Stable Isotopes and Archaeology in Central Chile: Methodological Insights and Interpretative Problems for Dietary Reconstruction
Author
dc.contributor.author
Aspillaga Fontaine, Eugenio
Author
dc.contributor.author
Tykot, R.H.
es_CL
Author
dc.contributor.author
Fallabella Gellona, Fernanda
es_CL
Author
dc.contributor.author
Planella, M.T.
es_CL
Author
dc.contributor.author
Sanhueza Riquelme, María Lorena
es_CL
Author
dc.contributor.author
Becker, C.
es_CL
Admission date
dc.date.accessioned
2013-12-26T13:48:45Z
Available date
dc.date.available
2013-12-26T13:48:45Z
Publication date
dc.date.issued
2009
Cita de ítem
dc.identifier.citation
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. Vol. 19, 2009. pp. 156-170.
en_US
Identifier
dc.identifier.uri
https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/121947
Abstract
dc.description.abstract
This paper discusses the problems faced when making interpretations of human stable
isotope values due to the various explanatory alternatives that arise when reading archaeological
data. These interpretative issues are analysed and discussed using the isotopic
results for approximately 100 human individuals from archaeological contexts spanning from
5000 BC to 1540 AD in central Chile, supported by data for more than 50 plant and animal
samples to establish a local C3 and C4 baseline. A number of assumptions are frequently used
to establish the bridge between isotopic results in human tissues and their corresponding
diets. The problem is that different assumptions lead to different dietary reconstructions. Past
feeding experiments on herbivores, pigs, rats and mice give different results, so we need to be
cautious when applying these models to human isotope data. One specific problem concerns
estimates of % C4 from collagen and apatite data, a very important issue when looking for
evidence of maize in archaeological contexts, which was one of the major objectives we had in
the isotopic analyses of archaeological specimens in central Chile. We conclude that the
opportunity for estimating the actual percentage of C4 foods in human diets is limited, since a
specific apatite fractionation value for humans cannot be experimentally determined, while
maize consumption is underrepresented in bone collagen. This may be addressed in our
study by sampling more specimens of wild gramineae to establish baseline plant values, more
humans that could have had a low maize intake, and more Archaic period individuals when
there was certainly no maize in the region.