Investigating economic specialization on the central Peruvian coast: A reconstruction of Late Intermediate Period Ychsma diet using stable isotopes

Abstract

These results indicate greater reliance on marine resources at Armatambo versus Rinconada Alta, supporting the ethnohistoric model of socioeconomic specialization for the Central Andean coast. Deviations from large-scale dietary trends suggest complexities not accounted for by the ethnohistoric model, including intra-community subsistence specialization and/or variation in resource access.

Drinking Locally: A Water 87Sr/86Sr Isoscape for Geolocation of Archeological Samples in the Peruvian Andes

“…Carbon and nitrogen data are not yet published for Huaca Colorada, but given iconographic evidence for reliance of north coastal Moche people on seafood (Donnan and McClelland, 1999; see, e.g., Bourget and Jones, 2009), it is likely that Huaca Colorada's inhabitants relied heavily on marine products, just as other coastal people did (Knudson et al, , 2015Slovak and Paytan, 2011). In contrast, at the coastal site of Armatambo, all of the human samples fell within the isoscape prediction ± prediction standard error, even though they consumed a high proportion of marine foods (Marsteller et al, 2017). At Armatambo, measured 87 Sr/ 86 Sr have a mean error of 0.0012 more radiogenic than the drinking water prediction, which may reflect a uniform elevation of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr consistent with greater consumption of marine products with 87 Sr/ 86 Sr around 0.7092.…”

Stable isotope analysis of a pre‐Hispanic Andean community: Reconstructing pre‐Wari and Wari era diets in the hinterland of the Wari empire, Peru

“…However, environmental factors, such as aridity, can also impact δ 15 N values, with warmer, arid regions exhibiting higher δ 15 N values compared to cooler and wetter regions (Ambrose 1991;Ambrose and Deniro 1987). Nitrogen isotope values from modern marine samples from the Peruvian and Chilean coast have been published and are used as comparative data when inferring marine product consumption at Beringa (Marsteller et al 2017;Tieszen et al 1992).…”

Biogeochemical reconstructions of life histories as a method to assess regional interactions: Stable oxygen and radiogenic strontium isotopes and Late Intermediate Period mobility on the Central Peruvian Coast

“…Although increased relative to the biologically available 87 Sr/ 86 Sr calculated from Cavia porcellus bone apatite values, the general homogeneity of these values suggests they represent local 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. Analysis of δ 15 N in bone collagen reveals consumption of marine foods at both sites (Marsteller, et al, 2017), which likely accounts for the observed increase in 87 Sr/ 86 Sr towards the ocean signature of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr=0.70920 (Elderfield, 1986;Veizer, 1989).…”

“…Additional isotopic analyses of dietary practices at Rinconada Alta reveal that isotopic evidence of diet may not always be able to discern non-local individuals or foreign travel. Specifically, stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic data indicate that Rinconada Alta 0567-ENT116 consumed a diet focused on C 4 and/or low-trophic level marine protein resources and an increased proportion of C 4 versus C 3 non-protein (carbohydrates and lipids) resources (Marsteller, et al, 2017). This dietary pattern falls within normal trends among individuals at the site suggesting that 0567-ENT116's foreign associations may not have impacted her diet (Marsteller, et al, 2017).…”

“…Specifically, stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic data indicate that Rinconada Alta 0567-ENT116 consumed a diet focused on C 4 and/or low-trophic level marine protein resources and an increased proportion of C 4 versus C 3 non-protein (carbohydrates and lipids) resources (Marsteller, et al, 2017). This dietary pattern falls within normal trends among individuals at the site suggesting that 0567-ENT116's foreign associations may not have impacted her diet (Marsteller, et al, 2017). Alternatively, she may have consumed different types of resources with similar isotopic signatures.…”