Multiproxy paleodietary reconstruction using stable isotopes and starch analysis: The case of the archaeological site of Playa del Mango, Granma, Cuba

Armas, Yadira Chinique de; Herrera, Ulises M. González; Serrano, Idalí Reyes; Buhay, William M.; Skelton, Stephanie; Suárez, Roberto Rodríguez; Roksandić, Mirjana; Laffoon, Jason E.

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103671

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…However, previous isotopic analyses suggest that maize was a marginal food (< 12% of calories) in the Supe Valley during the Formative Period 18 . Our results and previous studies indicate that the absence or abundance of starch grains cannot be used to directly infer the frequency of C 3 and C 4 plant consumption in a small population 39 – 41 . We recovered a one starch grain with damage by a possible fermentation process at Sacred City of Caral.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

Analysis of starch grains trapped in human dental calculus in Áspero, Peru during the Initial Formative Period (3000–1800 BCE)

Yseki,

Pezo-Lanfranco,

Machacuay

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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The objective of this research is to identify the plants consumed and to determine their dietary importance in Áspero, an urban center on the coast of the Supe Valley, Peru. Consequently, starch grains trapped in the human dental calculus of nine individuals were recovered, while the results from one individual from the Sacred City of Caral, located in the interior of Supe Valley, are presented. Eight species of food plants were identified, among them C3 plants: sweet potato, squash, potato, chili pepper, algarrobo, manioc and bean and C4 plant: maize. Previous isotopic analysis indicates that C3 plants formed the foundation of the diet at Áspero and Caral. Our results indicate a high ubiquity of C3 plants like sweet potato (100%) and squash (90%) suggesting, with caution, that these taxa were an important C3 source in the menu. Maize, C4 plant, showed a similar ubiquity (100%) to sweet potato and squash, however, previous isotopic analysis indicate that maize was a marginal food in Áspero and Caral. These results support that the absence and abundance of starch grains cannot be employed to directly infer the frequency of intake of C3 and C4 plants within a small population, as suggested by previous studies.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

Analysis of starch grains trapped in human dental calculus in Áspero, Peru during the Initial Formative Period (3000–1800 BCE)

Yseki,

Pezo-Lanfranco,

Machacuay

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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“…Aunque el volumen se distingue por mostrar una diversa gama de estudios bioantropológicos en poblaciones modernas, el potencial de la antropología biológica en el estudio de las poblaciones indígenas de Cuba, y sus descendientes, constituye uno de los aspectos menos desarrollados de este empeño. La obra se hubiese beneficiado de incluir, o debatir con mayor profundidad, los aportes recientes de la bioarqueología y la arqueometría en el estudio de las migraciones (Laffoon et al, 2013), la alimentación y la nutrición de las poblaciones del pasa-do (Valcárcel Rojas et al, 2011;2020;Chinique de Armas et al, 2015;2022a;Rodríguez Suárez et al, 2020), incluyendo la reconstrucción de las prácticas de lactancia y su influencia en la supervivencia de los infantes (Chinique de Armas et al, 2012;2017;2022b;Chinique de Armas and Pestle, 2018). De igual modo, hubiera sido favorable tomar en consideración aspectos relacionados con la diversidad biológica y cultural de estos grupos (Roksandic et al, 2016;Chinique de Armas et al, 2016;2019), para alcanzar mayor balance y actualidad.…”

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Rangel Rivero A., Vázquez Sánchez, V. 2021 (Eds.). Antropología biológica aplicada en Cuba. La Habana: Editorial UH, 263 p.

Chinique de Armas

2023

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Earliest evidence of sedentism in the Antilles: Multiple isotope data from Canímar Abajo, Cuba

Chinique de Armas,

Hernández Godoy,

Viera Sanfiel

et al. 2024

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The early populations that inhabited the Antilles were traditionally understood as highly mobile groups of hunters/fishers and gatherers. Although more recent data have demonstrated that some populations engaged in the production of domestic plants and cultivars, questions remain about other aspects of their lifeways, including whether the adoption of domesticates was accompanied by a decrease in residential mobility. The level of sedentism in a population is an instrumental variable to understand community social relations and complexity, adaptations, and lifeways. Here, we combined enamel strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr), oxygen (δ 18 O en ), and carbon (δ 13 C en ) isotopes of 44 human teeth from the site of Canímar Abajo—where the oldest human remains from the insular Caribbean have been reported—to examine the mobility patterns of early Antillean groups. In contrast with traditional narratives, the homogeneous strontium isotope values observed in most individuals from the older funerary area of the site (cal. BC 2237–790) were consistent with the pattern expected for a sedentary population subsisting primarily on local resources obtained close to the coast. The isotopic evidence reveals that between cal. AD 403–1282, the mound was reused for funerary practices by both local communities and nonlocal individuals. The evidence suggests that this period saw higher population mobility, with influxes of individuals from more distant locations and diverse dietary and burial traditions. The isotope results from Canímar Abajo provide the earliest isotopic evidence of populations with low-level residential mobility in the Antilles.

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Multiproxy paleodietary reconstruction using stable isotopes and starch analysis: The case of the archaeological site of Playa del Mango, Granma, Cuba

Cited by 4 publications

References 72 publications

Analysis of starch grains trapped in human dental calculus in Áspero, Peru during the Initial Formative Period (3000–1800 BCE)

Analysis of starch grains trapped in human dental calculus in Áspero, Peru during the Initial Formative Period (3000–1800 BCE)

Rangel Rivero A., Vázquez Sánchez, V. 2021 (Eds.). Antropología biológica aplicada en Cuba. La Habana: Editorial UH, 263 p.

Earliest evidence of sedentism in the Antilles: Multiple isotope data from Canímar Abajo, Cuba

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