@article{07c6528ea4d94f4d9b1457a2c943d70b,
title = "Immigrants at the Mississippian polity of Cahokia: Strontium isotope evidence for population movement",
abstract = "Archaeologists have long debated the role of regional interaction in the 11th to 14th centuries at the Mississippian polity of Cahokia. Architectural styles, exotic materials, and cultural objects provide indirect evidence for cultural interaction and ethnic and social diversity; however, identifying the movement of individuals (rather than materials) is key to our growing understanding of the population history that enabled the formation of this unique polity. This study is the first to use strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr) of human tooth enamel to identify immigrants at Cahokia. Modern and archaeological fauna were used to establish a baseline {"}local{"} range of strontium isotope ratios for the American Bottom region surrounding Cahokia. Teeth from individuals interred in diverse mortuary locations, including mounds, within this region were analyzed and compared to the local strontium isotope range to identify individuals of non-local origin. One-third of all individuals analyzed were identified as non-local, and the range and variability of their strontium ratios suggests multiple places of origin. The correlation of isotopic data with available biological and mortuary evidence allows us to examine the role of migration in the history of this Mississippian polity.",
keywords = "Cahokia, Migration, Mississippian, Mound 72, Strontium isotopes",
author = "Slater, {Philip A.} and Hedman, {Kristin M.} and Emerson, {Thomas E.}",
note = "Funding Information: The Cahokia Collapse Project is a long-term multidisciplinary project undertaken by the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS), Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois, in collaboration with researchers at the Illinois State Museum and the Departments of Anthropology and Geology at the University of Illinois. This research was supported and funded by ISAS , with funding for sample preparations provided in part by University of Illinois Campus Research Board Grant , Award #11137. All figures are provided courtesy of ISAS. Access to samples was provided by ISAS, the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois State Museum, and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois. Special thanks to Steve Kuehn (ISAS) and Dawn Cobb (ISM) for their assistance in obtaining samples. Sample preparation for isotope analysis was conducted in the Paleoenvironmental Laboratory at the University of Illinois with assistance from Matthew Fort, and in consultation with Dr. Stanley Ambrose. Strontium isotope analysis was conducted by Philip A. Slaterin the Department of Geology at the University of Illinois in consultation with Thomas M. Johnson and Craig C. Lundstrom. Finally, we appreciate the comments and suggestions from four anonymous reviewers, which greatly improved the quality of this manuscript.",
year = "2014",
month = apr,
doi = "10.1016/j.jas.2014.01.022",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "44",
pages = "117--127",
journal = "Journal of Archaeological Science",
issn = "0305-4403",
publisher = "Elsevier Inc.",
number = "1",
}