Trace-element evidence for foreigners at a Maya port in Northern Yucatan Andrea Cucina a, * , Vera Tiesler a , Thelma Sierra Sosa b , Hector Neff c a Facultad de Ciencias Antropológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Km. 1 Carretera Mérida-Tizimin, Mérida, Yucatán 97305, Mexico b Centro INAH Yucatán, Km. 6 Carretera Mérida-Progreso s/n, Mérida, Yucatán 97310, Mexico c Institute for Integrative Research in Materials, Environments, and Society, California State University Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA article info Article history: Received 21 September 2010 Received in revised form 23 March 2011 Accepted 25 March 2011 Keywords: Trace elements Hydro-geological environment Provenience Ancient Maya Yucatán abstract The present paper explores the potentials of trace elements in human dental enamel to indicate mobility and to detect the presence of individuals who had migrated into a community after childhood. Three Pre- Hispanic samples of infants from the Yucatán peninsula were chosen, one from the northern coast (Xcambó), one from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico (Campeche) and the last one from the tropical inland rain forest (Calakmul). Infants’ first permanent molars are the term of reference because infants were very likely born in the same place where they died and therefore are supposed to represent the local geo- chemical environment. Their chemical signature was then compared to the one of the adults from the site of Xcambó. The elemental composition was recorded by means of laser ablation-time of flight-ICP- MS. Sr and Ba (and secondly Mg and I) discriminate well the three infant samples. All the Early Classic adults from Xcambó fall within the range of variation of the site’s infants, while 25% of the Late Classic adults fall outside the range in agreement with archaeological, bioarcheological, and isotopic evidence. LA-ICP-Ms analyses of trace elements in archaeological samples can be an important analytical tool to detect foreigners in local populations. The selection of infants as reference values helps reduce the limits faced by trace element analyses in past human populations studies. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Research questions concerning residential mobility, diet and disease, and place of birth of individuals represented in skeletal assemblages have long interested scientists and promoted the development of macroscopic and chemical methods of analysis. Today, several powerful analytical techniques are available for addressing these questions. Here we use laser ablation-time of flight-ICP-MS analysis of human dental enamel. Initial interest during the 1990s in trace element studies declined when it became clear that the physiology involved in trace element absorption and consequent manifestation in bones and teeth was not as straightforward and easy to interpret as was initially thought (Burton and Price, 2000; Ezzo, 1994a,b; Grupe, 1998). Trace-element characterization thus gave way stable isotope analysis, which was considered more precise and reliable (Bentley et al., 2002; Price et al., 1994a,b, 2000; Sealy et al., 1995; Schwarcz et al., 1991; White et al., 1998, 2002). Nonetheless, a number of studies (Curzon, 1983; Lappalainen et al., 1981; Molleson, 1988; Vrbic et al., 1987) suggest that trace elements may provide reliable data on the geographic origins of human populations. As a result, some studies have continued to explore the value of trace elements in studies of human migration and origins (Burton et al., 2003; Cucina et al., 2005a; Schneider and Blakeslee, 1990). During the last decade or so, as laser ablation-ICP-MS has made solid-sample in-situ analysis practical (Speakman and Neff, 2005), trace element analysis has seen a resurgence in the field of skeletal and dental biology. The minimally destructive nature of laser ablation techniques is especially valuable in archeology and bio- archaeology, where the need for preservation of invaluable remains often limits the application of other, more invasive analytical techniques. The application of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma- mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) permits specific and well targeted portions of bone and dental enamel and dentine to be pinpointed, allowing precise chronological control and detection of changes in the absorption of specific trace elements related to pre- versus postnatal status (Dolphin et al., 2005), weaning or maternal status (Dolphin and Goodman, 2009), detection of toxic elements (Budd et al., 1998; Uryu et al., 2003) reconstruction of elemental profiles (Cox et al., 1996; Kang et al., 2004; Lee et al., 1999; Lochner et al., 1999), or detection of the presence of foreigners in archaeological samples (Cucina et al., 2005a, 2007). * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ52 999 930 0090x2206. E-mail address: acucina@yahoo.com (A. Cucina). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas 0305-4403/$ e see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.032 Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 1878e1885