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POPULATION STRUCTURE AND INTERREGIONAL INTERACTION IN PREHISPANIC MESOAMERICA: A BIODISTANCE STUDY

Aubry, Bryan Scott

Abstract Details

2009, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Anthropology.

This study addresses long standing issues regarding the nature of interregional interaction between central Mexico and the Maya area through the analysis of dental variation. In total 25 sites were included in this study, from Teotihuacan and Tula, to Tikal and Chichen Itza. Many other sites were included in this study to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the biological relationships between these regions and to better estimate genetic heterozygosity for each sub-region. The scope of the present study results in a more comprehensive understanding of population interaction both within and between the sub-regions of Mesoamerica, and it allows for the assessment of differential interaction between sites on a regional scale.

Both metric and non-metric data were recorded. Non-metric traits were scored according to the ASU system, and dental metrics include the mesiodistal and buccolingual dimensions at the CEJ following a modification of Hillson et al. (2005). Biodistance estimates were calculated for non-metric traits using Mean Measure of Divergence. R-matrix analysis, which provides an estimate of average genetic heterozygosity, was applied to the metric data. R-matrix analysis was performed for each of the sub-regions separately in order to detect specific sites that deviate from expected levels of genetic heterozygosity in each area.

Results indicate important biological relationships between sites that are largely consistent with current archaeological models indicating long term interaction and migration. Of additional importance is that specific sites were isolated in each of these two regions that deviate from expected levels of allelic diversity, and that have unexpectedly small biological distance estimates to sites outside their region. With respect to the questions posed in this research, many of these sites are the same sites that have also been determined to be important archaeologically. Although the existence of these relationships have been inferred from the archaeological data, most of these relationships have never been detected biologically. These results presented here are further supported by the fact that both the non-metric and metric variation produced similar distance matrices, something unusual in dental morphology studies.

Clark Larsen, S (Committee Chair)
S Stout (Committee Member)
P Sciulli (Committee Member)
R DePhilip (Committee Member)
567 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Aubry, B. S. (2009). POPULATION STRUCTURE AND INTERREGIONAL INTERACTION IN PREHISPANIC MESOAMERICA: A BIODISTANCE STUDY [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1244001468

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Aubry, Bryan. POPULATION STRUCTURE AND INTERREGIONAL INTERACTION IN PREHISPANIC MESOAMERICA: A BIODISTANCE STUDY. 2009. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1244001468.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Aubry, Bryan. "POPULATION STRUCTURE AND INTERREGIONAL INTERACTION IN PREHISPANIC MESOAMERICA: A BIODISTANCE STUDY." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1244001468

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)