Charting the Understudied Landscape: Isotopic Baselines for CAM Plants and Other Native Organisms in Peru’s Tierras Blancas Region

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Stable Isotope Analysis in Global History" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Tierras Blancas Valley in the Nasca region of southern coastal Peru is home to a diverse array of plant and animal species. The Nasca culture, which emerged during the Early Intermediate Period (100-650 C.E.), primarily used ceramics to depict these natural elements in their iconography. While previous isotope studies have investigated plants like maize and sweet potato, there are still gaps in our understanding, particularly regarding the use of cacti by the Nasca people. Given the prevalence of cacti in Nasca ceramics—such as the fruit depicted on headdresses to the spines used to sew the mouths and eyes of trophy heads (Browne et al., 1993)—it is crucial to expand research to include a broader range of plant species from the Tierras Blancas region. To address this, stable isotope analysis was conducted on 47 tissue samples collected from various native plants and organisms at Cocahuischo, a Late Nasca (450-600 C.E.) domestic settlement known for its craft and food production (Whalen and González La Rosa, 2014). Creating an isotopic baseline database focused specifically on plants that employ the lesser-studied CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) photosynthetic pathway will offer valuable insights into the use of these plants by the Nasca people.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• Stable Isotope Analysis in Global History

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52617