Camelid handling in the meridional Andes during the first millennium AD: a preliminary approach using stable isotopes

Abstract

Stable isotope analysis has been used in archaeology to answer a variety of questions. In general, the study of human palaeodiets has been the main subject. Studies of past animal feeding behaviour have not been considered extensively in South America. In this paper we discuss the interpretation of the d 13 C values in camelid bone specimens on the basis of published and new data from the southern Andes (northwestern Argentina). The temporal frame is mainly focused in the first millennium AD (part of the local Formative Period -400 BC to 600 AD -as well as the Regional Integration Period at 600-1000 AD, and the Late Period at 1000-1500 AD) which for this area implies a time of great social changes. Samples from modern Camelidae family were used to compare with those from archaeological sites, interpreting two different patterns that can be associated with distinctive animal feeding strategies. We suggest that these strategies can be associated with human management rather than free-range camelid feeding behaviour. Thus stable isotopes become an innovative strategy to segregate domestic from wild camelids, complementing those results achieved by osteometric and statistical analyses. Moreover, they allow for camelid management interpretation in three different localities of the area from the above-mentioned different periods.

Isotopic evidence for the trade and production of exotic marine mammal bone artifacts at Chavín de Huántar, Peru

“…Most Andean domesticated plants such as tubers, including potatoes, and quinoa have δ 13 C values reflecting C 3 plant physiology, showing more negative values ranging from −27 to −18 ‰, while one critical Andean crop, maize, is a C 4 grass that has much more positive δ 13 C values, around −13 to −10 ‰ (Miller 2005;Szpak et al 2013). Importantly, camelids from archaeological contexts have been found to have diets reliant on both C 3 and C 4 plants, indicating diversity in their foddering, often related to local ecology and archaeological context (see Finucane et al 2006, Izeta et al 2009, and Mengoni Gonalons 2007, but potentially also showing overlap with aquatic δ 13 C values. Nitrogen stable isotope ratios in plants relate to the nitrogen source and metabolic pathways of the plant, with most terrestrial plants' δ 15 N ranging from 0 ‰ (nitrogen fixing plants such as legumes) to~7 ‰ DeNiro and Hastorf 1985;Miller 2005;Schoeninger and DeNiro 1984;Szpak et al 2013).…”

Provisioning Inka feasts at Tiwanaku, Bolivia: the geographic origins of camelids in the Pumapunku complex

“…In hydroxyapatite carbonate, analyzed here, stable carbon isotope values (d 13 C carbonate ) largely reflect the carbon sources in the whole diet (Ambrose and Norr, 1993;Jim et al, 2004;Kellner and Schoeninger, 2007). Stable carbon isotope analysis has a long history in paleodietary analyses in archeology, and studies on faunal remains are becoming more common (e.g., Finucane, et al, 2006;Izeta et al, 2009;Rawlings and Driver, 2010;Schulting and Richards, 2002;Thornton et al, 2011;White, 2004;White et al, 2001).…”

Isótopos estables, dieta de camélidos y diferenciación social (valle de ambato, Catamarca, Argentina, siglos VI-XI D.C.)

“…A estos resultados sumamos los datos de δ 13 C obtenidos con anterioridad en PB, EA, M3 y R4 1 , en su mayoría ya publicados en trabajos previos (Izeta et al 2009(Izeta et al , 2010. Las muestras seleccionadas corresponden a elementos del esqueleto apendicular de camélidos que presentaban buen aspecto visual y se encontraban en buen estado de conservación (no estaban quemados, meteorizados, ni con depositación química, etc.).…”

“…En cuanto a la ecología isotópica del valle, Izeta et al (2009) registraron las especies vegetales con capacidad forrajera, así como su distribución y vía fotosintética. De este modo, pudieron observar la presencia de especies con patrones fotosintéticos C 3 y C 4 , las que se distribuyen indistintamente en los diferentes pisos vegetales del valle (i.e.…”