New echinoderm remains in the buried offerings of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan, Mexico City Carolina Martín-Cao-Romero1, Francisco Alonso Solís-Marín2, Andrea Alejandra Caballero-Ochoa4, Yoalli Quetzalli Hernández-Díaz1, Leonardo López Luján3 & Belem Zúñiga-Arellano3 1. Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, UNAM, México; [email protected], [email protected] 2. Laboratorio de Sistemática y Ecología de Equinodermos, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (ICML), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México; [email protected] 3. Proyecto Templo Mayor (PTM), Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México (INAH). 4. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Apdo. 70-305, Ciudad de México, México, C.P. 04510; [email protected] Received 01-XII-2016. Corrected 02-V-2017. Accepted 07-VI-2017. Abstract: Between 1978 and 1982 the ruins of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan were exhumed a few meters northward from the central plaza (Zócalo) of Mexico City. The temple was the center of the Mexica’s ritual life and one of the most famous ceremonial buildings of its time (15th and 16th centuries). More than 200 offerings have been recovered in the temple and surrounding buildings. We identified vestiges of 14 species of echino- derms (mostly as disarticulated plates). These include six species of sea stars (Luidia superba, Astropecten regalis, Astropecten duplicatus, Phataria unifascialis, Nidorellia armata, Pentaceraster cumingi), one ophiu- roid species (Ophiothrix rudis), two species of sea urchins (Eucidaris thouarsii, Echinometra vanbrunti), four species of sand dollars (Mellita quinquiesperforata, Mellita notabilis, Encope laevis, Clypeaster speciosus) and one species of sea biscuit (Meoma ventricosa grandis). They date back to the reigns of kings Axayacatl (AD 1469-1481), Tizoc (AD 1481-1486), Ahuitzotl (AD 1486-1502), and Motecuhzoma II (AD 1502-1520). Apparently the presence of echinoderms in the offerings is related to the realm of Tlaloc (god of rain and earth). It is believed this organisms, like other marine animals, were used by the priests, like other marine animals, to represent the aquatic underworld of Mesoamerican world-view. Rev. Biol. Trop. 65(Suppl. 1): S168-S179. Epub 2017 November 01. Key words: Echinodermata; Templo Mayor; Tenochtitlan; Mexica Empire; Pre-Hispanic period; Mesoamerica; Mexico. Animal remains have been part of the about Aztec economy, politics, and religion. archaeological discoveries around the world Five hundred years ago, this multi-tiered pyra- and are present in different cultures. Archaeo- mid marked the literal center of the Mexica zoology is defined as the study of faunal universe, where elaborated ceremonies were remains left behind when an animal dies on an performed to maintain cosmic order and sustain archaeological site, it includes bones, shells, the gods (López Austin & López Luján, 2009, hair, scales, proteins, and sometimes DNA 2017; López Luján, 2001). (Kalof, 2012). After eight long field seasons (1978-2017) Between 1978 and 1982 the ruins of the at Tenochtitlan’s sacred precinct in downtown Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan were exhumed Mexico City, Templo Mayor archaeological a few meters northward from the central plaza project has recovered more than two hundred (Zócalo) of Mexico City. Over the next few offerings dating back to the 14th, 15th and 16th decades, this sacred pyramid was excavated centuries AD. They were buried by the Mexica and studied, revealing a wealth of information priests inside religious buildings and under the S168 Rev. Biol. Trop. (Int. J. Trop. Biol. ISSN-0034-7744) Vol. 65(Suppl. 1): S168-S179, November 2017 plaza floors in order to consecrate the enlarge- indisputable political and economic power of ments of their temples, to commemorate special the Mexica empire. Such a high concentration festivities, or to appease their gods. Each one of riches in such a small space is surprising and of these offerings contained all kinds of gifts, has no comparison in similar contexts from the including raw minerals, plants, animals, human Olmec, Maya, and Teotihuacan cultures. remains, and artifacts (López Luján, 2005). As This investigation began with the recurring for the animals, several scientists have identi- discovery in our excavations of some echino- fied hundreds of species corresponding to six derm remains (varying from complete echinoid different phyla: Porifera, Coelenterata, Echino- tests, fragments, disarticulated spines, and also dermata, Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Chordata, diversely-shaped sea stars calcareous plates). the latter with six classes (Chondrichthyes, Nearly all of them were concentrated inside Osteichthyes, Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves and the stone offering boxes and associated with Mammalia). There is a clear predominance of marine organisms such as bivalves, gastropods, species endemic to regions quite far away from and corals. the Basin of Mexico. These were imported After being photographed, drawn, and by the Mexicas from practically all corners described in their original contexts, all these of the empire and beyond, from contrasting echinoderm remains were collected using ecosystems such as tropical forests, temperate plastic bags, labeled, and recorded in a data zones, marine environments, estuaries, coastal base. Later, they were carefully cleaned in the lagoons, and mangrove swamps. The scar- field laboratory and counted. Then they were city of edible species reveals the clear interest separated according to their differential mor- on the part of priests in those animals that phology. We distinguished various anatomic were attributed with profound religious or cos- segments of the endoskeleton, which enabled mological significance (López Luján, Chávez us to begin the taxonomic identifications. Balderas, Zúñiga-Arellano, Aguirre Molina & In order to identify the organisms to which Valentín Maldonado, 2014). In the last few these elements belonged, we compared our years and thanks to the careful recovery and archaeological remains to modern specimens analysis of all kinds of materials found at the collected in Mexican waters and stored in the bottom of the offerings, we have identified Echinoderm National Collection (ENC) ICML, vestiges of 14 species of echinoderms. These UNAM (Table 1). Organisms were observed organisms were recovered inside 23 offerings: using both an optic microscope and scanning 1, 5, 7, 57, 81, 84, 88, 102, 107, 120, 124, 125, electron microscope (SEM) imaging. In order 126, 132, 136, 137, 141, 143, 163, 166, M, N, to observe the skeleton of the sea stars the skin and operation 1. They date back to the reigns was removed with regular household bleach of Axayacatl (AD 1469-1481), Tizoc (AD (NaClO), after that the individual skeletal 1481-1486), Ahuitzotl (AD 1486-1502), and plates were extracted from specimens or parts Motecuhzoma II (AD 1502-1520). of specimen immersed, rinsed in tap water, dried, mounted on aluminium stubs and gold- MATERIAL AND METHODS coated (modified from Thuy & Stöhr, 2016). Pictures of taxonomical characters of the During its last two field seasons from 2007 species were taken with a multifocal micro- to 2017, the Templo Mayor Project explored scope AXIO Zoom.V16 with the camera the area located just at the foot of Tenochtit- AxioCam MRc5 and the program Zeiss Effi- lan’s main pyramid. Until now, 53 offerings cient Navigation, at the Microscope Laboratory have been recovered there. These ritual depos- (Instituto de Biología, UNAM). its have yielded tens of thousand of objects that To determine the size of the major radius demonstrate not only the enormous religious (R= distance from the center of the disc to the significance of the area of study, but also the tip of one of the arms) of Nidorellia armata Rev. Biol. Trop. (Int. J. Trop. Biol. ISSN-0034-7744) Vol. 65(Suppl. 1): S168-S179, November 2017 S169 TABLE 1 Odontophore size, major radius (R) and catalogue number of Nidorellia armata specimens deposited at the Echinoderm National Collection, UNAM, collected between the years 1947 and 1991 CUADRO 1 Tamaño del odontóforo, radio mayor (R) y número de catálogo de los especímenes de Nidorellia armata depositados en la Echinoderm National Collection, UNAM, colectados entre los años 1947 y 1991 Odontophore Catalogue number R (mm) (mm) (ICML-UNAM) 2.39 23.24 11142 3.55 38.80 11142 3.59 38.77 10036 3.61 39.85 10036 Fig. 1. Width size sea star odontophore measurement. 3.71 39.91 2.40.22 Fig. 1. Medida del ancho del odontóforo de la estrella 3.96 38.55 2.40.24 de mar. 4.1 40.02 2.40.25 4.16 36.36 2.40.3 4.32 37.75 2.40.3 it to the measurement of the major radius (R) 4.41 46.74 2.40.21 (Fig. 1). For the comparative data, we measured 4.63 60.95 2.40.11 35 modern organisms deposited in the ENC, 4.75 44.39 2.40.11 ICML, UNAM and 39 odontophores from the 5.09 57.09 2.40.16 5.13 55.82 2.40.16 ancient offerings. Extrapolation of these data 5.34 51.76 2.40.9 was used to estimate the major radius (R) of 5.61 54.77 2.40.23 the specimens buried five hundreds years ago. 5.96 66.6 2.40.9 Given the success of our studies, we decid- 6.10 59.25 2.40.9 ed to widen the investigation to include the 6.18 67.79 2.40.0 Templo Mayor Museum, to see if there were 6.21 48.46 2.40.1 any other echinoderm remains in the collec- 6.62 57.9 2.40.15 tions from earlier field seasons of the Templo 6.85 60.99 2.40.4 Mayor Project (1978-1982, 1987 and 1989). 6.93 65.95 2.40.5 In the storage facilities we found several bags 7.19 71.60 2.40.1 of sediment from seven offerings, which con- 7.89 66.78 2.40.1 tained more echinoderm fragments and plates.