Human mobility on Cancun Island during the Late Postclassic: Intra- and inter-site demographic interactions.

Residential mobility in Prehispanic Mesoamerica is of paramount importance in bioarchaeology to determine the "how, where and why" people established biological, political and economic networks. The goal of this paper is to assess the presence of non-local people on the East Coast of the Yucatan Peninsula during the Late Postclassic (AD 1200-1540), and how they might have been perceived by the local Maya people. We analyze the presence, origin and mortuary distribution of 50 individuals based on their dental and bone 87Sr/86Sr signatures in the "urban" assemblage constituted by the archaeological sites known as El Rey and San Miguelito on Isla Cancun. Both sites present a strontium ratio "plateau" between 0.7091 and 0.7092, which is considered the local signature. Seven individuals, ranging in age from 5 years old to adulthood, were detected as potentially non-local, and originating from a wide range of regions both near and distant to Isla Cancun. Funerary patterns, burial location, and dietary data do not indicate these people were treated differently from the rest of the population, at least at the moment of death. This suggests that these non-locals might not have been perceived as "foreigners" and that they had integrated into the local community. Such mobility and cultural integration could have motivated by multiple factors, including economic and trade connections, or kinship relationships.

Earliest evidence of primate captivity and translocation supports gift diplomacy between Teotihuacan and the Maya.

A multimethod archaeometry study (zooarchaeological, isotopic, ancient DNA, paleobotanical, and radiocarbon dating) of a spider monkey sacrificed in the ceremonial center of Teotihuacan, Mexico (1 to 550 CE) is interpreted as a diplomatic gift exchange with neighboring Maya. Not only does this spider monkey provide the earliest known instance of primate translocation and captivity in Mesoamerica, it helps date incipient modes of interregional diplomacy between two major powers during Early Classic Mesoamerica: Teotihuacan and the Maya. Details of human-primate interaction include age at capture and transport (before ∼3 y of age), captive duration (over 2 y), anthropogenic diet (staple was maize, though secondary resources unique to anthropogenic diet including arrowroot and chili pepper were also found), context of sacrifice (tethered and associated with complete golden eagle and an array of other statecrafts), and general site context (including presence of Maya vessels and Maya-style murals). The timing of the spider monkey's sacrifice (250 to 300 CE) and its life history suggest a reconsideration of epigraphically attested militaristic involvement of Teotihuacan at certain Maya sites. We propose that a period of more multilateral and fluid ritual exchange with Maya dignitaries preceded the Teotihuacan state's eventual ascent to prominence.

Generation of radio frequency radiation by femtosecond filaments.

Recent experiments have shown that femtosecond filamentation plasmas generate ultrabroadband radio frequency radiation (RF). We show that a combination of plasma dynamics is responsible for the RF: A plasma wake field develops behind the laser pulse, and this wake excites (and copropagates with) a surface wave on the plasma column. The surface wave proceeds to detach from the end of the plasma and propagates forward as the RF pulse. We have developed a four-stage model of these plasma wake surface waves and find that it accurately predicts the RF from a wide range of experiments, including both 800-nm and 3.9-µm laser systems.

Diversity of management strategies in Mesoamerican turkeys: archaeological, isotopic and genetic evidence.

The turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) represents one of the few domestic animals of the New World. While current research points to distinct domestication centres in the Southwest USA and Mesoamerica, several questions regarding the number of progenitor populations, and the timing and intensity of turkey husbandry remain unanswered. This study applied ancient mitochondrial DNA and stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) analysis to 55 archaeological turkey remains from Mexico to investigate pre-contact turkey exploitation in Mesoamerica. Three different (sub)species of turkeys were identified in the archaeological record (M. g. mexicana, M. g. gallopavo and M. ocellata), indicating the exploitation of diverse local populations, as well as the trade of captively reared birds into the Maya area. No evidence of shared maternal haplotypes was observed between Mesoamerica and the Southwest USA, in contrast with archaeological evidence for trade of other domestic products. Isotopic analysis indicates a range of feeding behaviours in ancient Mesoamerican turkeys, including wild foraging, human provisioning and mixed feeding ecologies. This variability in turkey diet decreases through time, with archaeological, genetic and isotopic evidence all pointing to the intensification of domestic turkey management and husbandry, culminating in the Postclassic period.

Earliest Mexican Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Maya Region: implications for pre-Hispanic animal trade and the timing of turkey domestication.

Late Preclassic (300 BC-AD 100) turkey remains identified at the archaeological site of El Mirador (Petén, Guatemala) represent the earliest evidence of the Mexican turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in the ancient Maya world. Archaeological, zooarchaeological, and ancient DNA evidence combine to confirm the identification and context. The natural pre-Hispanic range of the Mexican turkey does not extend south of central Mexico, making the species non-local to the Maya area where another species, the ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata), is indigenous. Prior to this discovery, the earliest evidence of M. gallopavo in the Maya area dated to approximately one thousand years later. The El Mirador specimens therefore represent previously unrecorded Preclassic exchange of animals from northern Mesoamerica to the Maya cultural region. As the earliest evidence of M. gallopavo found outside its natural geographic range, the El Mirador turkeys also represent the earliest indirect evidence for Mesoamerican turkey rearing or domestication. The presence of male, female and sub-adult turkeys, and reduced flight morphology further suggests that the El Mirador turkeys were raised in captivity. This supports an argument for the origins of turkey husbandry or at least captive rearing in the Preclassic.