Stable isotope evidence of diet at Las Orquídeas (800 – 200 cal BCE): A Late Formative site in the highlands of Ecuador

Paula N. Torres Peña; Sandra J. Garvie-Lok; Eric Dyrdahl

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104292

Stable isotope evidence of diet at Las Orquídeas (800 – 200 cal BCE): A Late Formative site in the highlands of Ecuador

Paula N. Torres Peña^*
, Sandra J. Garvie-Lok
, Eric Dyrdahl

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

In Ecuador, the Formative period (3800 – 300 cal BCE) has long been characterized by the presence of sedentary human settlements and the increased importance of agriculture. For the northern highlands, our knowledge of this period has been based primarily on two sites: Cotocollao and La Chimba. In the last decade, research at the site of Las Orquídeas (San Antonio de Ibarra, Imbabura province) is producing new data for this period. To reconstruct diet at Las Orquídeas, eight human and 13 faunal bone samples were analyzed using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen. The results show that the site's inhabitants consumed a mix of C₃ and C₄ resources, along with protein from a number of faunal taxa. Two cervids exhibit isotopic signals that suggest they consumed maize near the settlement. Additionally, the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of the two latest human individuals suggest that diet may have became more variable after 400 cal BCE; this, along with the grave goods interred with one individual, may reflect increased social inequality.

Original language	English
Article number	104292
Journal	Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Volume	52
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104292
State	Published - Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Ltd

Funding

This research was supported in part by the Department of Anthropology of the University of Alberta and the Bryan/Gruhn Graduate Anthropology Research Award. The authors would like to thank archaeologist Carlos Montalvo for granting access to field and laboratory reports, and his support. We also thank Dr. Mingsheng Ma and Alvin Kwan from the University of Alberta Stable Isotope Laboratory (BASL) for their technical assistance in stable isotope analysis. We gratefully acknowledge the members of the Department of Anthropology from the University of Alberta Ruth Gruhn, Robert Losey, and Pamela Mayne Correia, for their comments on this study. We would also like to thank Ecuador’s Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural (INPC) for issuing the sample permits. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on the manuscript. This research was supported in part by the Department of Anthropology of the University of Alberta and the Bryan/Gruhn Graduate Anthropology Research Award. The authors would like to thank archaeologist Carlos Montalvo for granting access to field and laboratory reports, and his support. We also thank Dr. Mingsheng Ma and Alvin Kwan from the University of Alberta Stable Isotope Laboratory (BASL) for their technical assistance in stable isotope analysis. We gratefully acknowledge the members of the Department of Anthropology from the University of Alberta Ruth Gruhn, Robert Losey, and Pamela Mayne Correia, for their comments on this study. We would also like to thank Ecuador's Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural (INPC) for issuing the sample permits. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on the manuscript.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

Keywords

Andes
Diet
Ecuador
Maize
Stable Isotopes

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104292

Cite this

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title = "Stable isotope evidence of diet at Las Orqu{\'i}deas (800 – 200 cal BCE): A Late Formative site in the highlands of Ecuador",

abstract = "In Ecuador, the Formative period (3800 – 300 cal BCE) has long been characterized by the presence of sedentary human settlements and the increased importance of agriculture. For the northern highlands, our knowledge of this period has been based primarily on two sites: Cotocollao and La Chimba. In the last decade, research at the site of Las Orqu{\'i}deas (San Antonio de Ibarra, Imbabura province) is producing new data for this period. To reconstruct diet at Las Orqu{\'i}deas, eight human and 13 faunal bone samples were analyzed using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen. The results show that the site's inhabitants consumed a mix of C3 and C4 resources, along with protein from a number of faunal taxa. Two cervids exhibit isotopic signals that suggest they consumed maize near the settlement. Additionally, the δ13C and δ15N values of the two latest human individuals suggest that diet may have became more variable after 400 cal BCE; this, along with the grave goods interred with one individual, may reflect increased social inequality.",

keywords = "Andes, Diet, Ecuador, Maize, Stable Isotopes",

author = "\{Torres Pe{\~n}a\}, \{Paula N.\} and Garvie-Lok, \{Sandra J.\} and Eric Dyrdahl",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 Elsevier Ltd",

year = "2023",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104292",

language = "English",

volume = "52",

journal = "Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports",

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AU - Garvie-Lok, Sandra J.

AU - Dyrdahl, Eric

PY - 2023/12

Y1 - 2023/12

N2 - In Ecuador, the Formative period (3800 – 300 cal BCE) has long been characterized by the presence of sedentary human settlements and the increased importance of agriculture. For the northern highlands, our knowledge of this period has been based primarily on two sites: Cotocollao and La Chimba. In the last decade, research at the site of Las Orquídeas (San Antonio de Ibarra, Imbabura province) is producing new data for this period. To reconstruct diet at Las Orquídeas, eight human and 13 faunal bone samples were analyzed using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen. The results show that the site's inhabitants consumed a mix of C3 and C4 resources, along with protein from a number of faunal taxa. Two cervids exhibit isotopic signals that suggest they consumed maize near the settlement. Additionally, the δ13C and δ15N values of the two latest human individuals suggest that diet may have became more variable after 400 cal BCE; this, along with the grave goods interred with one individual, may reflect increased social inequality.

AB - In Ecuador, the Formative period (3800 – 300 cal BCE) has long been characterized by the presence of sedentary human settlements and the increased importance of agriculture. For the northern highlands, our knowledge of this period has been based primarily on two sites: Cotocollao and La Chimba. In the last decade, research at the site of Las Orquídeas (San Antonio de Ibarra, Imbabura province) is producing new data for this period. To reconstruct diet at Las Orquídeas, eight human and 13 faunal bone samples were analyzed using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen. The results show that the site's inhabitants consumed a mix of C3 and C4 resources, along with protein from a number of faunal taxa. Two cervids exhibit isotopic signals that suggest they consumed maize near the settlement. Additionally, the δ13C and δ15N values of the two latest human individuals suggest that diet may have became more variable after 400 cal BCE; this, along with the grave goods interred with one individual, may reflect increased social inequality.

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KW - Ecuador

KW - Maize

KW - Stable Isotopes

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DO - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104292

M3 - Article

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SN - 2352-409X

VL - 52

JO - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

JF - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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ER -

Stable isotope evidence of diet at Las Orquídeas (800 – 200 cal BCE): A Late Formative site in the highlands of Ecuador

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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Cite this