Establishing radiogenic strontium isotope signatures for Chavín de Huántar, Peru (original) (raw)
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Strontium Isotope Evidence for Prehistoric Migration at Chokepukio, Valley of Cuzco, Peru
Latin American Antiquity
Although Spanish chroniclers referred frequently to coerced migration in the Inca Empire, these migrations have been difficult to document archaeologically. One approach to migration studies, strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis, has emerged as an effective technique. Until now, however, this method has not been applied to the Inca heartland region of Cuzco, Peru. In this study, we use strontium isotope analysis to examine patterns of prehistoric migration in the Cuzco Valley. Human dental enamel samples from the Cuzco Valley site of Chokepukio are analyzed and compared to the local 87Sr/86Sr signature established through faunal specimens. Though tentative due to a small sample size, the isotope results do not provide evidence for migration at this site from the time periods preceding the rise of the Inca Empire (200 B.C. to A.D. 1400). In contrast, there is substantial evidence for migration during the time of Inca imperialism (A.D. 1400–1532). Among these migrants, variation in ...
PLOS ONE, 2021
Strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis of human skeletal remains is an important method in archaeology to examine past human mobility and landscape use. 87Sr/86Sr signatures of a given location are largely determined by the underlying bedrock, and these geology specific isotope signatures are incorporated into skeletal tissue through food and water, often permitting the differentiation of local and non-local individuals in past human populations. This study presents the results of a systematic survey of modern flora and fauna (n = 100) from 14 locations to map the bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr signatures of the Conchucos region, an area where the extent of geologic variability was previously unknown. We illustrate the necessity to examine the variation in 87Sr/86Sr values of the different geological formations available to human land use to document the range of possible local 87Sr/86Sr values. Within the Conchucos region we found significant variation in environmental 87Sr/86Sr values (0....
Measurement of 87Sr/86Sr relative abundance ratios in tooth enamel is a primary method to determine human paleomobility, and a growing number of studies now use these measurements to also reconstruct individual life histories and geographical origins. Here we test the utility and validity of this method for reconstructing individual life histories. To investigate intra-individual variability, we present results from blinded measurements of strontiumisotope ratios in 42 tooth enamel samples fromseven individuals found at the late prehistoric site of Pampa de los Gentiles, Chincha Valley, Peru. These samples include enamel that formed early in the development of the individual, as well as enamel that formed during adolescence. This allowed us to investigate normal variation in tooth enamel 87Sr/86Sr ratios. Within the same tooth type in the same individual, differences in 87Sr/86Sr ratios fromright and left dental elements ranged frombelowthe limit of detection (b0.00000, canine, Individual 23) to 0.00015 (first premolar, Individual 11). Because of the scale of this difference, these results validate the utility of intra-individual studies that focus on enamel that formed at different times during human development. The data also validate the utility of these strontium isotope ratio measurements when made to the third and fourth decimal place for making archaeological meaningful inferences about paleomobility.
ENVIRONMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 2019
Strontium isotopes allow tracking the scale and pattern of movements of people and animals. With the ultimate goal of reconstructing human mobility in the southern Andes (Argentina and Chile), we present isotopic values for rodent samples selected from the main geological units, thus contributing to building a macro-regional framework of bioavailable strontium. The results show an important variation between geological units with little isotopic overlap between the young western Principal Cordillera (0.70393 ± 0.0005), Eastern Principal Cordillera (0.70563 ± 0.0001), Frontal Cordillera (0.70670 ± 0.00087), and the old Precordillera (0.70946 ± 0.00073) east of the Andes. This substantiates the potential of this approach for archaeological and paleoecological analyses in the southern Andes. We also present the first set of isotopic results for wild and domesticated camelids from the southern Andes, suggesting that home ranges were similar. We reconsider published results for human samples from the last 2000 years in Mendoza Province (Argentina), a period characterised by intense socio-economic change. The observed pattern suggests little systematic human mobility between geological regions across the Andes. While this may not necessarily indicate low mobility, it clearly goes against scenarios of high residential mobility, as suggested on the basis of other isotope systems.
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES AND THE STUDY OF HUMAN MOBILITY IN ANCIENT MESOAMERICA
We analyzed strontium isotopes in more than 500 samples of shell, bone, and dental enamel from modern and archaeolog ical contexts throughout Mesoamerica. The results correspond closely with expectations based upon the local geology and earlier measurements of geological materials. The results show that isotopic variation is significant across Mesoamerica. Thus strontium isotope ratios in dental enamel, which mark the place of childhood residence, can be used not only to doc ument mobility but also in some cases to determine geographic origin. We present five archaeological case studies to illus trate the anthropological significance and range of applications for this technique: the origins of individuals in the "Oaxaca Barrio" at Teotihuacan, a northern origin for the founder of Copan, a local king at Tikal, the regional origin of two of Palenque's rulers, and individuals of African birth in a colonial cemetery in Campeche. Se evaluawn las proporciones isotopicas de estroncio en mas de quinientas muestras fosiles y modernas de concha, hueso y esmalte dental, colectadas en numerosos sitios de toda Mesoamerica. Los resultados reflejan estrechamente las expectativas fundamentadas en la geologia local y algunas medidas previas que habian sido obtenidas de diferentes sustratos geologicos. Los presentes datos se empleardn en el diseho de un mapa rector que mostrard pan-regionalmente los rangos de relacion isotopica de estroncio. Se puede utilizarse el analisis de las proporciones isotopicas de estroncio en el esmalte dental, el cual retiene las caracteristicas del lugar de nacimientos, no solo para investigar aspectos generales de movilidad, sino tambien para determinar el origen geogrdfico de un individuo. Aqui se presentan cinqo estudios de caso arqueologicos que ilustran la relevancia y gama de aplicaciones de esta tecnica: los origenes de los individuos del "Barrio Oaxaqueho^ en Teotihuacan; la procedencia de elfundadordel linaje dindstico de Copan, del norte; el origen intra-regional de la "Reina Roja " de Palenque y de Janaab' Pakal; asi como la identificacion de esclavos oriundos de Africa en un cementerio colonial de Campeche.