuacan's civic-ceremonial center encom-passed approximately 25 square kilometers. Its popu-lation is estimated at more than 100,000 inhabitants.Teotihuacan had a strategic location near high-qualityobsidian sources. It also was associated with undergroundcaverns and surrounding mountains—elements of thethree-level Mesoamerican cosmology. These featurespromoted Teotihuacan's role as both an economic andsacred city (see Manzanilla 1997; Manzanilla et al.1996). Teotihuacan was the materialization of theMesoamerican archetypical sacred city. Its orthogo-nal grid and the orientation of the main buildings con-

vey a passion for order and harmony with the naturalsetting (Figure 3.1). Teotihuacan's urban planningsolved various complications of cosmopolitan life in amultiethnic city; it became a hallmark of CentralMexican urban settlements.

Approximately two thousand apartment compoundshave been identified at Teotihuacan (Millon et al. 1973).Compounds are standardized single-story multi-room andpatio complexes constructed of stone and adobe with alime plaster finish. Compounds are not uniform: they varyinternally and externally in size, layout, and construc-tion technique.

The patios within compounds are open spaces thatmay have been used for ceremony, rainwater collection,refuse disposal, and/or the provision of light (Manzanilla1996). Patios are associated with one apartment, prob-ably occupied by a family or household unit. Patios aresmaller than courtyards and courtyards arc not associ-ated with a particular apartment or household but, rather,are public spaces and part of the compound in general.

It is believed that these residential compounds wereoccupied by corporate kin groups. Millon (1968) andSpence (1966) have proposed that craftsmen dedicated

Linda Manzanilla

Figure 3.1. \'iew of the. core of the city from the north (photo. Linda MunzunUla).

to the manufacture of different products lived in sepa-rate compounds. For example Storey and Widmer(1999 203; Widmer 1991) ha\e found evidence of lapi-darv and ceramic production in TIajinga 33. Research atLa Ventilla 92-94's Frente 3 suggests lapidary and shellmanufacture (Gomez Chavez 1996:40). On the basis ofhousehold artifact distribution at OztoyahualcoI5B:N6W3, 1 also can argue for the existence of com-pound craft specialization (Manzanilla 1993).

From variables such as room size, use of space, deco-ration, construction techniques, burials, and offerings,Millon (1976 227) posited six different socioeconomictiers comprising Teotihuacan society. According to thismodel, the first tier corresponded to Teotihuacan s po-litical elite who may have dwelled in the QuetzalpapalotlPalace, the Palace of the Sun, and the so-called "palaces'to the north and south of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl(Millon 1976236). The second tier was represented bythousands of high-status people. These may have beenreligious leaders residing in the city's great pyramid com-plexes as vv ell as in the apartment compounds of the GreatCompound (Millon 19X1 214) Alter a major gap, thethird, fourth, and fifth tiers were materially expressed asintermediate-status levels. These tiers are represented by

the Zacuala Palace, Teopancazco. and Xolalpan, higherto lower status apartment compounds respectively. Thesixth level comprised the low-status compounds such asTlamimilolpa and La Ventilla B (Millon 1976:227).Small apartment compounds, such as the one my projectexcavated in the 1980s at Oztoyahualco I5B.N6W3(Manzanilla 1993), were not taken into consideration inMillon's levels, so a seventh level should be added tothe existing model.

In sum, Teotihuacan society was defined by a rangeof social groups. Kinship, ethnicity, and craft special-ization structured social organization in this populouscity. In such a complex situation, ritual and ceremonywere undoubtedly important mechanisms for promotinggroup cohesion and solidarity. At the same time, ritualmay also have been a locus of contestation, and burialpractices also were markers of social identity and differ-entiation. It is to the burial data that 1 turn now.

Most of the burials found in the city occur in do-mestic contexts or in apartment compounds. Teotihuacanburials vary considerably through time and space. Thepresent data base for mortuary analysis from Teotihuacanconsists of approximately one thousand burials(Manzanilla and Serrano 1999) or 1 percent of the popu-

Mortuary Patterns at Teotihuacan 57

lation. Thus, in this chapter my generalizations are ten-tative and subject to later revisions.

Pattern 1: Domestic Funerary Rites andCare of the Ancestors

Apartment compounds were a hallmark ofTeotihuacan society. Domestic life was characterized byinterfamilial forms of integration and cooperation. In m\"anatomy" of an apartment compound at Oztoyahualcoin the northwestern periphery of the city, I distinguishedindividual apartments for each of the three householdsidentified (Manzanilla 1988-1989, 1993. 1996). Eachapartment had a kitchen for the preparation and consump-tion of food, a storeroom, refuse sectors, dormitories,ritual courtyards, and funerary sectors.

Not all households had the same status inside theOztoyahualco compound. Indicators of a hierarchical or-ganization have been found. This is particularly evident in the profusion of ex-ogenous materials and fauna and the useof Tlaloc symbols (Figure 3.2), as wellas the number and status of burials in thecompound (Manzanilla 1993. 1996).

In general, Teotihuacan's inhabit-ants were buried in simple earthen pitswithin apartment compounds. Truetombs did not exist in the city exceptfor the ethnically distinct Zapotec-styletombs in the Oaxaca Barrio. Other ex-ceptions to the Teotihuacan pattern offunerary pits were ceramic urn burialsand shaft tombs.

Some adults were buried in apublic area, such as an apartmentcompound's principal courtyard ortemple, these adults have deeper burialpits (Sempowski 1994, Storey 1991).They also were more likely to be cre-mated, to have larger and more com-plex offerings, and to have beenpainted with red pigment. These adultsare interpreted as high-status individu-als. Other adults, presumably of lowerstatus, were more commonly buriedunder residential rooms or small patiofloors—in private space. In both cases,the individual is in a variant of theseated or flexed position. Sejourne(1963) suggests that the predominanceof the vertical-flexed position reflects

the practice of burying the dead in burial bundles (wrap-pings have not preserved in the climate of the CentralMexican plateau, interestingly, this mortuary custom isdocumented in the A/tec chronicles).

Adult males often had more offerings than females.However, both display higher status than subadults whoin general, had significantly fewer offerings (Rattra\1992; Sempowski 1994; Serrano and Lagunas 1974;Storey 1992). Subadults were generalh buried in private(or domestic) locations, although a substantial numberwere interred in public passageways on the east side ofthe Oztoyahualco compound (Manzanilla 1993). Infantsand, in particular, neonates were interred in courtyardsand frequenth beneath the altar, the former commonlyinterred inside ceramic \essels.

In general, the Teotihuacanos seem to ha\ e regardedthe burials in apartment compounds as ancestors ^howere meant to dwell with living kin. This is particularh

Figure 3.2. Tlaloc vase from Te&pancazco,and Jo.se Saldana).

Teotihuacan (photo. Linda \hin:anilla

_ Linda Manzanilla

true of adult burials. When dealing with neonate burials,there seems to have been an additional stress on theirritual placing and their relation to TIaloc, the rain andfertility state god.

Burial Location

As indicated above, Teotihuacan burials occur inearthen pits dug beneath the floors in private areas (e.g..patios, porticoes, rooms) (Figure 3 3) and in public ar-eas (under altars, courtyards, and stairways). These lo-cations contrast with locations favored by laterCoyotlatelco and Mazapa occupations at the site. Peoplein these later times buried their dead either in tunnels(the so-called 'caves") that were created during the Ter-minal Formative and Early Classic periods in the north-ern Teotihuacan Vallev to mine volcanic scoria for usein construction at the sacred city (Manzanilla et al. 1996)or on top of the rubble of the abandoned city (Armillas1991 201 3, 211 12 Gomez Chavez and Nunez Her-nandez 1999:101, 105).

Although Oztoyahualco I5B:N6W3 has only eigh-teen burials, fewer than found at Tlajinga 33 or La

Ventilla B (Serrano and Lagunas 1974), the Oztoyahualco15B:N6W3 data yield important conclusions. Apparently,there were three related households at Oztoyahualco. Thefirst and second households, in the southeast and westsections of the Oztoyahualco compound, respectivelyare each represented by three adult burials. The thirdhousehold, in the northeast section, has eleven burials,of which six are of infants and children (Manzanilla 1993;see also Storey 1986).

This concentration of burials in particular sectors ofan apartment compound is also noted at Xolalpan, wherenearly all the burials are grouped in the southwest sec-tion; at Tlamimilolpa, where nearly all are clustered inthe central-southern section: and at Tetitla, where buri-als are concentrated in the compounds northeast sec-tion. Two alternative explanations are possible: (I) onehousehold may be better represented with respect tofunerary practices, and all the rest are underrepresented(Manzanilla 1996) or (2) because few burials are foundin the domestic context relative to the total populationof the apartment compound, and these seem to be groupedin certain sectors, we may be detecting individualsassociated with different ritual activities. The latterhy-

F/gurc 3.3. Aerial view oj Oztovahualco I5B:.\6H'3 showing funerary and offering pits cut in the stucco floors (photo. LindaManzanilla)

Mortuary Patterns at Teotihuacan 59

pothesis may be supported by the observation that infantburials tend to occur in open spaces (courtyards and al-tars), while adult burials are located in closed spaced(rooms and temples) (Gomez Chavez 1998:1468).

It is also evident that multiple construction episodesin apartment compounds resulted in the disturbance ofprimary burials. For example, Storey and Widmer (1999)report that 141 of 206 skeletons from Tlajinga 33 aresecondary burials. Storey and Widmer (1999:206) alsoreport twenty-seven individuals in public places versusthirty-three in private locations.

In the La Ventilla 92-94 Barrio, Gomez Chavez andNunez Hernandez (1999:103, 113) report two com-pounds that differ in social status. Frente 2 is a high-status compound; the majority of its burials group aroundthe southwest portion. Frente 3 is a lower-status com-pound; it displays its burials in the northern half of theapartment compound.

Burial Location and Foreign Ethnicity

Teotihuacan was a multiethnic settlement. Ethnicenclaves of foreign people have been identified in thecity. These groups were the Teotihuacanos themselves;the Zapotecs of Oaxaca, who lived in their own barrioon the southwestern fringe of the city; the Gulf Coastmerchants, who dwelled in the Merchants' Barrio on theeast side of the city; and people of the West MexicanMichoacan enclave, who lived on the western limits ofthe settlement (see Gomez Chavez 1998; Manzanilla etal. 2000; Rattray 1987, 1989, 1993;Spence 1992;Spenceand Gamboa Cabezas 1999). This well-documented eth-nic segregation provides a fascinating opportunity forexamining and comparing the funerary practices of thedifferent ethnic groups dwelling in the city.

Thus, with regard to the issue noted above of distri-bution of burials within an apartment compound, still athird hypothesis is provided by Spence and GamboaCabezas (1999.179; see also Storey 1991). They differ-entiate between public versus private locations for theTlailotlacan (Oaxaca Barrio) non-tomb burials. Theywrite: "It is presumed that burials placed in public areasreflect a broad public concern with the deaths of thoseindividuals, and a large public participation in the mor-tuary ritual." In the different locations that have beenexcavated in the Oaxaca Barrio there are the same num-ber of burials in domestic versus public locations (20and 20: see Spence and Gamboa Cabezas 1999:185).

With respect to the Merchants' Barrio, there are buri-als under the floors of the circular structures. A total ofthirty-four individuals were located under a ramp related

to Circular Structure 2. Another eight individuals wereunder an altar. Some were in a shaft tomb (Rattray andCivera Cerecedo 1999:167).

In the possible Michoacan enclave in the westernportion of the city (in the limits of squares N1W5, N1W6,N2W5, and N2W6: see Gomez Chavez 1998), burialswith Michoacan vessels and figures occur in and aroundT-shaped altars, under the slab floors, and in the fill ofthe eastern temple of Unit 1 (Gomez Chavez 1998:1470,1474, 1478-79). Three temples bore evidence of typicalWest Mexican shaft tombs, and a Zapotec tomb also isreported (Gomez Chavez 1998:1476, 1481).

Type of Container

Local Teotihuacan burials generally occur in ovalpits excavated in the stucco floors toward the tepetate(volcanic tuff substrate). In many cases the stucco wasreconstructed with fresh lime, sealing the pit.

It was noted above the later people of Teotihuacanburied their dead in tunnels excavated in the volcanicscoria. These may have been conceived as part of anunderworld, particularly Tlaloc's underworld—theTlalocan (Manzanilla et al. 1996). In Oztoyahualco andother places where these tunnels are visible, some of thefunerary pits in the apartment compounds appear to copythe "caves." I suggest this because when the burial wasinterred, the pits were filled with small scoria, the mate-rial in which the holes of the "underworld" were dug(Manzanilla 1993:fig. 76 [v. I], figs. 488, 489 [v. II]).

Nonlocal Zapotec tombs have antechambers andentrances to the east or west and are located on top ofplatforms around a patio (Spence and Gamboa Cabezas1999:187). These tombs contain extended burials datingto the Tlamimilolpa and Xolalpan occupation phases.They are surrounded by bones from earlier burials thathad been set aside, as well as dog bones (Spence1992:figs. 1, 4). These chamber tombs sometimes haveofferings that belong to the Teotihuacan funerary pro-gram (Copa Ware vessels, miniatures, Teotihuacan cen-ser masks, etc.) (Spence and Gamboa Cabezas 1999).

Ceramic urns were found in the Oaxaca Barrio inshallow graves containing extended burials. These urnsare not local in style. Rather, they are identified as MonteAlban Transition II-IIIA from Oaxaca (Rattray 1993:12,17, 20,21).

Similarly, shaft tombs are not a local burial style.Shaft tombs have been identified in the Merchants' Bar-rio and in the possible Michoacan enclave, particularlyin the nuclei of temples in the domestic compounds(Gomez Chavez 1998:1476-83).

60 Linda Manzanilla

Position

Seated and flexed positions predominate among theTeotihuacan local burial population (see Serrano andLagunas 1999:47-50). The seated position is seen mainlyin adult burials that may have been deposited as funerarybundles. This position also is present in Mazapa burials(ca. A.D. 800-900) deposited in tunnels behind the Pyra-mid of the Sun (Manzanilla et al. 1996). The flexed po-sition may indicate a return to the maternal womb. It isfound in numerous burials deposited in pits under housefloors. Extended burials undoubtedly belong to non-Teotihuacanos. They are common in the Oaxaca Barrio.

Funerary Goods

Funerary goods in Teotihuacan burials have beendescribed by Sempowski (1994) and Rattray (1992). Ingeneral, local Teotihuacan burials are accompanied byceramic vessels, mica, slate, obsidian, and shell.

Theater-type censers were used profusely atXolalpan, TIamimilolpa (where they are grouped aroundBurial 4 and kept in caches, ready for ritual use), andZacuala Patios, but they were also found in Oztoyahualco15B:N6W3, a middle-class compound. Decorated tripodpottery vessels are common at Xolalpan and TIami-milolpa; they are very rare at Oztoyahualco. Maya finewares have been found in TIamimilolpa and Xolalpan,possibly as a result of their proximity to the Merchants'Barrio. Other imported wares, such as Thin Orange andGranular Ware, are present in all compounds.

Exotic raw materials such as mica, slate, and marineshell were present in burials associated with compoundsof different sizes and hierarchical positions. Jadeite isfound in TIamimilolpa, Zacuala, Yayahuala, and the "pal-aces" of the Ciudadela. Jadeite is also found with par-ticular burials at Oztoyahualco 15B:N6W3 in the formof beads. Pyrite was found in Tepantitla, TIamimilolpa,La Ventilla, and the Ciudadela (Sempowski 1994).

Burials appear to reflect the hierarchical organiza-tion inside each apartment compound (Manzanilla1996) as well as the external urban hierarchy (see Millon1976). At Oztoyahualco 15B:N6W3, each householdhad a burial or two that stood out in terms of its gravegoods (Burial 8 for Unit 1, Burial 13 for Unit 2, and prob-ably Burials 10 and 1 for Unit 3). Certain burials in eachcompound had very rich offerings. Burial 8 (of Unit 1) wasan adult male in his twenties. He was associated with a the-ater-type incense burner (Figure 3.4). This object depicteda human male figure wearing an impressive headdress andhaving the depiction of a huge butterfly on his chest

(Manzanilla and Carreon 1991). Burial 8 was the most ex-ceptional of the compound group as a whole.

Funerary Rites

Clear evidence of funerary rites has been detectedthrough the analysis of the careful disposition of offer-ings around the buried individuals. If our assumption iscorrect that burials are common in Teotihuacan domes-tic contexts because they are part of ancestors' cults, thenwe should explain why—with the exception of Tlajinga33 and probably La Ventilla—the number of adults in-terred in each compound is too low, relative to the areaof the compound, to account for most of its inhabitants.Leaving aside the disturbance caused by reconstructionactivities within the compounds, one possible explana-tion is that there are other places where dead people wereburied. Another possibility is that when abandoning thecity, the Teotihuacanos took with them the relics of theirancestors.

On the basis of the material remains and their pat-terning, I think it is possible to reconstruct a funeraryritual for Burial 8 at Oztoyahualco (noted above). It in-volved the following actions: the incense burnerappliques were removed from the lid and placed aroundthe deceased; the chimney was deposited toward the west,with the lid and the butterfly priest to the east of the skull;representations of plants and sustenance (ears of corn,squash, squash flowers, cotton, tamales, tortillas, andperhaps amaranth bread and pulque [cactus beer]) wereplaced to the south; the four-petaled flowers, roundelsrepresenting feathers, and mica disks were placed to theeast and west.

Scholars have reconstructed other funerary ritualselsewhere at Teotihuacan. For Burial 1 at Tetitla, Moore(1996:79) describes a rite that involved the throwing ofearth together with miniature pots and plates. In Burial 1at TIamimilolpa, Linne (1942:126-32) noted a crematedskeleton with piled vases as well as other tripod vesselsthat were "killed" and then thrown inside the grave, to-gether with candeleros, obsidian instruments, miniaturegrinding stones, bone instruments, bone, jade and slateadornments, pyrite circles and objects, figurine heads,mats, textiles and bark clothes, and censers' plaques.

It is possible that the abundance of perinatal burialsnormally set in shallow bowls in pits excavated in court-yards or in altars may be related to specific ceremonialbehaviors, particularly those dedicated to Tlaloc. AtOztoyahualco I5B:N6W3, some of these infant burialswere associated with baby rabbit or dog bones(Manzanilla 1993).

Mortuary Patterns at Teotihuacan 61

Figure 3.4 Theater-type censer accompanying Burial S at Oztovahualco 15B:\6il'3 (photo. Linda \hin:unilla).

Jarquin Pacheco (1988:392) found a circular pit in acourtyard of an apartment compound in San FranciscoMazapa in which there were eighteen perinatal burials,one on top of the other. There also were zoomorphicfigurines, a TIaloc figurine, and marine shells.

Gomez Chavez and Nunez Hernandez (1999:117)report that there were 158 perinatal infants among the190 individuals found in the compound of La Ventilla92-94's Frente 3. Serrano and Lagunas (1974) hypoth-esized that the high proportion of fetuses in La VentillaB was related to ceremonial abortion, but this idea hassince been revised.

Perinatal burials are often associated with altars inritual courtyards. In these, interdisciplinary research hasrevealed a profusion of ceremonial traces. AtOztoyahualco I5B.N6W3, there were three ritual court-yards, each corresponding to a household. One of themC41, the largest—probably also served as the gatheringplace for the compound group as a whole. This "RedCourtyard" (so called because it has red geometrical de-signs) was the only one with a central altar in its lower

construction level. It had a sanctuar> to the south (C:>7).To the north, two areas of fire burning were detectedby high pH and carbonates. To the south, high phosphate anomalies were found, perhaps as a result ofthe pouring of liquids in particular ceremonies (see Ortizand Barba 1993). Perhaps, the custom of pouring watertogether with seeds—which is a common depiction inTeotihuacan mural art was also practiced in the ritualcourtyards.

Pattern 2: Special Individuals and Relic Care

Only particular individuals, often interpreted as themost important in Teotihuacan s compounds, seem tohave been cremated (Rattray 1992 53). Such indi\idualsare present in TIamimilolpa, La \ entilla B. Tetitla,Zacuala, Yayahuala, and the Oa\aea Barrio (Rattra\1992). In Tetitla, Sejourne (1963:48 49) found someexamples of indi\ iduals set inside a pit after the burningof the offerings had taken place as w ell as others w ho hadbeen exposed directly to tire. These last ma\ ha\e con-

62 Linda Manzanilla

sisted of funerary bundles, which were accompanied bystucco-painted vessels with mortuary masks.

Burial 1 at Tlamimilolpa also was cremated, withpiled vessels, many of which had been "killed" and thenthrown in the fire inside the pit (Linne 1942:126). Thisfire allowed the preservation of mats, bark cloth, tex-tiles, and other organic materials that were not exposeddirectly to it.

Sejourne (1966:234) observed the presence of pup-pet figurines and masks only in cremated burials, par-ticularly at Zacuala. It is possible that the funerarybundles were placed in agave fiber sacks; traces of themwere found in La Ventilla B, associated with a seatedfemale adult (Sempowski 1994:83). Funerary bundles arealso represented in "hollow figurines," such as the onepublished by Cabrera Castro (1999:514).

At Teopancazco, I have recently found some evi-dence that human remains were exhumed from ritualplaces before the compound was abandoned. It may bethat these remains were chosen to be relics when migra-tion was anticipated. Some of the bones seem to havefallen in the trajectory, but most of them were removeddefinitively (compare with Dulanto and with Hutchinsonand Aragon, this volume).

Pattern 3: Human Sacrifice

Human sacrifice took place at Teotihuacan. Fourcategories of evidence for this practice are presented here.

1. Sacrificial victims have been found in associationwith the main pyramids. 1 note, in particular, the infantburials of the Pyramid of the Sun (Cabrera Castro andSerrano Sanchez 1999) and the adult sacrificial victimsat the Pyramid of the Moon and the Temple ofQuetzalcoatl; the latter are particularly dramatic, for theirhands were tied behind their backs (Cabrera et al.1991 :fig. 3; Sugiyama 1989, 1995).

2. Decapitation is known. 1 use the word to refer tothe situation in which the skull is still attached to thecervical vertebrae. This is particularly evident in Burials5, 14, and 15 at N1W6.22 (Cid and Torres 1999:300-301, 332).

3. Deflcshing and dismemberment are evidenced incut marks of different types. However, it is important tounderstand that defleshing and dismemberment may oc-cur after death as well as before. Regardless, victims ofthis procedure are known from Burial 7 at Yayahuala(Sempowski 1994:77) and several occur in Tlajinga 33(Storey and Widmer 1999:204).

4. Heart extraction is best known among the Aztecs.It is possible that it was practiced at Teotihuacan but di-

rect physical evidence (cut marks in the thoracic sectionof the body) is lacking thus far. Rather, there is icono-graphic evidence on Teotihuacan murals showing war-riors who carry daggers with impaled, bleeding humanhearts.

Conclusions

The urban civic-ceremonial center in the core of thecity was unparalleled in terms of architectural scale andpopulation density. The latter arose through the resettle-ment of local valley residents in the city and the arrivalof migrant groups from Oaxaca, Veracruz, andMichoacan. These foreigners settled in barrios on thecity's periphery.

The existence of multiple kin and ethnic groupsthroughout the city's long period of occupation is evi-denced by diverse burial patterns that can be broadlysummarized as follows. Teotihuacan's local populationburied their dead according to local canons: the deceasedwere placed in a seated or flexed position and buried inearthen pits beneath apartment compound floors. Thespecific location of the burial as well as the funeraryrites and associated offerings varied both within andbetween apartment compounds. Burial patterns reflectedsocial status based on descent, gender, age, and/or oc-cupation. The observed variation in burial patterns isconsistent with Millon's (1976) model of Teotihuacan'ssocial organization.

Foreigners were interred according to their specificcultural traditions while often adopting some Teotihuacanpractices. An example of this is found in the Oaxaca Bar-rio where burials are Zapotec in style with regard to lo-cation, container, position, and funerary rites (notably theplacement of the dead in an extended position, the preva-lence of multiple burials, and the use of formal tombs),but include both Zapotec and Teotihuacan grave goods.

Interestingly, the interment of subadults, particularlyneonates, is relatively consistent throughout the civic-ceremonial core. This suggests that this segment of thepopulation was subject to similar ideological concernsand associated rituals.

Spectacular finds at the Pyramids of the Sun andMoon and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl are direct evidenceof human sacrifice at Teotihuacan. Other activities lead-ing to death or following death (decapitation, defleshing,dismemberment) have also been documented. There isiconographic evidence for heart sacrifice. These presum-ably ritual and ritualized deaths should probably also beinterpreted in light of Teotihuacan's political ideologyas an expansionist state.

Mortuary Patterns at Teotihuacan 63

The study of the space and place of burials atTeotihuacan constitutes an important independent dataset from which to study the inner workings and changeover time of a fascinating city and complex society. Asfieldwork progresses at the site, new data will be able toamplify the understanding of mortuary patterns presentedin this brief contribution.

Author's Note

Because of AAA policy, I am unable to publish inthis volume burial photographs that accompanied thisstudy. In Mexico, the publication of ancient burials andskeletons by archaeologists and physical anthropologistsis common practice.

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