Of Hunting and Herding: Isotopic evidence in wild and domesticated camelids from the Southern Argentine Puna (2120–420 years BP)
Using stable isotope analysis, this paper studies the interaction between Prehispanic camelid her... more Using stable isotope analysis, this paper studies the interaction between Prehispanic camelid herding and hunting practices in agropastoralist societies of the Antofagasta de la Sierra Basin (Southern Argentinean Puna) between 2120 and 420 years BP. Stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios were measured on 45 archaeological wild (Vicugna vicugna) and domesticated (Lama glama) camelid bone samples from the Early and Late Formative Period (3000–1000 years BP) site of Casa Chavez Montículos, and from the Regional Late Period (1000–420 years BP) sites of Corral Alto, Bajo del Coypar, Real Grande 1 and Real Grande 6.
The isotopic analysis showed that domestic camelids at the sites segregated into two groups according to δ13C, reflecting two distinct animal management strategies. This could have involved differences in foddering practices or altitudinal herding ranges. In the case of wild camelids, δ13C and δ15N values indicated that the distances travelled in their hunting varied depending on the site. The observed variability in the management strategies of herding resources, and in the mobility circuits linked to the exploitation of wild camelids, presents the case for puna groups relying on an ongoing re-organisation of longstanding local economic practices to mediate the socio-political and environmental factors that arose through time.
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Papers by Jennifer Grant
dating evidence from the site alongside the results of initial osteological analyses. The data indicate that the burials pertain to an earlier 16th-century Spanish hospice, and therefore stand to
offer new insights into the functioning of this early modern hospital and the health and movements of people at a time of incipient globalization.
The samples come from the following archaeological sites: Quebrada Seca 3, Cueva Salamanca 1, Peñas de
la Cruz 1.1, Casa Chávez Montículos 1 and 4, Bajo del Coypar II, Cueva Cacao 1A, Real Grande 1, and Real
Grande 6, all of them located over 3300 masl in Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca, Argentina. Mean carbon isotopic relationship (δ13C) was −17.2‰, ranging from −20.1‰ to −11.6‰, and mean nitrogen isotopic relationship (δ15N) was 6.8‰, ranging from 3.4‰ to 10.8‰. We interpret these isotope values against the background of environmental and cultural changes that occurred throughout this period. Variations in δ13C and δ15N values were generally not structured per the availability of different pasture areas across varying altitude. Instead, there was an appreciable increase of some δ13C values in domesticated camelids, suggesting the use of complementary forage in their diet. That aside, the isotope values do not differ significantly among the different camelid taxa. More generally, a noticeable increase in δ15N values, and to a lesser extent in δ13C values, was noted at around 8000 BP, coinciding with a palaeoclimatic phase of extreme regional aridity. Yet, no significant increase of δ13C and δ15N values was recorded during a later arid phase (1500 BP), and no significant variations were observed in isotope values during the arid and wet fluctuations (sub-phases) within each of the principal Holocene palaeoenvironmental phases recorded for the region. These results highlight the varying magnitude of
past climatic changes and their differential impact, and emphasise the need to investigate further into the environmental aspects that produce variation in isotope data
This article presents the first results obtained within the framework of a research project focused on the development of an isotopic ecology of the Southern Argentine Puna. In turn, this isotopic ecology study will provide a valuable reference tool for the interpretation of archaeological data. Here we present 34 pairs of δ13C and δ15N values taken from modern camelid bone collagen (Vicugna vicugna and Lama glama) and 28 pairs δ13C and δ15N values taken from pastures consumed by these animals across the different plant units of Antofagasta de la Sierra (Catamarca, Argentina). The results thus obtained show the existence of habitats with different isotope footprints, based primarily on the different altitudinal floors existing in the study area. The contrasts observed in the plants across the different altitudinal floors are reflected in the difference in δ13C and δ15N values of camelids, especially among the wild ones. In the case of domesticated animals, the modern practice of complementing the diet of the herd with alfalfa (Medicago sativa), a C3 plant, resulted in more negative than expected values.
en la caracterización paleodietaria humana
de individuos pertenecientes a la microrregión
de Antofagasta de la Sierra, puna de
Catamarca (noroeste argentino), correspondientes
a diferentes periodos agropastoriles
del Holoceno Tardío. Sobre un total de 14 individuos
se aplicó una metodología basada
en el análisis de isótopos estables (δ13Ccolágeno
y δ15N; δ13Capatita), considerando recursos locales
y de áreas aledañas. Los resultados indican
que el consumo de especies vegetales
C4, como el maíz (Zea mays) y el amaranto
(Amaranthus caudatus), es menos importante
respecto a otros recursos en la mayoría de
los casos analizados, y son más relevantes
los recursos cárnicos provenientes de
The isotopic analysis showed that domestic camelids at the sites segregated into two groups according to δ13C, reflecting two distinct animal management strategies. This could have involved differences in foddering practices or altitudinal herding ranges. In the case of wild camelids, δ13C and δ15N values indicated that the distances travelled in their hunting varied depending on the site. The observed variability in the management strategies of herding resources, and in the mobility circuits linked to the exploitation of wild camelids, presents the case for puna groups relying on an ongoing re-organisation of longstanding local economic practices to mediate the socio-political and environmental factors that arose through time.
139-157. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
Los resultados obtenidos hasta el momento permiten señalar, para el sector del curso medio del río Miriguaca, la persistencia de prácticas de explotación de recursos animales indicativas de estrategias económicas diversificadas llevadas a cabo a pequeña escala. Dichas estrategias habrían funcionado en simultáneo junto con aquellas observadas en otros sectores del área de estudio, caracterizadas por el desarrollo de
una producción agropastoril especializada y a gran escala.