Camelid Variation and Subsistence Diversity: Insights from Osteometric Analysis and Zooarchaeological Assemblages at the Eleventh-Century CE Site of Los Batanes (Sama, Peru)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Inhabitants of the Terminal Middle Horizon site of Los Batanes (Sama Valley, southern Pern) founded by Tiwanaku-descendant groups in the eleventh century CE practiced a mixed subsistence strategy. Located along a natural corridor that connects the south-central Andean highlands and coast, residents had access to and a taste for local, highland, and marine resources that make up the zooarchaeological remains recovered from the site. Andean camelids predominate the faunal assemblage. Dung, raw, and processed fiber found in excavations indicate the animals were likely herded and raised near the site, but questions remain about which camelid species were present and preferred and how they were used. Here we report results from the osteometric analysis of measurements taken from 42 camelid first phalanges to illustrate variations in camelid species represented at Los Batanes and their economic and social role. In light of recent studies of camelid husbandry along the Andean coast, which have focused on camelid diet and mobility, this study establishes important baselines about species diversity that are critical for understanding prehispanic camelid-herding practices in hyperarid coastal environments.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36797.0