Since it is a cross-section of ages, it will be found to be victims of the smallpox plague IMHO.
Was smallpox endemic to North America in the 1480’s? I thought it was imported by the evil white man beginning in 1492.
IMHO, you are wrong that it’s from small pox.
The reason? It date is prior to european arrival. Also, the probably wouldn’t have been mass buried as a result of disease. It’s not practical
re: “The burial, dating to the 1480s, lies at the foot of the main temple in the sacred ceremonial precinct of the Aztec capital . . .”
At the foot of the main temple? I’m guessing the bones are victims of their religious ceremonies, not smallpox. What little I have read of Aztec worship, buring the victims of their sacrifical worship next to the temple makes sense.
Human sacrifice and canibalism were integral parts of Aztec life. The victims were typically sacrificed in a temple at the top of the pyramid, and then the carcasses were thrown down the side of the pyramid. You only find parts of the bodies because parts of the victims ended up for sale as meat in the marketplace.
There was no smallpox in Aztec regions in 1480, or even much later. Aztecs sacrificed people of many different ages who were taken from tributary tribes. Those tribes didn’t enjoy being the “other white meat”, and so they enthusiastically helped Cortes end the Aztec reign of terror.
Most conservatives are afraid to violate the shibboleths of political correctness. Nevertheless, as hard as the Spaniards could be, they were pussycats compared to the Aztecs.