A contribution to the study of diet of formative societies in northwestern Argentina: isotopic and archaeological evidence

The present paper is aimed at presenting and discussing currently available isotopic values (δ13C) of human samples dated to the Formative Period in the Santa María Valley, adjacent to the Yungas and Puna regions of northwestern Argentina. Results show that the expected tendency of increasingly posi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of osteoarchaeology Vol. 19; no. 2; pp. 192 - 203
Main Authors Calo, C. Marilin, Cortés, Leticia I.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.03.2009
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects
Agriculture
Archaeology
Corn
Diet
Formative Period
Isotopes
northwestern Argentina
stable isotopes
Studies
δ13C
Santa Maria Valley
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Summary:The present paper is aimed at presenting and discussing currently available isotopic values (δ13C) of human samples dated to the Formative Period in the Santa María Valley, adjacent to the Yungas and Puna regions of northwestern Argentina. Results show that the expected tendency of increasingly positive C4 isotopic values consistent with the hypothesis of maize agriculture consolidation during Formative times was only partially corroborated. A fuller understanding of this trend is limited by the scant number of samples as well as by the lack of local reference values. Notwithstanding, the revision of this evidence in light of relevant archaeobotanical data allows us to start building a more accurate reconstruction of the lifestyles of early agricultural societies settled in northwestern Argentina. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bibliography:istex:943678AFD4BF94071C090F420CE0E6200D3945DD
ArticleID:OA1052
ark:/67375/WNG-XW7F31CQ-P
ISSN:1047-482X
1099-1212
DOI:10.1002/oa.1052