Diet and Death in a Fog Oasis Site in Central Coastal Peru: A Trace Element Study of Tomb 1 Malanche 22

Abstract

This paper presents results from the analysis of 11 sets of human remains, seven children and four adults, from a Late Intermediate Period (ad1000–1300) tomb from alomas(fog oasis) site in Central coastal Peru. Ethnohistorical data suggest that this area was most probably inhabited by theCaringa, a group that occupied this region well into the 16th century.This paper has two primary goals: (1) to understand the process of handling the remains of the children prior to their disposal in Tomb 1 (there they were inserted into the thorax of an adult male) and (2) to reconstruct the diet of the adult individuals buried in Tomb 1. Trace element analysis was used to address both research questions. Results suggest that the children were buried in an earth matrix, rather than exposed to decay in an open environment, prior to their final disposal in the tomb. In addition, three dietary profiles within the adult group were determined: an adult male and a young female consumed a terrestrial diet in which only the former enjoyed a limited input of marine foodstuffs and animal protein. An older female depended on a marine diet most of her life, with only a minimal contribution made by terrestrial foodstuffs (vegetable staples). It is hypothesized that the older woman may have married into the lomas from a fishing community. Using archaeological and ethnohistorical information on the Caringa it is hypothesized that if inter-marriage between fishing and non-fishing communities took place it may have givenlomasgroups access to diverse resources not available locally.