Subsistence and Exchange in the Chincha Valley (Peru) Using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

Summary

This is an abstract from the "From the Paracas Culture to the Inca Empire: Recent Archaeological Research in the Chincha Valley, Peru" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Chincha Valley was one of the most productive regions on the southern coast of Peru, yet little is known about the subsistence practices of the pre-Inca communities that existed in the inland valley of Chincha during the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1476). The Chinchas formed a powerful socio-economic entity within the Chincha Kingdom in part of the southern region of Peru nearest to the Pacific Ocean. This research tests the hypothesis that individuals relied more heavily on a food-based exchange networking system with coastal rather than highland populations, using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to measure strontium, barium, calcium, and other elements in twenty-six human bones from four tombs in the Chincha Valley as a case study. Although the use of a non-destructive pXRF has become a very beneficial tool for the analysis of archaeological materials, relatively little has been done on human bone to elucidate subsistence practices, mainly due to limitations of surface analysis on potentially degraded and/or contaminated material. In addition, newly created bone standards are used to calibrate and enhance the validity and reliability of our data.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• From the Paracas Culture to the Inca Empire: Recent Archaeological Research in the Chincha Valley, Peru   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25856