Human cremation in Mexico 3,000 years ago

Area of Science:

• Archaeology
• Mesoamerican Studies
• Bioarchaeology

Background:

• Proto-historic Mixtec codices and documentation depict nobles participating in cremation funerary rites.
• The chronological depth of this mortuary practice among the Mixtec was previously unknown.
• Formative period Mesoamerica was a time of emerging hereditary social stratification.

Observation:

• Excavations at the Tayata village site in Oaxaca, Mexico, uncovered undisturbed cremation burials.
• These burials were found in archaeological contexts dated to the eleventh century B.C.
• These findings represent the earliest known examples of cremation in the region.

Findings:

• The earliest cremation burials in Mesoamerica date to the eleventh century B.C. (3,000 years ago).
• This practice was associated with elevated social status among the early Mixtec.
• These early examples predate later uses of cremation for Mixtec kings and Aztec emperors.

Implications:

• Establishes the deep historical roots of cremation as a marker of social hierarchy in Mixtec culture.
• Connects Formative period archaeological evidence with later ethnohistorical accounts of Mixtec mortuary practices.
• Demonstrates the early emergence of social differentiation through mortuary rituals in Mesoamerica.