Tepexpan man

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Tepexpan 1, replica

The Tepexpan man is a hominine skeleton from the pre-Columbian era. It was discovered in February 1947 by the archaeologist Helmut de Terra on the shores of the former Texcoco Lake in central Mexico . The skeleton was found near mammoth remains and was estimated to be at least 10,000 years old. It was found face down, arms under the chest and legs pulled up to the stomach. The body is most likely sunk in the mud with the shoulders, back, and hips exposed, which may explain why these parts are missing. It is possible that the body was originally deposited in the lake.

examination

Age

Alluvial deposits, covered by layers of calcium carbonate , sediments from the lake, and more recent debris, dated the site where the skeleton was found to be 8,000 to 10,000 years old. During excavations, the remains of five mammoths have been found near the skeleton and have been linked to obsidians . Therefore, the age of the skeleton has been estimated to be over 10,000 years. Years later, researchers re-examined the skeleton and radiocarbon dating the remains . Based on this study, the Tepexpan human skeleton was estimated to be around 2,000 years old. Silvia Gonzalez, Professor of Geoarchaeology at Liverpool John Moores University , used uranium isotopes to determine age. The results indicated an age of 4,700 years. She argued that contamination of the remains resulted in incorrect radiocarbon dates. Other reviewers claimed that the Tepexpan man was buried in material from the Pleistocene era at a later date .

According to an analysis published in The Science Newsletter in 1947 , man was at least 40 years old at the time of his death. This was determined using the sutures and the epiphyseal plate .

gender

In his preliminary report, Helmut de Terra noted that “the other bones in connection with the skull indicate that the person was male.” However, the results of a DNA analysis suggest that it was a woman.

Injuries

The Tepexpan person has a healed fracture on the right ulna (ulna). Because of the proximity to the mammoth remains, de Terra suspected that the Tepexpan man was a hunter who was killed or fatally injured while hunting. The Science Newsletter claimed the person suffered from a stiff neck due to calcium build-up on the cervical vertebrae . The debris suggests she had arthritis .

Other

The Science Newsletter described the Tepexpan man in 1947. He had “a high-domed, thin-walled skull” that contained “a brain the size of today's Indian brain”. The authors described a “stable” chin line, “conspicuous” forehead crests and a “prominent chin”, which distinguish it from early Neanderthals . There were only three teeth in the upper jaw . He had already lost the molars in the lower jaw before his death, which was proven by the healing and smoothing of the alveoli . The incisors , canines and premolars of the lower jaw are preserved in an acceptable condition.

Surroundings of Lake Texcoco

Gonzalez used sediments and fossils to reconstruct Lake Texcoco at the time of the Tepexpan man. She analyzed sand, clay and volcanic ash as well as fossils of diatoms and ostracods . According to this, the pond at that time was deep, full of fish and surrounded by trees. In the last 20,000 years, however, the environment has changed significantly, including through volcanic eruptions, changing water levels and different vegetation. These changes in the environment also had an impact on the population living there. Today the lake has almost dried up. It is located on the southeastern edge of Mexico City .

AMS radiocarbon data of isotope 14 C showed the sediments to be 612 ± 22 to 19,110 ± 90 years old. The more recent uranium investigation showed an age of 4,700 ± 200 years, which means that the skeleton can be assigned to the Holocene . The sediment sequences were examined with isotope studies , using diatoms, with methods of organic geochemistry and by means of tephrochronology . The results suggest that there have been major changes in the balance of aquatic and terrestrial plants , C3 and C4 plants, and salt and fresh water around the lake . In addition, there are volcanic activities and inputs from catchment areas of the late Pleistocene and Holocene. These changes also had a major impact on the prehistoric human population that lived around the lake at that time.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Science: American Face . Time . October 20, 1947. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Isotope analysis dates ancient Mexican . Planet Earth online. July 14, 2009. Archived from the original on November 9, 2009. Retrieved on April 1, 2010.
  3. ↑ a b c d Helmut de Terra: Preliminary Note on the Discovery of Fossil Man at Tepexpan in the Valley of Mexico . In: American Antiquity . 13, No. 1, July 1, 1947, pp. 40-44. doi : 10.2307 / 275752 .
  4. ↑ Alex D. Krieger, 1949: Review of Tepexpan Man. Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology, N ° 11 . BBAA Boletín Bibliográfico De Antropología Americana 12 (2). Pan American Institute of Geography and History: pp. 279-85. JSTOR 40973292 .
  5. ^ A b Glenn A. Black: "Tepexpan Man," A Critique of Method . In: American Antiquity . 14, No. 4, April 1, 1949, pp. 344-346. doi : 10.2307 / 276279 .
  6. ^ A b Mary W. Helms: Middle America: A Culture History of Heartland and Frontiers . University Press of America, Jan. 1, 1982, ISBN 9780819122308 .
  7. ^ A b c d "Tepexpan Man Is Young for His Age." 1947. The Science News-letter 52 (2). Society for Science & the Public: 22-23. doi: 10.2307 / 3924284
  8. ↑ Homo Sapiens Tepexpan Man. In: Hominid Fossil Repository. Retrieved October 16, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Angela L. Lamb, Silvia Gonzalez, David Huddart, Sarah E. Metcalfe, Christopher H. Vane, Alistair WG Pike, 2009: "Tepexpan Palaeoindian site, Basin of Mexico: multi-proxy evidence for environmental change during the late Pleistocene-late Holocene. " Quaternary Science Reviews 28, 2000-2016. ScienceDirect , EBSCO host doi: 10.1016 / j.quascirev.2009.04.001 (accessed October 27, 2015).

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