Food and the State: Bioarchaeological Investigations of Diet in the Moche Valley of Perú

Abstract

The Moche of north coastal Perú were among the earliest New World societies to develop state socio-political organization. The Moche State (AD 200-800) was a centralized hierarchical society that controlled the Moche Valley as well as valleys to the north and south. Prior to the establishment of the state, a series of less hierarchical organizations were present in the valley. Irrigation agriculture has often been cited as central to development of the Moche State. To test this assertion I examined 750 individuals recovered from the largest cemetery at the site of Cerro Oreja. Although the most important occupation of Cerro Oreja was during the Gallinazo phase (AD 1-200), many individuals were interred here during the earlier Salinar period (400 -1 BC). Consequently, the Cerro Oreja collection holds a key to understanding the development of one of the earliest and most extensive states in the Americas. The teeth and/or alveoli of each individual were examined for the presence of dental caries, periodontal disease, abscesses, and antemortem tooth loss. My analysis suggests women and children did increasingly focus their diet on agricultural products. These findings seem to support the hypothesis that increased irrigation and reliance on agricultural production was fundamental to the development of the Moche state. However, men’s diets remained consistent through time. Status seems to have been of little import in determining diet before and during early periods of state development, in dramatic contrast to what we know of its importance during the zenith of the state’s power. I suggest that increasing differentiation of gender roles was important to the development of the state, and that gender differences may have been the most salient force in the transition to political hierarchy and social stratification in the Moche valley.

Once were warriors: Challenging occupation preconceptions in Lebanese weapon‐associated burials (Middle Bronze Age, Sidon)

“…There is growing evidence suggesting that members from different social classes, consuming different foods, tend to have different patterns of dental diseases (Cucina et al, 2003; Gagnon, 2004; Sakashita et al, 1997). Examples from Honduras and Belize (Reed, 1994), China (Sakashita et al, 1997) and Peru (Gagnon, 2004) show that there is significantly more caries among low‐status burials than in high‐status individuals.…”

“…There is growing evidence suggesting that members from different social classes, consuming different foods, tend to have different patterns of dental diseases (Cucina et al, 2003; Gagnon, 2004; Sakashita et al, 1997). Examples from Honduras and Belize (Reed, 1994), China (Sakashita et al, 1997) and Peru (Gagnon, 2004) show that there is significantly more caries among low‐status burials than in high‐status individuals. This was often explained by the fact that low‐status individuals ate mainly carbohydrates, whereas elite individuals consumed fewer carbohydrates, had easier access to animal protein, and in general, a more varied and holistic diet (Reed, 1994), and so this supposition would not fit within examination of the Sidonian population given that isotopic values suggest similar proportions of animal protein and cereals.…”

‘Doing’ Llama Face Stew: A Late Moche Culinary Assemblage as a Domestic Dedicatory Deposit

“…More commonly, food has been considered for its dietary and nutritional significance, rather than its symbolic importance (e.g. Gagnon 2004;Kellner & Schoeninger 2007;Kurin 2015;Pozorski 1979;Quilter & Stocker 1983;Quilter et al 1991). This is not to say that the symbolism of food in the Andes has been ignored (e.g.…”

Designing databases and using generalized estimating equations for entheseal datasets: An example from the Tiwanaku culture (AD 500–1100)

“…It also involves utilizing strong statistical analyses that maximize EC information to answer questions about ancient peoples while also not violating assumptions of statistical independence for multiple data points by individual. We describe these as design and scalar issues, which can be found in other osteoarcheological studies not just activity patterns (e.g., Becker, 2013, 2019; Gagnon, 2004; Gagnon & Wiesen, 2013; Greenwald et al, 2022; Nikita, 2014). Though, specifically in activity pattern studies, using one or two EC produces a scalar and design issue because that is not enough information to answer overall questions about past populations.…”