Isotopic Analysis of Dietary Variation in Formative Period Chile

Summary

Northern Chile's Atacama Desert is one of the driest environments on Earth. In fact, it has been suggested that the region serves as a good model for living conditions on Mars. By employing a number of resource management strategies including complex systems of trade, humans have lived in the inhospitable region for millennia. Here we present the results of stable isotope analysis of seven Formative Period (1500 B.C.-A.D. 500) humans from the Ancachi site near the modern town of Quillagua. Analysis of carbon and nitrogen isotopes from human bone collagen and hydroxyapatite, as well as floral and faunal remains, allows us to study the variability in protein and carbohydrate components of these individuals' diets. These data, as well as the comparison of burial methods between Ancachi and several coastal cemeteries, allow us to examine patterns of exchange and social mobility on an individual level. By comparing these data to those of hundreds of other individuals in a broader ongoing study, we can examine patterns of dietary variation in the region which indicate systematic regional exchange of food and other goods.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage