Mobility Among Hunter-Gatherers in the Central Andean Highlands During the Early-Middle Holocene: GIS Models from Sr and O isotopic Analyses

Summary

Cuncaicha rock shelter (4480 masl) is one of the highest hunter-gatherer occupation sites found so far in the Americas; it brings new insights about human adaptation to extreme living conditions and subsistence strategies within the Peruvian puna. This research intends to define the possible type of occupation and mobility patterns at the site during the Early and Middle Holocene through Sr and O isotopic analyses in dental enamel of the human individuals and faunal remains found buried in this site. The Pucuncho Basin, in which Cuncaicha is located, presents a particular 87Sr/86Sr ratio different from the lower-altitude ecological zones that surround it, allowing the assessment of mobility of the individuals, whereas the δ18O provides clues for defining water sources as well as likely elevations where people could live. We conclude with a GIS-developed mobility model based on these isotopic analyses to explain how year-round occupation of the highlands could be the most plausible strategy for surviving and taking advantage of most of the perennial resources available in the puna, such as obsidian for tool making and camelids for hide, bone and meat consumption.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Evolutionary Adaptations and Population History of the Atacama Desert   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16042