Constructing a Colony: Investigating Stress from Endogenous Cortisol in Archaeological Hair from a Lupaqa Colony at Estuquiña

Summary

Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to obtain segmented cortisol levels, these cortisol levels can reconstruct periods of heightened month-to-month duress leading up to death. Segmented cortisol levels provide a more nuanced understanding of stress variation through biocultural change and lived experiences in antiquity. This study aims to reconstruct periods of duress through assaying endogenous cortisol in archaeological hair (n=11) from the site of Estuquiña and investigate the effects of a mitmaqkuna development. The site is located outside the modern city of Moquegua in the Moquegua Valley of southern Peru and was likely established as a Lupaqa colony settlement during the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1100-1476); a period characterized by regional development and political transition throughout much of Andean South America. Preliminary results suggest that there is a difference in cortisol levels in juveniles (18-64±19 ng/g) compared to adults (150-248±68 ng/g) and clinical data (104-134±40 ng/g). This exploratory research suggests that the variation in cortisol levels at Estuquiña differs based on sex and pre- and post- pubertal development at time of death.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 19889