Reconstructing Multiregional Pastoral Strategies in the South-Central Andes

Summary

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

Ancient Andean pastoralism involved variable herding strategies, including short-term movements within the same ecozone, long-distance caravans for trade, and seasonal mobility across various altitudes. These multiregional pastoral practices are often difficult to differentiate in the archaeological record, yet they are central for understanding the mobility of humans and animals across ecological floors throughout the prehispanic era. The Terminal Middle Horizon site of Los Batanes (1000–1500 CE) (Tacna, Peru) was an agropastoral settlement founded near the coast in the wake of Tiwanaku collapse. Its location and material culture suggest that residents included humans and animals that moved between the coast and highlands. We use stable isotope analysis of sequential tooth enamel samples to reconstruct camelid diet and seasonal mobility patterns at different temporal and spatial scales. This poster presents oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of modern and archaeological camelid specimen from surface collections on the far southern coast of Peru and the south-central highlands. Isotopic baselines of modern camelids with known feeding and mobility ranges at high temporal resolution will allow us to interpret the frequency and directionality of movement in archaeological camelid samples from Los Batanes, which in turn will reveal ancient herding strategies.

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): 36879.0