Paired Radiocarbon Dating on Human Samples and Camelid Fibers and Textiles from Northern Chile: The Case of Pica 8 (Tarapacá)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 1195-1213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisca Santana-Sagredo ◽  
Rick Schulting ◽  
Julia Lee-Thorp ◽  
Carolina Agüero ◽  
Mauricio Uribe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
High Variability ◽  
The Other ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Late Intermediate Period ◽  
Intermediate Period ◽  
Diachronic Change ◽  
Bird Guano

AbstractPica 8 is a Late Intermediate Period (AD 900–1450) cemetery located in the Atacama Desert. Burials at the site present unexpectedly high variability in δ13C (–8‰ to –16‰) and δ15N (10‰ to 24‰) values in their skeletal tissues, implying highly diverse diets. There are two possible explanations for this variability: the first is diachronic change in diet while the second involves synchronic sociocultural distinctions. To distinguish between them a radiocarbon (14C) dating program (n=23) was initiated. The presumed importance of marine foods adds the complication of a marine reservoir effect. To address this problem, paired 14C dates were obtained on human bone and camelid textiles from nine graves. The results fall into two groups, one showing an average offset of 117±9 14C yr, and the other no statistically significant offsets. We conclude that the contribution of marine foods to bone collagen at Pica 8 was less than previously supposed. Other factors must be invoked to account for the unusually high human δ15N values at the site. Manuring crops with sea-bird guano emerges as a probable explanation. No relationship with chronology is seen implying the presence of considerable diversity in diets and hence lifeways within the Pica 8 community.

Dietary diversity in the Atacama desert during the Late intermediate period of northern Chile

2019 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 54-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta P. Alfonso-Durruty ◽  
Eugenia M. Gayo ◽  
Vivien Standen ◽  
Victoria Castro ◽  
Claudio Latorre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Late Intermediate Period ◽  
Intermediate Period

A Reevaluation of the Absolute Chronology of Cabuza and Related Ceramic Styles of the Azapa Valley, Northern Chile

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti Korpisaari ◽  
Markku Oinonen ◽  
Juan Chacama
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Influence ◽  
Bayesian Probability ◽  
The Political ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Middle Horizon ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Late Intermediate Period ◽  
Intermediate Period ◽  
The Absolute

The nature and extent of the political and cultural influence of the Tiwanaku state (ca. A.D. 500—1100) in the Azapa Valley of northern Chile are debated topics. The absolute chronology of these contacts also remains somewhat unclear. Much of the debate has centered on the origins and chronological position of the Tiwanaku-related black-on-red ceramic style called Cabuza. In order to reevaluate the chronological position of the Cabuza, Maytas-Chiribaya, and San Miguel ceramic styles and associated cultural phases of the Azapa Valley, we obtained a total of 16 new radiocarbon dates for the Azapa-6, Azapa- 71a, Azapa-141, and Azapa-143 cemeteries. All but one sample dated to the Late Intermediate period (ca.A.D. 1000-1450). We compare our results with previously published radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dates and carry out Bayesian probability calculations, establishing the most likely chronological ranges for the three ceramic styles. Based on this research, we argue that the undeniable Tiwanaku influence seen in the Azapa Valley more likely reflects processes set in motion by the collapse of the Tiwanaku state rather than an attempt to colonize or indirectly control the Azapa Valley during the Middle Horizon (ca. A.D. 550-1000).

scholarly journals Pre-Columbian transregional captive rearing of Amazonian parrots in the Atacama Desert

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (15) ◽  
pp. e2020020118
Author(s):  
José M. Capriles ◽  
Calogero M. Santoro ◽  
Richard J. George ◽  
Eliana Flores Bedregal ◽  
Douglas J. Kennett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Exchange Networks ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Intermediate Period ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Ara Macao ◽  
Bird Guano ◽  
Captive Rearing

The feathers of tropical birds were one of the most significant symbols of economic, social, and sacred status in the pre-Columbian Americas. In the Andes, finely produced clothing and textiles containing multicolored feathers of tropical parrots materialized power, prestige, and distinction and were particularly prized by political and religious elites. Here we report 27 complete or partial remains of macaws and amazon parrots from five archaeological sites in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile to improve our understanding of their taxonomic identity, chronology, cultural context, and mechanisms of acquisition. We conducted a multiproxy archaeometric study that included zooarchaeological analysis, isotopic dietary reconstruction, accelerated mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating, and paleogenomic analysis. The results reveal that during the Late Intermediate Period (1100 to 1450 CE), Atacama oasis communities acquired scarlet macaws (Ara macao) and at least five additional translocated parrot species through vast exchange networks that extended more than 500 km toward the eastern Amazonian tropics. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes indicate that Atacama aviculturalists sustained these birds on diets rich in marine bird guano-fertilized maize-based foods. The captive rearing of these colorful, exotic, and charismatic birds served to unambiguously signal relational wealth in a context of emergent intercommunity competition.

Gender and Age in Funerary Practices in the Ceramic Periods in Central Chile

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-388
Author(s):  
Lorena Sanhueza
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Funerary Practices ◽  
Central Chile ◽  
Late Intermediate Period ◽  
Intermediate Period ◽  
Gender Categorization ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Gender Categories ◽  
Over Time

The Ceramic Periods in central Chile are a scenario of major changes in mobility and subsistence systems, associated with the incorporation of cultigens as the basis of subsistence. In this paper, we present a study of the funerary contexts of the Ceramic Periods in central Chile in order to assess whether in this scenario, generally considered very significant in the low-scale societies studied here, gender categories were constructed or signified, and how this changed over time. The results of the analysis suggest that gender categorization was not always important in this scenario. Among Llolleo groups, the offerings associated with females and children suggest their relation with production spheres; in Bato groups, on the other hand, age categories seem to be more important. In the Late Intermediate Period, it is the collective aspect that appears to be stressed in the funerary contexts.

Wild or Domesticated? Camelids in Early Formative Rock Art of the Atacama Desert (Northern Chile)

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Gallardo ◽  
Hugo Yacobaccio
Keyword(s):  
Contextual Information ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
The Other ◽  
South American ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Visual Preferences ◽  
Early Formative

AbstractThe absence of suitable methodologies to distinguish between wild and domesticated camelids in rock art has limited the interpretation of visual preferences of Andean prehispanic cultures. Although rock art’s contextual information may provide some indications that help to differentiate between wild and domesticated animals, uncertainty prevails because the relation to camelid forms is indirect. Zoological and zooarchaeological knowledge of South American camelid morphology is used as a means of comparison and identification in Atacama Desert rock art attributed to the Initial Pastoral phase (1500–500 B.C., Early Formative period, northern Chile). Based on this analysis, there are strong arguments for a distinctive graphic representation of wild as opposed to domesticated camelids, as well as a correspondence of these representations to two different modes of subsistence—one of hunters and the other of husbandry-pastoralist societies—which would have coexisted during this transitional period.

scholarly journals A perched, high-elevation wetland complex in the Atacama Desert (northern Chile) and its implications for past human settlement

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Sitzia ◽  
Eugenia M. Gayo ◽  
Marcela Sepulveda ◽  
Juan S. González ◽  
Lucia Ibañez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Intermediate Period ◽  
Geomorphological Mapping ◽  
Impermeable Barrier ◽  
Direct Precipitation ◽  
Wetland Complex ◽  
Regional Water

AbstractA previously undocumented type of wetland is described from the Atacama Desert in northern Chile (3000 m above sea level), sustained exclusively by direct precipitation and perched above the regional water table. Geomorphological mapping, pedostratigraphy, geochemistry, and analysis of contemporary vegetation is used to understand wetland formation and dynamics during historical and present time periods. The paleowetland deposits overlie a Miocene tuff that acts as an impermeable barrier to water transfer and creates conditions for local shallow ground water. These deposits include several paleosols that were formed during periods when precipitation increased regionally at 7755–7300, 1270, 545, and 400–300 cal yr BP. The similarity in timing with other palaeohydrological records for the Atacama implies that paleosols from this wetland are proxies for reconstructing past changes in local and regional hydrological cycle. Archaeological investigations have revealed the presence of two small farms from the Late Intermediate period, i.e., during the earliest wetter phase represented by the paleosols. Both farms are located near the paleowetland deposits, which suggests that local inhabitants exploited these water sources during late pre-Hispanic times. Results of this study improve knowledge of settlement patterns during this and earlier cultural periods.

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