Corn, Beer, and Marine Resources at Casas Grandes, Mexico: An Analysis of Prehistoric Diets Using Microfossils Recovered from Dental Calculus (original) (raw)
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Diet and Dietary Variation at Prehistoric Casas Grandes, Mexico
2021
The prehistoric site of Paquimé, also called Casas Grandes, was a major ritual, economic, and agricultural centre in northern Mexico during the Medio period (1200-1450 CE). Social differentiation also became more pronounced during this time, as mortuary treatments and styles show. To assess whether social differentiation is associated with dietary patterns, the stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen from collagen, and the stable carbon isotope ratios from tooth enamel were analyzed. These data were then compared to the variables of local or non-local origin, cultural period, age, sex, and mortuary evidence for high status. The results are complicated but provide unique insights into diet and dietary practices. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values at Casas Grandes are similar to those from other semi-arid sites in the prehistoric American Southwest and Northern Mexico, as well as sites from further south in Mexico and Mesoamerica. Diets initially appeared to vary isot...
Elsevier, 2012
In a first region wide study, starch grains from human dental calculus from the pre-Columbian insular Caribbean (dating to ca. 350 B.C. – A.D. 1600) are used to identify important plant foods in the diet and to assess potential dietary differences related to age or sex. Results give important insights into pre-Columbian maize (Zea mays) consumption throughout the region, confirming recent studies that indicate that maize was more commonly consumed in the insular Caribbean than originally thought. No age or sex based differences in maize consumption were found. Furthermore, based on the results of new experiments regarding grinding and pressure damage to starch grains, it is clear that maize in the Caribbean was ground, baked and consumed as bread as was the case in large parts of the mainland. Based on our results we tentatively suggest maize consumption in the Caribbean was at least in some cases associated with feasting and ceremonial activities. The variety in other plant foods identified (mostly tuberous root crops) shows that the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the region consumed a broad spectrum, but locally variable diet in which a variety of root crops functioned as staple crops, including marunguey (Zamia sp.) and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas). We found no indications for the traditionally assumed heavy reliance on manioc (Manihot esculenta) cultivation in the region.
Research Square (Research Square), 2022
The objective of this research is to determine the dietary relevance of the plants consumed by the inhabitants of Aspero, an urban center on the coast of the Supe Valley, Peru. For this purpose, starch grains trapped in the human dental calculus of eleven individuals were recovered. Additionally, the results of one individual recovered from the Sacred City of Caral, located in the interior of Supe Valley, are presented. The high number of starch grains recovered from sweet potato and squash possibly indicates a frequent consumption of these starchy plant foods by the inhabitants of Áspero. These results are consistent with previously published isotopic analyses indicating that C 3 plants were an important part of the diet of the Áspero inhabitants. Although our results indicate that there was maize consumption at Áspero and Sacred City of Caral, our results and previous isotopic analyses performed on the same individuals, show that maize was not fundamental in the diet of the origins of the civilization. Finally, based on the damage patterns in starch grains, we report the rst direct evidence of possible maize fermentation during the Initial Formative Period. Considering the economic and ritual importance of fermented beverage consumption in the ethnohistoric and archaeological record of later periods, this nding could have critical implications for understanding the process of social complexity in the region.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences volume, 2020
Coprolites have been a source of study for archeologists due to several reasons: they not only provide information on the life and nutritional habits of ancient individuals but also on their health. In this paper, we processed 10 coprolites collected at La Cueva de Los Muertos Chiquitos (600-800 CE), Rio Zape, Mexico, with acetolysis solution for pollen analysis. The number of pollen grains/gram of each coprolite sample was quantified along with the macroscopic remains of these samples. The main food item ingested by the population was maize, followed by Agave. Squash blossoms were also part of their food source determined by the presence of pollen grains. In macroremains, we identified rodent bones, plant seeds, and Agave fibers. The macroscopic analysis of the samples fits with the analysis of smaller remains, giving an idea of the meal represented by each coprolite analyzed. We relate these results to previous microbiome studies of coprolite samples from the same archeological site and provide a discussion on the relevancy of studying macro-and microremains that can be applied to microbiome interpretation analysis.
The objective of this research is to identify the plants consumed and to determine their dietary importance in Áspero, an urban center on the coast of the Supe Valley, Peru. Consequently, starch grains trapped in the human dental calculus of nine individuals were recovered, while the results from one individual from the Sacred City of Caral, located in the interior of Supe Valley, are presented. Eight species of food plants were identified, among them C 3 plants: sweet potato, squash, potato, chili pepper, algarrobo, manioc and bean and C 4 plant: maize. Previous isotopic analysis indicates that C 3 plants formed the foundation of the diet at Áspero and Caral. Our results indicate a high ubiquity of C 3 plants like sweet potato (100%) and squash (90%) suggesting, with caution, that these taxa were an important C 3 source in the menu. Maize, C 4 plant, showed a similar ubiquity (100%) to sweet potato and squash, however, previous isotopic analysis indicate that maize was a marginal food in Áspero and Caral. These results support that the absence and abundance of starch grains cannot be employed to directly infer the frequency of intake of C 3 and C 4 plants within a small population, as suggested by previous studies.
Prehistoric Dental Disease and the Dietary Shift from Cactus to Cultigens in Northwest Mexico
Differences in dental health of prehistoric human groups are commonly attributed to specific subsistence practices, whereby food foragers generally have lower incidence of dental disease than agriculturalists. Dental health was assessed on a sample of 135 human skeletons from northwest Mexico that date to the Early Agricultural period (1600 B.C.-A.D. 200), which coincides with the initial introduction of domesticated cultigens into the region circa 2000 B.C. High rates of dental caries (13.46%) and antemortem tooth loss (17.57%) encountered in these prehistoric forager-farmers from the Sonoran Desert were determined to be the result of the consumption of highly cariogenic local wild resources such as cactus. These patterns mask the degree of reliance on agriculture in the area and highlight the importance of constructing local nutritional histories to better understand the unique diversity of human diets and their relationships to health and disease.
Latin American Antiquity, 2013
As dates of earliest use of Theobroma cacao in ancient Mesoamerica are established, interest is shifting to how cacao was used. One approach is to consider combinations of ingredients—the recipes for ancient cacao use. Beverages made from cacao seeds and maize have a long history in Mesoamerica. We began testing the hypothesis that there is qualitative evidence of this beverage type in the Postclassic archaeological record in a region where such a beverage, tejate, is a culturally significant food today. We looked for evidence of tejate ingredients in residue samples from eight Postclassic and one contemporary vessel from the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Detection of morphologically specific maize phytoliths was accomplished by taxonomic analysis and comparison with a reference collection. Tejate ingredients Pouteria sapota and Quararibea funebris were also processed for phytolith detection. Testing for methylxanthines characteristic of Theobroma species used high-performance liquid ch...
2017
This thesis is the isotopic dietary study of two Postclassic Maya archaeological sites of El Rey and San Miguelito on the Island of Cancun in the Yucatan Peninsula. A bone and tooth sample were used from the individuals in the selected study populations and processed to extract carbonate and collagen to be analyzed for carbon and nitrogen isotopes to determine the dietary utilization of maize and marine protein of these two populations. At this point, the collagen results have not been received from the laboratory and are not part of the conclusions. The carbonate results indicated that the populations were utilizing marine resources available to them. Previous research, based on Sr isotopic data, indicated that four of the individuals at El Rey were not from the island originally and the isotopic evidence indicates that these individuals adopted the eating practices of the local populace of the Island of Cancun. The results indicate no stark differences in the diet, which indicates...