１７００年前のメキシコで「クモザル外交」　米研究

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】１７００年前の先コロンブス期のメキシコで、外交的な絆を深めるため雌のクモザルが贈られていたとする論文が２１日、「米科学アカデミー紀要」に掲載された。（写真は、メキシコのテオティワカン遺跡で見つかったクモザルの骨）
　クモザルはマヤの高官からテオティワカンに贈られたもので、１９７０年代の米中国交正常化時の「パンダ外交」に相当するとしている。
　論文の筆頭著者であるカリフォルニア大学リバーサイド校のナワ・スギヤマ氏は２０１８年、メキシコの首都メキシコ市の北東４８キロに位置するテオティワカン遺跡で、本来は生息しないクモザルの骨を発見した。同遺跡は国連教育科学文化機関（ユネスコ）の世界遺産に登録されている。
　クモザルは５～８歳ごろに生きたまま埋められ、いけにえとされた可能性が高い。研究は、クモザルの骨がなぜこの地にあるのか、誰が連れてきたのか、なぜいけにえにされたのかといった疑問から始まった。
　骨が見つかった「石柱の広場」は、現代で言えば大使館に当たる場所で、マヤの代表機関が置かれていた。
　クモザルの骨は、黒曜石や巻き貝の殻、貴石など貴重な品々と共に発見された。国鳥イヌワシの骨も見つかった。スギヤマ氏は、高官レベルでの交流が行われていた証拠だとしている。
　さらに、別々の時期に生えたクモザルの犬歯２本を化学分析したところ、捕獲される前は多湿な環境で、植物や植物の根を食べていたことが分かった。テオティワカンに連れて来られた後は、トウモロコシやトウガラシなど人間の食べ物に近いものが与えられていたようだ。
　クモザルは「標高の高いテオティワカンには生息しない、珍奇な生き物」として扱われていた可能性があるという。
　クモザルは「後ろ手に縛られ、両足も拘束された」状態だった。この姿勢は、テオティワカンでいけにえにされた人間や動物によく見られる。
　スギヤマ氏は、現代人は残酷に思うかもしれないが、「文化的慣行や、自分にとって一番大切なものをささげるということがどういう意味を持つかを理解し、文脈を考える必要がある」としている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/11/22-17:19）

Seventeen hundred years ago, a female spider monkey was presented as a treasured gift -- and later brutally sacrificed -- to strengthen ties between two major powers of pre-Hispanic America, according to a new study.
The paper, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), compared the offering by Maya elites to Teotihuacan to China's panda diplomacy that accompanied the normalization of Sino-US relations in the 1970s.
By using multiple techniques -- including extraction of ancient DNA, radiocarbon dating and chemical dietary analysis -- researchers were able to reconstruct the life and death of the primate, finding she was likely between five and eight years of age when buried alive.
It's such an exciting time to be doing archaeology because the methodology is finally here, lead author Nawa Sugiyama of the University of California, Riverside told AFP.
The work began with Sugiyama's surprising discovery in 2018 of the animal's remains in the ruins of Teotihuacan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the arid Mexican Highlands.
Spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) aren't native to the elevated region, leaving Sugiyama with a puzzle to solve: What was the animal doing there, who brought it, and why was it sacrificed?
Vital clues came from the remains' location. Teotihuacan (pronounced tay-uh-tee-waa-kaan), which lies 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Mexico City, was an important site of cultural exchange and innovation in Classic Mesoamerica.
It's perhaps best known for the pyramids of the Moon, Sun and Feathered Serpent. But there is increasing interest in another monument called Plaza of the Columns, a complex where neighboring Maya maintained a presence likened to a modern day embassy.
- Feasts, treasures and murals -
The monkey's skeletal remains were found in the complex alongside a golden eagle -- an emblem of Mexico even today -- and surrounded by a collection of high-value items, including obsidian projectile points, conch shells, and precious stone artifacts.
Over 14,000 ceramic shards from a grand feast were also discovered, as well as a Maya mural depicting the spider monkey.
This, said Sugiyama, was further evidence of an exchange that took place at the highest levels, and preceded the Teotihuacan state's later rise and military involvement in Maya cities by the year 378 CE.
Results from chemical analysis involving two canine teeth that erupted at different points in the monkey's life indicate that prior to captivity, she lived in a humid environment and ate plants and roots.
After being captured and brought to Teotihuacan her diet was closer to that of humans, including corn and chili peppers.
The spider monkey may have been an exotic curiosity alien to the high elevations of Teotihuacan, wrote Sugiyama and colleagues, with the fact she was a fellow primate possibly adding to her charisma and appeal.
Ultimately, the animal met a grisly demise: Hands bound behind its back and tethered feet indicate en vivo burial, common among human and animal sacrifices at Teotihuacan, the authors wrote.
Though savage to modern eyes, we need to understand and contextualize these cultural practices... and what it meant to be able to give up that which is most precious to you, said Sugiyama.