Maria Kolp-Godoy Allende | University of Zurich, Switzerland (original) (raw)
Papers by Maria Kolp-Godoy Allende
The role of teeth in the reconstruction of our past!, 2022
Teeth are storytellers. Their analysis provides a “dental biography”, a comprehensive reconstruct... more Teeth are storytellers. Their analysis provides a “dental biography”, a comprehensive reconstruction of ancient people’s lifestyles, occupational and subsistence strategies, health status and diseases.
Annals of Anatomy, 2021
Reconstructing plant-based healing treatments of past societies from a dental anthropological per... more Reconstructing plant-based healing treatments of past societies from a dental anthropological perspective
is still challenging due to a wide range of plant species, many with both medicinal and nutritional properties, and limitations on plant-taxa identification. Starch grains and phytoliths retrieved in samples from
dental calculus and sediment contained in the cavity of dental caries were examined to investigate the
supply of a plant-based treatment in an individual buried in the Late Preceramic site of Huaca El Paraíso
(2100–1500 BCE), whose osteological analysis reported the absence of any pathological condition at a bone
tissue level. A variety of starch grains such as pumpkins, manioc, maize, and beans had an important role in
the diet of the individual. The starch grains were embedded in their dental calculus, all of which, except for
manioc, showed signs of cooking damage. Considering the context and characteristics of the crops, the
nutritional properties of maize, pumpkins and beans are evident. However, parallel medicinal properties of
manioc and maize could not be entirely denied. Phytoliths morphologically ascribed to the Asteraceae plant
family, which suggest the consumption of medicinal plants of Andean vernacular use, were retrieved in the
sediment of dental caries. Our results prove that the analysis of sediment obtained from dental caries is as
valuable in tracing medicinal plant-based treatments as dental calculus in archaeological populations. There
are still several limitations to approach this topic in dental anthropology, which are discussed in this report.
The performance of both analyses -dental calculus and sediment of dental caries, is highly recommended.
© 2021 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
Jangwa Pana, 2014
Marcadores biológicos considerados indicadores de estrés no específico se usaron para evaluar el ... more Marcadores biológicos considerados indicadores de estrés no específico se usaron para evaluar el estatus de salud y nutricional de dos asentamientos andinos del Horizonte Tardío (1430-1532 DC.) procedentes de la costa y sierra de Lima, Pueblo Viejo-Pucará y Huamanmarca respectivamente. Un total de nueve indicadores dentales y óseos fueron medidos: hipoplasia de esmalte (LEH), caries dental, desgaste oclusodental, sarro dental, hipercementosis, criba orbitalia, hiperostosis porótica, periostitis y trauma óseo. Los resultados sugieren que en ambas comunidades la propensión a padecer enfermedades vinculadas a los marcadores biológicos tales como periostitis, anemia o infecciosas fue baja, gozando gran parte de sus pobladores de un buen estado de salud. Sin embargo, en ambas poblaciones arqueológicas la diferencia en el porcentaje de casos afectados varió significativamente entre un sector residencial y otro, observándose una estrecha relación entre la frecuencia de un indicador de estr...
Boletín de Arqueología …, 2009
El área funeraria BRiG 3117 (Coyungo) fue investigada en el marco del Proyecto Arqueológico Bajo ... more El área funeraria BRiG 3117 (Coyungo) fue investigada en el marco del Proyecto Arqueológico Bajo Río Grande de Nazca. Se trata de un conjunto de cuatro contextos funerarios con unos 25 individuos (NMI) y una cantidad elevada de restos de cerámica, textiles, mates y otros. Uno de los fragmentos pertenece a una famosa pieza de la colección de Dumbarton Oaks. Es el conjunto más complejo y significativo del Periodo Formativo Tardío de la costa sur conocido hasta la fecha, pese a que estaba saqueado. En este trabajo se presentan las evidencias en forma preliminar y se ofrecen algunas interpretaciones al respecto.
El área funeraria BRiG 3117 (Coyungo) fue investigada en el marco del Proyecto Arqueológico Bajo ... more El área funeraria BRiG 3117 (Coyungo) fue investigada en el marco del Proyecto Arqueológico Bajo Río Grande de Nazca. Se
trata de un conjunto de cuatro contextos funerarios con unos 25 individuos (NMI) y una cantidad elevada de restos de cerámica, textiles, mates y otros. Uno de los fragmentos pertenece a una famosa pieza de la colección de Dumbarton Oaks. Es el conjunto más complejo y significativo del Periodo Formativo Tardío de la costa sur conocido hasta la fecha, pese a que estaba saqueado. En
este trabajo se presentan las evidencias en forma preliminar y se ofrecen algunas interpretaciones al respecto.
Marcadores biológicos considerados indicadores de estrés no específico se usaron para evaluar el ... more Marcadores biológicos considerados indicadores de estrés no específico se usaron para evaluar el estatus de salud y nutricional de dos asentamientos andinos del Horizonte Tardío (1430-1532 DC.) procedentes de la costa y sierra de Lima, Pueblo Viejo-Pucará y Huamanmarca respectivamente. Un total de nueve indicadores dentales y óseos fueron medidos: hipoplasia de esmalte (LEH), caries dental, desgaste oclusodental, sarro dental, hipercementosis, criba orbitalia, hiperostosis porótica, periostitis y trauma óseo. Los resultados sugieren que en ambas comunidades la propensión a padecer enfermedades vinculadas a los marcadores biológicos tales como periostitis, anemia o infecciosas fue baja, gozando gran parte de sus pobladores de un buen estado de salud. Sin embargo, en ambas poblaciones arqueológicas la diferencia en el porcentaje de casos afectados varió significativamente entre un sector residencial y otro, observándose una estrecha relación entre la frecuencia de un indicador de estrés óseo y dental, y (a) el estatus social, (b) el sector de procedencia, y (c) la actividad ocupacional de sus habitantes.
Conference Presentations by Maria Kolp-Godoy Allende
The varied expansion strategies of the Inkas during the Late Horizon period (1430-1532 A.D.) had ... more The varied expansion strategies of the Inkas during the Late Horizon period (1430-1532 A.D.) had an enormous impact on all areas of a community’s life, including subsistence and diet. Pueblo Viejo-Pucará is an archaeological settlement in the central Andean region of Peru for which ethnohistorical evidence suggests an inhabitation by the Caringa, a coastal ethnic group under the rule of the Inka Empire. Both, the topographic location in the Andean Mountains, about 500 m above the South-Pacific Sea coast, and the political situation with tight connections to the Inka rulers suggest a wide spectrum of food sources that may have contributed to their diet. These include marine fish and seafood and locally grown agricultural products. Archaeological evidence, specifically corrals for domesticated llamas, point to pastoralism as main socioeconomic activity and meat as an important foodstuff. Being part of a broad imperial trade network may have provided access to a variety of non-locally produced goods. Moreover, a distinctive architectural pattern points to connections to or even an origin from the highlands.
This study introduces an integrated archaeological, anthropological, and stable isotope study of the Caringa population at Pueblo Viejo-Pucará to explore diet and subsistence strategies, and to evaluate the hypotheses of a highland food tradition. The study combines a dental anthropological analysis, and the investigation of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of bone collagen and structural carbonate. It sheds light on subsistence, social differentiation and on the exploitation of marine and upland resources in a highly diverse landscape.
Death involves a gradual process of physiological, social and ritual transformation of the dead a... more Death involves a gradual process of physiological, social and ritual transformation of the dead and its descendants . The transition from life to death is not clear-cut, the perception of the body as a corpse varies as the funeral develops, making it difficult to define death in archaeology . To infer through the material evidence how descendants handle bodies and perceived death is crucial . Ethnographical studies provide guidelines for understanding this transformation process . This poster aims to conceptualize death through the analysis of the funerary practices observed in the Candoshi community, which is located in the province of Alto Amazonas, Peru . Their limited contact with mestizos has allowed them to preserve their ancient funerary practices to this day . Once the individual dies, the body is placed into a single wooden structure called Kavonima, which is oriented to the west to ensure the deceased will find its way back . The Candoshi believe that the dead would come and go from the Kavonima at will . Years later, as part of a secondary burial, the body is removed and buried in a fossa adjacent to the home . Houses are not only the repository of bodies, but meaningful spaces that embrace communal memories . The inner nature of the deceased embodies a larger spiritual significance . Depending on the individual’s behaviour in life, he will be recognized in the form of natural phenomena, such as lightning . This secondary practice affords a temporal and spatial separation between the initial rite of liminality, and these concluding rites of incorporation, promoting new levels of social kinship . In order to improve our understanding of death in past populations, especially when working in archaeological sites in the Amazon, we have to take into consideration ethnographic cases like Candoshi, which sheds light on the relationship between death, body transformation, landscape, and social ties.
Books by Maria Kolp-Godoy Allende
BAR International Series 2318, 2023
Pueblo Viejo-Pucara is one of the coastal archaeological sites that were ruled by the Inka Empire... more Pueblo Viejo-Pucara is one of the coastal archaeological sites that were ruled by the Inka Empire on the central coast of Peru, inhabited by the Caringa people. Labor colonists relocated to the site as part of Inka strategies of annexation of new territories, reducing local polities’power. Archaeological evidence points to connections between the Caringa
people and highland communities. An unexplored line of evidence is people’s food habits, identity, diet and nutrition. The way society prepares, serves, and eats its food is socioculturally shaped. An integrative approach based on bioarchaeological, dental anthropological, biochemical, and ethnohistorical data is applied, revealing significant
intra-site variability and food behaviors being dictated by people’s identity and social status, additionally impacting childhood nutritional condition. The symbolic meaning behind food was embodied in ritual and funerary events, reinforcing local identities, local food cooking modalities, storage facilities and exchange between neighborhoods.
The role of teeth in the reconstruction of our past!, 2022
Teeth are storytellers. Their analysis provides a “dental biography”, a comprehensive reconstruct... more Teeth are storytellers. Their analysis provides a “dental biography”, a comprehensive reconstruction of ancient people’s lifestyles, occupational and subsistence strategies, health status and diseases.
Annals of Anatomy, 2021
Reconstructing plant-based healing treatments of past societies from a dental anthropological per... more Reconstructing plant-based healing treatments of past societies from a dental anthropological perspective
is still challenging due to a wide range of plant species, many with both medicinal and nutritional properties, and limitations on plant-taxa identification. Starch grains and phytoliths retrieved in samples from
dental calculus and sediment contained in the cavity of dental caries were examined to investigate the
supply of a plant-based treatment in an individual buried in the Late Preceramic site of Huaca El Paraíso
(2100–1500 BCE), whose osteological analysis reported the absence of any pathological condition at a bone
tissue level. A variety of starch grains such as pumpkins, manioc, maize, and beans had an important role in
the diet of the individual. The starch grains were embedded in their dental calculus, all of which, except for
manioc, showed signs of cooking damage. Considering the context and characteristics of the crops, the
nutritional properties of maize, pumpkins and beans are evident. However, parallel medicinal properties of
manioc and maize could not be entirely denied. Phytoliths morphologically ascribed to the Asteraceae plant
family, which suggest the consumption of medicinal plants of Andean vernacular use, were retrieved in the
sediment of dental caries. Our results prove that the analysis of sediment obtained from dental caries is as
valuable in tracing medicinal plant-based treatments as dental calculus in archaeological populations. There
are still several limitations to approach this topic in dental anthropology, which are discussed in this report.
The performance of both analyses -dental calculus and sediment of dental caries, is highly recommended.
© 2021 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
Jangwa Pana, 2014
Marcadores biológicos considerados indicadores de estrés no específico se usaron para evaluar el ... more Marcadores biológicos considerados indicadores de estrés no específico se usaron para evaluar el estatus de salud y nutricional de dos asentamientos andinos del Horizonte Tardío (1430-1532 DC.) procedentes de la costa y sierra de Lima, Pueblo Viejo-Pucará y Huamanmarca respectivamente. Un total de nueve indicadores dentales y óseos fueron medidos: hipoplasia de esmalte (LEH), caries dental, desgaste oclusodental, sarro dental, hipercementosis, criba orbitalia, hiperostosis porótica, periostitis y trauma óseo. Los resultados sugieren que en ambas comunidades la propensión a padecer enfermedades vinculadas a los marcadores biológicos tales como periostitis, anemia o infecciosas fue baja, gozando gran parte de sus pobladores de un buen estado de salud. Sin embargo, en ambas poblaciones arqueológicas la diferencia en el porcentaje de casos afectados varió significativamente entre un sector residencial y otro, observándose una estrecha relación entre la frecuencia de un indicador de estr...
Boletín de Arqueología …, 2009
El área funeraria BRiG 3117 (Coyungo) fue investigada en el marco del Proyecto Arqueológico Bajo ... more El área funeraria BRiG 3117 (Coyungo) fue investigada en el marco del Proyecto Arqueológico Bajo Río Grande de Nazca. Se trata de un conjunto de cuatro contextos funerarios con unos 25 individuos (NMI) y una cantidad elevada de restos de cerámica, textiles, mates y otros. Uno de los fragmentos pertenece a una famosa pieza de la colección de Dumbarton Oaks. Es el conjunto más complejo y significativo del Periodo Formativo Tardío de la costa sur conocido hasta la fecha, pese a que estaba saqueado. En este trabajo se presentan las evidencias en forma preliminar y se ofrecen algunas interpretaciones al respecto.
El área funeraria BRiG 3117 (Coyungo) fue investigada en el marco del Proyecto Arqueológico Bajo ... more El área funeraria BRiG 3117 (Coyungo) fue investigada en el marco del Proyecto Arqueológico Bajo Río Grande de Nazca. Se
trata de un conjunto de cuatro contextos funerarios con unos 25 individuos (NMI) y una cantidad elevada de restos de cerámica, textiles, mates y otros. Uno de los fragmentos pertenece a una famosa pieza de la colección de Dumbarton Oaks. Es el conjunto más complejo y significativo del Periodo Formativo Tardío de la costa sur conocido hasta la fecha, pese a que estaba saqueado. En
este trabajo se presentan las evidencias en forma preliminar y se ofrecen algunas interpretaciones al respecto.
Marcadores biológicos considerados indicadores de estrés no específico se usaron para evaluar el ... more Marcadores biológicos considerados indicadores de estrés no específico se usaron para evaluar el estatus de salud y nutricional de dos asentamientos andinos del Horizonte Tardío (1430-1532 DC.) procedentes de la costa y sierra de Lima, Pueblo Viejo-Pucará y Huamanmarca respectivamente. Un total de nueve indicadores dentales y óseos fueron medidos: hipoplasia de esmalte (LEH), caries dental, desgaste oclusodental, sarro dental, hipercementosis, criba orbitalia, hiperostosis porótica, periostitis y trauma óseo. Los resultados sugieren que en ambas comunidades la propensión a padecer enfermedades vinculadas a los marcadores biológicos tales como periostitis, anemia o infecciosas fue baja, gozando gran parte de sus pobladores de un buen estado de salud. Sin embargo, en ambas poblaciones arqueológicas la diferencia en el porcentaje de casos afectados varió significativamente entre un sector residencial y otro, observándose una estrecha relación entre la frecuencia de un indicador de estrés óseo y dental, y (a) el estatus social, (b) el sector de procedencia, y (c) la actividad ocupacional de sus habitantes.
The varied expansion strategies of the Inkas during the Late Horizon period (1430-1532 A.D.) had ... more The varied expansion strategies of the Inkas during the Late Horizon period (1430-1532 A.D.) had an enormous impact on all areas of a community’s life, including subsistence and diet. Pueblo Viejo-Pucará is an archaeological settlement in the central Andean region of Peru for which ethnohistorical evidence suggests an inhabitation by the Caringa, a coastal ethnic group under the rule of the Inka Empire. Both, the topographic location in the Andean Mountains, about 500 m above the South-Pacific Sea coast, and the political situation with tight connections to the Inka rulers suggest a wide spectrum of food sources that may have contributed to their diet. These include marine fish and seafood and locally grown agricultural products. Archaeological evidence, specifically corrals for domesticated llamas, point to pastoralism as main socioeconomic activity and meat as an important foodstuff. Being part of a broad imperial trade network may have provided access to a variety of non-locally produced goods. Moreover, a distinctive architectural pattern points to connections to or even an origin from the highlands.
This study introduces an integrated archaeological, anthropological, and stable isotope study of the Caringa population at Pueblo Viejo-Pucará to explore diet and subsistence strategies, and to evaluate the hypotheses of a highland food tradition. The study combines a dental anthropological analysis, and the investigation of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of bone collagen and structural carbonate. It sheds light on subsistence, social differentiation and on the exploitation of marine and upland resources in a highly diverse landscape.
Death involves a gradual process of physiological, social and ritual transformation of the dead a... more Death involves a gradual process of physiological, social and ritual transformation of the dead and its descendants . The transition from life to death is not clear-cut, the perception of the body as a corpse varies as the funeral develops, making it difficult to define death in archaeology . To infer through the material evidence how descendants handle bodies and perceived death is crucial . Ethnographical studies provide guidelines for understanding this transformation process . This poster aims to conceptualize death through the analysis of the funerary practices observed in the Candoshi community, which is located in the province of Alto Amazonas, Peru . Their limited contact with mestizos has allowed them to preserve their ancient funerary practices to this day . Once the individual dies, the body is placed into a single wooden structure called Kavonima, which is oriented to the west to ensure the deceased will find its way back . The Candoshi believe that the dead would come and go from the Kavonima at will . Years later, as part of a secondary burial, the body is removed and buried in a fossa adjacent to the home . Houses are not only the repository of bodies, but meaningful spaces that embrace communal memories . The inner nature of the deceased embodies a larger spiritual significance . Depending on the individual’s behaviour in life, he will be recognized in the form of natural phenomena, such as lightning . This secondary practice affords a temporal and spatial separation between the initial rite of liminality, and these concluding rites of incorporation, promoting new levels of social kinship . In order to improve our understanding of death in past populations, especially when working in archaeological sites in the Amazon, we have to take into consideration ethnographic cases like Candoshi, which sheds light on the relationship between death, body transformation, landscape, and social ties.
BAR International Series 2318, 2023
Pueblo Viejo-Pucara is one of the coastal archaeological sites that were ruled by the Inka Empire... more Pueblo Viejo-Pucara is one of the coastal archaeological sites that were ruled by the Inka Empire on the central coast of Peru, inhabited by the Caringa people. Labor colonists relocated to the site as part of Inka strategies of annexation of new territories, reducing local polities’power. Archaeological evidence points to connections between the Caringa
people and highland communities. An unexplored line of evidence is people’s food habits, identity, diet and nutrition. The way society prepares, serves, and eats its food is socioculturally shaped. An integrative approach based on bioarchaeological, dental anthropological, biochemical, and ethnohistorical data is applied, revealing significant
intra-site variability and food behaviors being dictated by people’s identity and social status, additionally impacting childhood nutritional condition. The symbolic meaning behind food was embodied in ritual and funerary events, reinforcing local identities, local food cooking modalities, storage facilities and exchange between neighborhoods.