The diet at the onset of the Andean Civilization: New stable isotope data from Caral and Áspero, North‐Central Coast of Peru

Abstract

Objectives: The subsistence system of the first urban centers with monumental architecture from the North-Central Coast of Peru, the core area for the social complexity process of Central Andes, has been debated since the late 1960s. To shed light on this aspect, we report paleodietary data from the two most important sites of the Supe Valley: Caral (3000-200 BC), the major settlement of the middle valley, and Aspero (3000-1800 BC), a notable coastal settlement. Our main objective was to test the Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization hypothesis. Materials and Methods: Stable isotope values (δ 13 C col , δ 13 C ap , and δ 15 N) from 52 individuals (70 samples: 44 bones and 26 teeth) were analyzed using conventional methods and Bayesian Mixing Models to address the role of marine products and plants in people's diet at both sites over time. Results: Our results suggest high C 3 carbohydrate consumption (55%-68% total calories in Aspero and >70% in Caral). The consumption of marine resources was stable for Aspero between 3300 and 1800 BC, but it decreased for Caral between 2550 and 200 BC. Discussion: Marine protein was more important in Aspero than in Caral over time. C 3 plants, possibly tubers, formed the foundation of the diet in both sites during the Formative period (~3000-200 BC). Maize was a marginal food (<12% of calories) at least until 800 BC (29% of calories). The Maritime Foundations hypothesis does not completely account for these findings. Our results suggest the predominance of crop-focused agriculture during the evaluated period.

Diet During the Late Initial Period (1100–800 BC) in the Chavín Heartland: New Data from Canchas Uckro (North-Central Peru)

“…These results conform to a growing dataset from different parts of the Central Andes that indicates that prior to c. 700 BC maize was not a dietary staple. Though maize is present in the Peruvian highlands by 4000-3600 BP (Perry et al 2006) and on the coast by c. 6700-6500 BP (Grobman et al 2012), isotopic studies from Andean highland and coastal sites dating between the third and early first millennia BC indicate that human populations relied primarily on C 3 plants, rather than maize (Burger 2012; Burger and Van der Merwe 1990; Miller et al 2021; Pezo-Lanfranco et al 2022; Seki and Yoneda 2005; Turner et al 2018; Tykot et al 2006; Washburn et al 2020; c.f., Finucane 2009; Tung et al 2020). Mean δ 13 C values from Canchas Uckro (−18.9‰) are virtually identical to those from a sample of burials from the Urabarriu (n = 4) and Janabarriu Phases (n = 1) at Chavín de Huántar, as well as Huaricoto (−18.5‰) (Burger and van der Merwe 1990).…”

The role of farming and fishing in the rise of social complexity in the Central Andes: a stable isotope perspective

“…According to recent discoveries, since at least the Initial Formative Period (3000–1 BCE) the communities of the Pacific basin valleys would have been organized around symbiotic farming-fishing economies, with trade networks along transversal littoral-inland corridors that would not typically exceed 80–100 km 29 . Coastal societies would have relied primarily on fishing with some dependence on cultivated products, while communities in the middle and higher sectors of the valleys cultivated semi-domesticated or domesticated plants supplemented by marine products such as dry-salted fish and mollusks 11 , 29 , 30 . In the highlands, the archaeological record of ceremonial centers suggests that subsistence was largely based on terrestrial food items 31 – 33 .…”

“…In the highlands, the archaeological record of ceremonial centers suggests that subsistence was largely based on terrestrial food items 31 – 33 . However, the relative contribution of plants and terrestrial and marine protein sources to diets at different elevations and latitudes is not well understood, and their importance to the process of social complexity remains controversial 29 , 30 , 34 , 35 .…”

“…In addition, the paths of the agricultural intensification of certain plants and their role in sustaining dense populations and social structures during different stages of the process is still in discussion 26 , 30 , 36 . Among these, maize ( Zea mays ) is of particular interest.…”

“…Until recently, the Central Andes was considered a “2nd center of domestication for maize” 36 , but currently is recognized as an “improvement center” where local adaptations of partially domesticated maize occurred 38 . While maize’s importance as a staple food has been demonstrated in later periods, linked to state and empire domination strategies (e.g., as maize beer offered during community work, feasts, and ceremonies) 12 , 41 , 42 , its significance as a prime mover of the earliest complex societies remains unclear 30 , 31 , 43 , 44 .…”