Investigating Camelid Herding Strategies in the South-Central Andes Using Stable Isotope Analysis

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Pastoral practices shape the responses of herders to environmental and sociopolitical changes. This paper uses stable isotope analysis to examine camelid herding strategies from pastoral settlements in the south-central Andes during a period characterized by climatic and political changes (8th-15th century CE). Samples from archaeological sites in Peru and Bolivia — Ayawiri (Puno); Los Batanes (Sama); Omo M10 (Moquegua); and Wila Pucara, ACH-10, Pokotia, Konto Konto, and San Antonio (Bolivia) —provide an altitudinally and temporally diverse perspective on herding strategies. We used oxygen and carbon isotope compositions from sequentially sampled tooth enamel to reconstruct seasonal camelid diet and mobility during animals’ early life stages. We also conducted carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of camelid bone collagen to reconstruct dietary inputs. These data are interpreted within the specific context of each site environment. We compared the results of published and modern datasets to identify different management practices, such as transhumance across altitudinal gradients. The results will reveal access to pastures composed of plant communities with distinct isotopic signatures reflective of different ecological and anthropogenically modified environments. These multiple lines of evidence enable insights into the variability of herding practices that are often overlooked using a single line of evidence.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40297.0