About

Our project “Human Histories: Sacrifice Decoded” stems from our Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Diana Moreiras Reynaga’s PhD research. This initial research focused on gaining insight into the life histories of two groups of sacrificial victims from the Templo R of Tlatelolco and the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan, through the stable isotope analyses (carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen) of skeletal remains, complemented with the archaeological and bioarchaeological data as well as the historical record. In her study, Dr. Moreiras found wide inter- and intra-variability in the geographic residency and diets of these two groups, and particularly in the Templo Mayor victims’ group. Thanks to this initial research, we have learned about the victims’ overall diets (via bulk carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses) and their geographic residences (via phosphate-oxygen isotope analysis) prior to their sacrificial death.

This initial research sparked further questions about the lives of individuals chosen for sacrifice, their overall treatment once they became sacrificial victims, and the need for further research into the specific foods that the sacrifices may have consumed during the childhood and adulthood periods. Moreover, we hoped to explore the application of an interdisciplinary methodological approach to compare sacrificial practices between the two largest and rival empires of the Postclassic period: the Mexica and the Tarascan.

As a result, our project stems from previous research into the life histories of Mexica sacrificial victims and incorporates innovative cutting-edge bio-geochemical and -molecular methods, in tandem with the archaeological, bioarchaeological, and historic data to study sacrificial practices and give agency to those who were sacrificed in the Tarascan and Mexica societies.

Our team is composed of an interdisciplinary group of collaborators within the fields of Anthropology and Archaeology, History, Earth Sciences, and Biology with affiliations in Mexican, Canadian, American, and Spanish institutions. We work collaboratively as well as independently on the multiple project components. Our project outputs include publications, conference presentations, and a virtual museum exhibit on our project website that will showcase our research approaches, methods, and findings.

Photo of the HSSD Team with the Templo Mayor Project Team
Figure 2. HSSD Team with the Templo Mayor Project Team in September 2025.

Co-PI’s Research Visit to Mexico City in 2025

In September of 2025, the project Co-PIs, Dr. Moreiras Reynaga and Dr. Chritz, travelled to Mexico City to meet with several project collaborators to launch our project.

Drs. Moreiras Reynaga and Chritz at Teotihuacan, sitting on the top of a short flight of stone stairs on a sunny day.
Figure 3. Drs. Moreiras Reynaga and Chritz at Teotihuacan.

Day 1: Templo Mayor Archaeological Site and Museum.

We were welcomed by Dr. Leonardo López Luján and his team, and Dr. Punzo Díaz at the Templo Mayor archaeological site in downtown Mexico City, where we held a working session, followed by a tour of the archaeological site and the Templo Mayor Museum.

Members of the HHSD are gathered in a circle and participating in discussion in a room used for arcival purposes.
Figure 4. In-person HSSD Working Session at the Templo Mayor archaeological site.
Five members of the HSSD Team are listening on a member of the Templo Mayor Project Team talks about an archaeological find in their research collection.
Members of the HSSD Team and Templo Mayor Project Team examine a table with a collection of human remains.
Figures 5a and b. The Tempo Mayor Project team showed some of their research collections, followed by a tour of the archaeological site and the Templo Mayor Museum.

To wrap-up our visit with the Templo Mayor team and Dr. Punzo Díaz, and to celebrate the launching of our project, we enjoyed lunch at a restaurant in downtown Mexico City.

Nine people are seated on either side of a large restaurant table. The restaurant has brick walls and a white ceiling.
Figure 6. Lunch with our Mexican collaborators.

Day 2: UNAM

Drs. Moreiras Reynaga and Chritz visited Dr. Elena Mazzetto and PhD student Erika Olivares Flores at the UNAM. The Co-PIs got a tour of the campus visiting the main library, the stable isotope laboratory, Laboratorio Nacional de Geoquímica y Mineralogía (LANGEM), the Postgraduate Unit, and the Anthropology Research Institute (Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas [IIA]), where Dr. Judith Ruíz, gave the Co-PIs a tour of their bioarchaeological and archaeological labs.

A view leading up to the UNAM library on a slightly cloudy day. The library exterior is decorated with a mosaic mural.
Figure 7. The UNAM Library.

Seven people stadning in a research laboratory, with visible equipment.
Figure 8. Visit to the Laboratorio Nacional de Geoquímica y Mineralogía (LANGEM). Francisco Otero and Edith Cienfuegos gave the team a tour of their laboratory facilities.
A view of the UNAM Postgraduate Unit building, facing a square with a water fountain in the middle.
Figure 9. Visit to the UNAM’s Postgraduate Unit.

During this visit, Dr. Moreiras Reynaga also gave a lecture in Dr. Mazzetto’s graduate class about her research on the stable isotope study of mexica sacrificial victims.

Dr. Moreiras Reynaga is seated in front of a project screen giving a lecture. The screen is displaying a slide on her academic background.
Figure 10. Dr. Moreiras Reynaga giving her lecture titled “La isotopía estable en la arqueología: El caso de las víctimas sacrificiales nahuas”.

Day 3: Teotihuacan

During this trip, some of the HSSD team visited the Mesoamerican Classic Period site of Teotihuacan. The team is grateful for the welcome and dedicated site tour led by our colleague, Dr. Sergio Gómez. Besides the site tour, we were also invited to the archaeological site laboratory, where Dr. Gómez and Dr. Julie Gazzola shared with us about the archaeological artifacts and skeletal collections recovered at this important archaeological site.

Nine people are standing with the Teotihuacan Complex in the background.
Figure 11. HSSD team members welcomed to the Teotihuacan Laboratory by Dr. Gómez and Dr. Gazzola.

Institutions

UBC LogoInstituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia logoUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México logoUniversity of Oregon logoCentro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Universidad de Burgos logo

Funding

We are grateful for the funding received from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of the Government of Canada to carry out our research.

SSHRC
About | Human Stories: Sacrifice Decoded