Late Intermediate Period Research Articles

Health in the Inca heartland: A paleopathological analysis of burials from the Cuzco region of Peru

AbstractWhile much is known about the rise and expansion of the Inca Empire (AD 1438–1532) throughout the Andean region of South America, the health effects of the empire in its capital region remain unclear. The present study addresses the Inca Empire's impact on health in the Cuzco region of Peru through an analysis of four conditions (dental enamel hypoplasias, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis and periosteal lesions) in 929 pre‐Inca and Inca burials. The study results show little change in health from the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000–1438) to the Inca Imperial Period (AD 1438–1532). When the location of the Inca burial sites was analysed, individuals from sites closest to the centre of the empire's capital showed lower frequencies in pathological conditions compared with individuals from sites in the countryside. These results suggest that individuals centred in the Inca imperial sphere benefited from their position and experienced better health. A similar finding was also seen with the previous Wari occupation of Cuzco in the Middle Horizon (AD 600–1000), as burials within the Wari imperial sphere exhibited fewer non‐specific stress indicators than those outside of it. Overall, the frequencies of pathological conditions in the Cuzco region, which ranged from 4.6% for porotic hyperostosis to 18.8% for periosteal lesions, were lower than frequencies from many coastal Peruvian sites. These differences may relate to a diverse diet provided by the Cuzco region ecosystem, as well as the absence of ecological challenges that affected coastal populations.

Using a multimethod life history approach to navigate the osteological paradox: A case study from Prehispanic Nasca, Peru.

We leverage recent bioarchaeological approaches and life history theory to address the implications of the osteological paradox in a study population. The goal of this article is to evaluate morbidity and mortality patterns as well as variability in the risk of disease and death during the Late Intermediate period (LIP; 950-1450 C.E.) in the Nasca highlands of Peru. We demonstrate how the concurrent use of multiple analytical techniques and life history theory can engage the osteological paradox and provide salient insights into the study of stress, frailty, and resilience in past populations. Crania from LIP burial contexts in the Nasca highlands were examined for cribra orbitalia (n=325) and porotic hyperostosis (n=270). All age groups and both sexes are represented in the sample. Survivor/nonsurvivor analysis assessed demographic differences in lesion frequency and severity. Hazard models were generated to assess differences in survivorship. The relationship between dietary diversity and heterogeneity in morbidity was assessed using stable δ15 N and δ13 C isotope values for bone collagen and carbonate. One hundred and twenty-four crania were directly AMS radiocarbon dated, allowing for a diachronic analysis of morbidity and mortality. The frequency and expression of both orbital and vault lesions increases significantly during the LIP. Survivor/nonsurvivor analysis indicates cranial lesions co-vary with frailty rather than robusticity or longevity. Hazard models show (1) decreasing survivorship with the transition into the LIP, (2) significantly lower adult life expectancy for females compared to males, and (3) individuals with cranial lesions have lower survivorship across the life course. Stable isotope results show very little dietary diversity. Mortality risk and frequency of pathological skeletal lesions were highest during Phase III (1300-1450 C.E.) of the LIP. Results provide compelling evidence of increasing physiological stress and mortality in the Nasca highlands during the LIP, but also reveal substantial heterogeneity in frailty and the risk of death. Certain members of society experienced a heavier disease burden and higher mortality compared to their contemporaries. Elevated levels of disease and lethal trauma among females account for some of the sex differences in survivorship but cannot explain the large degree of female-biased mortality. We hypothesize that parental investment in males or increased female fertility rates may explain these differences.

Pre-Columbian transregional captive rearing of Amazonian parrots in the Atacama Desert

The feathers of tropical birds were one of the most significant symbols of economic, social, and sacred status in the pre-Columbian Americas. In the Andes, finely produced clothing and textiles containing multicolored feathers of tropical parrots materialized power, prestige, and distinction and were particularly prized by political and religious elites. Here we report 27 complete or partial remains of macaws and amazon parrots from five archaeological sites in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile to improve our understanding of their taxonomic identity, chronology, cultural context, and mechanisms of acquisition. We conducted a multiproxy archaeometric study that included zooarchaeological analysis, isotopic dietary reconstruction, accelerated mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating, and paleogenomic analysis. The results reveal that during the Late Intermediate Period (1100 to 1450 CE), Atacama oasis communities acquired scarlet macaws (Ara macao) and at least five additional translocated parrot species through vast exchange networks that extended more than 500 km toward the eastern Amazonian tropics. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes indicate that Atacama aviculturalists sustained these birds on diets rich in marine bird guano-fertilized maize-based foods. The captive rearing of these colorful, exotic, and charismatic birds served to unambiguously signal relational wealth in a context of emergent intercommunity competition.

Reconstructing two millennia of copper and silver metallurgy in the Lake Titicaca region (Bolivia/Peru) using trace metals and lead isotopic composition

Abstract Copper, silver, and gold exploitation has been a foundation of economic and socio-cultural development of Andean societies, at least for the last three millennia. The main centers of pre-colonial metallurgy are well-known from archeological artifacts, but temporal gaps inherent in this record handicap a finer understanding of the modalities of ore exploitation by succeeding civilizations. A continuous record over time of trace metals emitted during ore smelting operations make lake sediments excellent candidates to fill those gaps. Two millennia of metallurgy were reconstructed from atmospherically derived metals together with lead (Pb) isotope ratios in two dated sediment cores from Lake Titicaca. The first evidence for metallurgy is found during the apogee of the Tiwanaku state (AD 800–1150), with a higher copper (Cu) accumulation that can be attributed to the smelting of local Cu ores, based on Pb isotopic fingerprinting. During the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1150–1450), recorded peaks in metal deposition that persisted for ∼ twenty years show that mining activities were intensive but discontinuous. Pb isotope ratios suggest diversified extractive activities, mainly located in the southern part of the central Altiplano. Finally, the most intense mining epoch began during the Inca Empire (ca. AD 1500) and lasted until the end of the Colonial Period (AD 1830), with unprecedented metal deposition over this interval. Pb isotope fingerprinting shows that mining operations occurred mainly in the Lake Titicaca and Potosi areas and were responsible for metal emissions recorded in the entire Altiplano, as evidenced by other studies.

Soils in ancient irrigated agricultural terraces in the Atacama Desert, Chile

AbstractThe Atacama Desert is among the driest places on Earth, yet ancient agricultural systems are present in the region. Here, we present a study of terraced agricultural soils in the high‐altitude eastern margin of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, mainly dating to the Late Intermediate Period (ca. 950–1400 AD) and Inka period (ca. 1400–1536 AD). Terraced fields were compartmentalized to distribute limited irrigation water originating mainly from springs. Natural soils used for agriculture are mostly Aridisols developed on Pleistocene alluvial fan terraces and hillslopes underlain by volcanic bedrock. One research objective is to evaluate long‐term soil change from agriculture. In this hyperarid climate, agriculture is only possible with irrigation, so natural soils on the same geomorphic surface adjacent to irrigated soils provide baseline data for assessing anthropogenic soil change. Data from soil profiles and surface transects indicate intentional soil change through terracing, removal of soil rock fragments, and probable fertilization. Agricultural soils have anthropogenic horizons ranging from 16 to 54 cm thick. Most agricultural soils have higher phosphorus levels, suggesting enrichment from fertilization. Changes in soil organic carbon and nitrogen are also evident. Unintentional anthropogenic soil change resulted from CaCO3 input through irrigation with calcareous spring water. Initial studies suggest that agriculture here was sustainable in the sense of conserving soils, and maintaining and possibly improving soil productivity over centuries.

Rituals of the Past: Prehispanic and Colonial Case Studies in Andean Archaeology

This excellent and thought-provoking volume begins with a brief description of the annual Virgen del Carmen ritual in Ancash, Peru. The opening vignette illustrates the contributors’ fundamental message: ritual should be interpreted as “more than ritual for its own sake” (Rosenfeld and Bautista 2017: 9). In Rituals of the Past, the editors have brought together an impressive group of senior and emerging scholars of Andean South America. Bookended by an introduction that provides a concise summary of the theoretical lenses that have been applied to the anthropological study of ritual and by a thoughtful concluding discussion by Jerry D. Moore, the ten case studies encompass significant temporal range and methodological scope. Largely chronologically ordered, they begin with John W. Rick’s overview of ritual spaces at Chavin de Huantar as early as 1200 BC and end with Hendrik Van Gijseghem and Verity H. Whalen’s fascinating discussion of contemporary toponyms in the Nazca valley.Archaeological investigations dominate and collectively support the editors’ assertion that even if archaeologists have been relatively slow to recognize the importance of ritual, its repetitive nature makes ritual archaeologically visible. Included archaeological case studies span the pre-Hispanic period, although they are strongly skewed toward earlier contexts, with five chapters on the Formative Period. In addition to established excavation-based approaches, the volume includes innovative spatial and GIS data to explore movement through architectural space and the visibility of monuments (in the contributions by Rafael Vega-Centeno Sara-Lafosse and David Chicoine et al). As Moore notes, Axel E. Nielsen, Carlos I. Angiorama, and Florencia Ávila’s discussion of mountain shrines is an exception in a volume that focuses heavily on the built environment. Given the significance of natural features in long-standing Andean ritual traditions, the comparative lack of landscape analyses may surprise readers. Beyond the methodological range of the archaeological contributions, the inclusion also of ethnohistorical, historical, and linguistic data and the effective combination of multiple data types in some of the individual case studies (such as in Sarah Abrams’s chapter on early colonial religious architecture) are a particular strength of the volume that demonstrates the interpretive potential of an interdisciplinary perspective on ritual.Shared themes include social memory, cosmology, and termination rituals (by Matthew J. Edwards for the Middle Horizon as well as Camila Capriata Estrada and Enrique López-Hurtado for the Late Intermediate Period site of Panquilma), but most recurrent in the volume is a focus on how ritual spaces and practices are embedded in and constitutive of power relations. Notably, contributing authors are not bound by a single definition of ritual. While some readers may find this to be skirting a significant issue, the lack of a shared definition affords individual scholars a flexibility that ultimately highlights the multiple ways in which ritual intersects with and contributes to daily practice, household activity (explored by Francesca Fernandini and Mario Ruales at Cerro del Oro), political negotiations and organization (in Daniel A. Contreras’s interpretation of multiple ritual foci at Chavin de Huantar as evidence of heterarchy), and social transformation (in Yoshio Onuki’s argument that temple renovation led to significant developments in the Formative highlands).Timely and ambitious, Rituals of the Past seeks to examine how ritual participated in wider social transformations and negotiations in the pre-Hispanic, colonial, and postcolonial Andes. Not only successful in this endeavor but also showcasing diverse approaches to ritual in the past, this volume makes a significant contribution to growing scholarship on Andean ritual and will be of importance beyond its particular regional focus.

The character of conflict: A bioarchaeological study of violence in the Nasca highlands of Peru during the Late Intermediate Period (950-1450 C.E.).

This study uses osteological and radiocarbon datasets combined with formal quantitative analyses to test hypotheses concerning the character of conflict in the Nasca highlands during the Late Intermediate Period (LIP, 950-1450 C.E.). We develop and test osteological expectations regarding what patterns should be observed if violence was characterized by intragroup violence, ritual conflict, intermittent raiding, or internecine warfare. Crania (n = 267) were examined for antemortem and perimortem, overkill, and critical trauma. All age groups and both sexes are represented in the sample. One hundred twenty-four crania were AMS dated, allowing a detailed analysis of diachronic patterns in violence among various demographic groups. Thirty-eight percent (102/267) of crania exhibit some form of cranial trauma, a significant increase from the preceding Middle Horizon era. There are distinct trauma frequencies within the three subphases of the LIP, but Phase III (1300-1450 C.E.) exhibits the highest frequencies of all trauma types. Males exhibit significantly more antemortem trauma than females, but both exhibit similar perimortem trauma rates. There was chronic, internecine warfare throughout the Late Intermediate Period with important variations in violence throughout the three temporal phases. Evidence for heterogeneity in violent mortality shows a pattern consistent with social substitutability, whereby any and all members of the Nasca highland population were appropriate targets for lethal and sublethal violence. We argue that by testing hypotheses regarding the targets and types of conflict we are better able to explain the causes and consequences of human conflict.

Revelations of ancient head shape: Cranial modification in the Cuzco region of Peru, Early Horizon to Inca Imperial Period.

Cranial vault modification (CVM), the intentional reshaping of the head, indicated group affiliation in prehistoric Andean South America. This study aims to analyze CVM data from the Cuzco region of Peru to illuminate patterns of early migration and settlement along with the later impact of the Inca Empire (AD 1438-1532) on the ethnic landscape. 419 individuals from 10 archaeological sites spanning over 2300 years were assessed for CVM using morphological analysis. CVM patterns show distinct temporal attributes: the tabular type of modification appeared first and dominated the early sample (900 BC-AD 600), followed by an influx of unmodified crania during the Middle Horizon (AD 600-1000). The annular type appeared later during the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1438). In the subsequent period of Inca imperialism, modification rates were higher at sites in the Cuzco countryside than in Cuzco city sites. The study results, combined with archaeological and ethnohistoric data, reveal the sociopolitical transformations that occurred prior to and during the rise of the Inca Empire. The influx of unmodified crania during the Middle Horizon resulted at least partly from Wari occupation, while the appearance of the annular type during the LIP points to migration into the area, possibly from the Lake Titicaca region. In the Inca Imperial Period, Inca individuals at Cuzco city sites refrained from modification as a sign of their ethnic identity, while modification patterns in the Cuzco countryside likely reflect state-coerced resettlement of different ethnic groups.

Multi-isotopic and morphometric evidence for the migration of farmers leading up to the Inka conquest of the southern Andes

We present isotopic and morphometric evidence suggesting the migration of farmers in the southern Andes in the period AD 1270–1420, leading up to the Inka conquest occurring ~ AD 1400. This is based on the interdisciplinary study of human remains from archaeological cemeteries in the Andean Uspallata Valley (Argentina), located in the southern frontier of the Inka Empire. The studied samples span AD 800–1500, encompassing the highly dynamic Late Intermediate Period and culminating with the imperial expansion. Our research combines a macro-regional study of human paleomobility and migration based on a new strontium isoscape across the Andes that allows identifying locals and migrants, a geometric morphometric analysis of cranio-facial morphology suggesting separate ancestral lineages, and a paleodietary reconstruction based on stable isotopes showing that the migrants had diets exceptionally high in C4 plants and largely based on maize agriculture. Significantly, this migration influx occurred during a period of regional demographic increase and would have been part of a widespread period of change in settlement patterns and population movements that preceded the Inka expansion. These processes increased local social diversity and may have been subsequently utilized by the Inka to channel interaction with the local societies.

Potting practices and social integration in the southern Andes during the late intermediate period: The case of Yavi-Chicha pottery

In this article, we examine the role of pottery production in social and community integration processes during the Late Intermediate period (ca. CE 1000–1450). We explore this relationship through a case study of Yavi-Chicha ceramics from the aggregated community of Chipihuayco, Bolivia, in the Chicha region. Through a combined approach based on macroscopic and petrographic analyses, we reconstruct the chaînes opératoires and determine technological styles in the production of both smoothed and polished/decorated vessels. The results are discussed in relation to different approaches to the idea of community and group identity within the context of corporate political strategies and decentralized institutions during the Late Intermediate period. This community-level analysis demonstrates that potters or groups of potters who aggregated at Chipihuayco shared substantial technological choices and at the same time followed their own ways of producing ceramics—expressed in fundamental technological variability. We conclude that potters and the people who participated in the chaînes opératoires were involved in a broader dynamic process of interaction and continuous negotiation through their engagement in production practices, leading to community and social integration. Further, group and community affiliation was also continually redefined through consumption practices in the context of political commensalism.

Regional Integration and Ceramic Consumption in the Border Region of Bolivia and Argentina (ca. AD 1000–1450)

This article investigates the mechanisms by which different communities were articulated during the Late Intermediate period (ca. AD 1000–1450) in the Río Grande de San Juan Basin, also called the Chicha Region, located in the border region of Bolivia and Argentina. Through analyses of systems of pottery production, circulation, and consumption, we examine interaction networks, social integration, and alliance building at a regional level. Yavi-Chicha pottery from two sites in the Chicha Region—Chipihuayco, in the Talina Valley (Bolivia), and Finispatria, in San Juan Mayo (Argentina)—provide key insights into regional integration and constellations of practice through their localized technological style and shared consumption strategies. This study reveals that people of Finispatria incorporated the entire Yavi-Chicha-style household assemblage—partly produced in Chipihuayco, partly in Finispatria, or partly at some unknown location—into their everyday lives. We argue that the entire household ceramic repertoire of the study region played a fundamental and socially integrative role as it circulated across the region.

Genealogies and Juxtapositions: Traces of Potting Communities and Firing Facilities in Lake Titicaca Basin

In this paper, we develop a genealogy of practice approach for the historical analysis and comparison of Andean ceramic firing. This effort was set in motion by the similarity of two sets of ash mounds observed in the Lake Titicaca Basin of Bolivia, one modern and one from the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1100–1450). We eschew an ethnoarchaeological perspective in favor of considering their position within a longer genealogy of potting practice. We argue that a genealogical perspective foregrounds ephemeral evidence that is often ignored in dominant narratives, highlights the emergent nature of practices, and draws attention to subject formation across generations. We examine the extant data for pottery firing in the region, drawing out the genealogy of practices involved in firing facilities and subject formation from the Formative Period (1500 B.C. –A.D. 450) through the present. We then return to the ash mounds, juxtaposing the practices and archaeological traces to consider their historical emergences. These two approaches allow us to begin to map out the particularities of Lake Titicaca Basin production locales and to pose new questions of the social relations associated with ceramic firing contexts.

Cobbles, tools, and plants: Techno-functional variability within lithic industries of complex societies in Central Coast, Peru (~1800–400 BP)

This article concerns the technological and archaeobotanical analysis of nine lithic assemblages from monumental sites in the Maranga Archaeological Complex (Central Coast, Peru), dated between about 1800 and 400 yr BP. This period of occupation corresponds mainly to the development of Lima and Ychsma complex societies that were prior to and contemporary with the Inca Empire respectively. In order to study the degree of technical and functional variability between Maranga lithic industries, the different schèmes opératoires executed were identified, as well as the characteristics of the raw materials procurement. The eight techno-types present amongst 497 tools, along with the analysis of plant micro-remains preserved in the transformative Techno-Functional Units, allowed us to obtain direct evidence of tool uses. Analytical procedures included the construction of a reference collection of useful local flora, the sampling of the transformative surfaces of the tools, and the taxonomic and anatomical identification of the recovered plant components. After the integration of the results of these analyses with the information coming from the archaeological contexts, diachronic changes in the production systems are proposed, especially the preference for an alternating debitage system in the Late Intermediate Period (~1050–470 BP). Towards the Late Horizon (~470–400 BP), there was probably an instrumental standardization associated with the processing of the fruits of Caesalpinia spinosa, a plant used in the production of gums and tanins.

¿Cómo se pintaba el trinacrio?: una aproximación a los modos de pintar en la cuenca del Maipo durante el período Intermedio Tardío (1000/1200-1450 d. C.)

Este artículo tiene como objetivo mostrar una aproximación a las formas de pintar cerámica en los grupos Aconcagua de la cuenca del río Maipo durante el período Intermedio Tardío, enfocándose en el motivo iconográfico del trinacrio, el cual se utiliza para entender el grado en que los modos de hacer se compartieron entre estas poblaciones. Este motivo iconográfi­co se escogió para el análisis ya que está presente en la mayoría de la alfarería pintada de estos grupos. Para esto, se analizaron los motivos presentes en escudillas o pucos provenientes de seis sitios arqueológicos: Chicauma, Til Til, Huechún, María Pinto, Talagante y Alhué 01. Luego se comparan los resultados a nivel de sitio y a nivel de cuenca, tras lo cual se identificó una misma forma de pintar las piezas en los sitios de la cuenca del Maipo y una forma de pintar el trinacrio diferente en el sitio Alhué, concluyéndose que existe una interacción entre los gru­pos Aconcagua de la cuenca del Maipo, donde se comparten las técnicas empleadas para pintar las piezas.

First report in pre-Columbian mummies from Bolivia of Enterobius vermicularis infection and capillariid eggs: A contribution to Paleoparasitology studies

ObjectiveThis study was designed to search for ancient parasites in abdominal content and coprolites from Bolivian mummies. MaterialsTwelve mummified individuals from the Andean highlands, housed at the National Museum of Archaeology (MUNARQ) in La Paz, Bolivia. MethodsMicroscopic analysis of rehydrated samples (coprolites and abdominal content), following Lutz's spontaneous sedimentation technique. ResultsEggs of Enterobius vermicularis were identified in coprolites from one mummy, and capillariid eggs in the organic abdominal content from another individual. ConclusionsThis is the first evidence of ancient intestinal parasites in Bolivian mummies. SignificanceThis pioneering study focused on the search of ancient intestinal parasites in human remains of the Bolivian Andes and contributes to greater knowledge of paleoparasitology in South America. LimitationsAll mummies in the MUNARQ belonged to the Andean Bolivian highlands (post-Tiwanaku era or Late Intermediate Period), although the exact provenance of the material and the associated contexts are not well recorded. Suggestions for further researchConsidering the great number of well-known archaeological sites and other unexplored sites in Bolivia, in addition to large collections in museums, further paleopathological and paleoparasitological molecular studies in mummies and skeletons are called for.

Late Intermediate Period Plant Use at a Colla Hillfort, Puno, Peru (AD 1300–1450)

In the Lake Titicaca Basin during the Late Intermediate period (LIP; AD 1100–1450), people's lives were overwhelmingly structured by warfare. Previous research in the region has shed light on how martial conflict between and possibly among competing ethnic groups motivated people to live in fortified villages on defensive hilltops. At the same time, there was a centuries-long drought that threatened agricultural production. Little is known about the plant use of people living in hillforts during this arduous time. Drawing on macrobotanical information collected from Ayawiri, one of the largest hillforts in the northern Titicaca Basin, I argue that the food stuffs and plants used were locally grown. Additionally, these findings indicate a possible departure from earlier symbolically charged and ritually important plant consumption practices based on the lack of imported maize. This research sheds light on how people adapted their domestic and agricultural strategies to warfare and climate change during the LIP.

Examining pre-Hispanic human and animal isotopic variation at Kuelap in the eastern montane of Peru

Chachapoya bioarchaeological investigations on the eastern slopes of highland Peru are beginning to elucidate patterns in diet and social interactions in this distinctive region. We examine the importance of local ecology and subsistence strategies in this environment by analyzing stable isotope data from the monumental archaeological center of Kuelap. Samples from the Late Intermediate Period (AD 800 – 1470) and Late Horizon (AD 1470 – 1535) allow us to consider change over time. Using a sample of 75 individuals, we explore dietary patterns using stable isotopic analysis of carbon and nitrogen in tooth dentine and bone collagen and carbon from enamel and bone apatite. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of bone collagen from faunal remains of domestic and wild animals provide important ecological and dietary baselines.Tooth samples average –13.4‰ (δ13Ccol) and +8.5‰ (δ15N) and bone samples average –12.9‰ (δ13Ccol) and +7.9‰ (δ15N). Carbon isotope compositions from carbonate average –7.08‰ for teeth and –7.32‰ for bone. Data suggest a mixed diet of both C3 and C4 resources and some regular inclusion of domesticated animals. There appears to be a significant shift towards more C3 plant resources, which may reflect a shift in subsistence strategies or the socio-political impact of Inca occupation. Animal baseline data indicate that camelids likely also exploited variable resources across altitudinal ecozones, perhaps moving in caravans or being foddered with specific C4 plants. We propose that most individuals at Kuelap were locally derived and exploited a broad range of ecozones across the distinctive elevations in the region.

Maize and dietary change in early Peruvian civilization: Isotopic evidence from the Late Preceramic Period/Initial Period site of La Galgada, Peru

The Late Preceramic Period (3000–1700 BCE) and Initial Period (1700–800 BCE) in Peru was a time of emergent social complexity as illustrated by the construction of ceremonial architecture and permanent settlements. A long-standing debate centers on the nature of the subsistence economies that supported this incipient complexity. Though some scholars consider maize to have been an agricultural staple at this time, a growing body of archaeological research indicates that the use of maize spread irregularly throughout Peru and did not become a dietary staple until sometime after c. 800 cal BCE. Using stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of human bone and dentine, together with radiocarbon dating, this study estimates dietary composition, as well as changing subsistence strategies among 32 individuals interred within the ceremonial center of La Galgada (2300–1300 cal BCE). Our data suggests that maize was not a dietary staple in either the Late Preceramic or the Initial (1700–800 cal BCE) Period occupations at La Galgada. Instead the modeled diet (SIAR Mixing Model) suggests a continued reliance on locally available food sources (i.e. primarily C3, legumes and grazing fauna). This finding combined with archaeological evidence indicates that diet remained relatively similar during the site’s occupation. Three radiocarbon dates generated for this study also indicate the re-use of La Galgada as a cemetery during the Late Intermediate Period (LIP) (1150–1450 cal CE). Diet during the LIP exhibits a significant change, with a decrease in the proportion of C3 and legumes and an increase in the proportion of meat. This study highlights the utility of mixing models to reconstruct past human diet, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of potential differences in the proportions of food types over time.

Gender and Age in Funerary Practices in the Ceramic Periods in Central Chile

The Ceramic Periods in central Chile are a scenario of major changes in mobility and subsistence systems, associated with the incorporation of cultigens as the basis of subsistence. In this paper, we present a study of the funerary contexts of the Ceramic Periods in central Chile in order to assess whether in this scenario, generally considered very significant in the low-scale societies studied here, gender categories were constructed or signified, and how this changed over time. The results of the analysis suggest that gender categorization was not always important in this scenario. Among Llolleo groups, the offerings associated with females and children suggest their relation with production spheres; in Bato groups, on the other hand, age categories seem to be more important. In the Late Intermediate Period, it is the collective aspect that appears to be stressed in the funerary contexts.

Camelid husbandry in the Atacama Desert? A stable isotope study of camelid bone collagen and textiles from the Lluta and Camarones Valleys, northern Chile.

Management of camelids in the coastal valleys of the Andes has generated much debate in recent years. Zooarchaeological and isotopic studies have demonstrated that in the coastal valleys of northern and southern Peru there were locally maintained camelid herds. Because of the hyperarid conditions of the northern coast of Chile, this region has been assumed to be unsuitable for the raising of camelids. In this study we report stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of camelid bone collagen and textiles made from camelid fiber from Late Intermediate Period (LIP) and Late Horizon (LH) occupations in northern Chilean river valleys. The camelid bone collagen isotopic compositions are consistent with these animals originating in the highlands, although there is a significant difference in the camelids dating to the LIP and LH, possibly because of changes made to distribution and exchange networks by the Inca in the LH. There were no differences between the isotopic compositions of the camelid fibers sampled from textiles in the LIP and LH, suggesting that either the production of camelid fiber was unchanged by the Inca or the changes that were made do not present visible isotopic evidence. Several camelid fiber samples from both the LIP and LH present very high δ13C and δ15N values, comparable to human hair samples from one site (Huancarane) in the Camarones Valley. These data suggest that people in the northern valleys of Chile may have kept small numbers of animals specifically for fiber production. Overall, however, the vast majority of the textile samples have isotopic compositions that are consistent with an origin in the highlands. These data suggest that the hyperarid coastal river valleys of northern Chile did not support substantial camelid herds as has been interpreted for northern Peru.