Isotopes and bioarchaeology in the Andes
Diet, life histories, and ritual
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7147449 |
|---|---|
| Authors | A Tessone (0000-0001-9722-1480, Instituto de Geocronología y Geología Isotópica (INGEIS), Universidad de Buenos Aires, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina), R Barberena (0000-0002-4323-1197, Centro de Investigación, Innovación y Creación (CIIC‐UCT), Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades Universidad Católica de Temuco Temuco Chile, corresponding author), K J Knudson (0000-0002-2885-6228, Arizona State University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 67 |
| Issue | S2 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Archaeometry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-813X • E-ISSN: 1475-4754 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/arcm.12989 |
| OpenAlex | W4399333621 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 80 |
In this article, we present an isotopic perspective of key research questions in Andean bioarchaeology, focusing on the ways in which stable and radiogenic isotope analyses have contributed to our understanding of the past. Andean archaeology offers a window into long‐term processes of economic, socioecological and political change since the mid‐Holocene, thus providing historical trajectories of socio‐ecological change relevant for global comparison. The spatial scale of this review includes the areas traditionally identified as the south‐central Andes and the southern Andes. These ecological scenarios are characterised by marked topographic, climatic and ecological variations that are fruitful for the application of isotopes to understand diet, mobility, migration and ritual in past human societies. Within the broader Andean context, here we focus on the growth of bioarchaeological applications of isotopic data. We discuss some major themes of economic production, mobility and exploitation of environmental diversity, maize agriculture, migrations in small‐ and large‐scale societies and ritual practices related to human sacrifices and body modifications. Building on this, we discuss theoretical and methodological trends and directions for future research combining bioarchaeology and isotopes in the Andes
Archaeology · Bioarchaeology · Geography · Sociology · Zooarchaeology · Anthropology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
Amazonian horticulturalists live in larger, more related groups than hunter–gatherers
Stable isotope and DNA evidence for ritual sequences in Inca child sacrifice
Advances in global bioavailable strontium isoscapes
Advances in the molecular detection of tuberculosis in pre-contact Andean South America
Diet in Southern Chile (36°-42°S). A synthesis from the isotopic data
On Isotopes and Old Bones
Maize ( Zea mays ) consumption in the southern andes (30°–31° S. Lat)
What Was Tiwanaku
The geographic origins of Nasca trophy heads using strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope data
Small scale camelid husbandry on the north coast of Peru (Virú Valley)
Prehistoric diet and socioeconomic relationships within the Osmore Valley of southern Peru
Strontium Isotopes from the Earth to the Archaeological Skeleton
Mobility in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile, in the Late Intermediate Period (AD 900–1450)
Residential moblity in the Inka sacred valley
Paleodiet in Late Preceramic Peru
New Bioarchaeological Evidence and Radiocarbon Dates from the Lambayeque/Sicán Culture Camelids from the El Brujo Complex (Northern Coast of Peru)
Isotopic Evidence for Camelid Husbandry During the Formative Period at the Pacopampa Site, Peru
Interpreting Past Human Diets Using Stable Isotope Mixing Models
The Inka mummy from Mount Aconcagua
Huertos, chacras y sementeras. Plantas cultivadas y su participación en los desarrollos culturales de Chile central
Isotopic evidence on human bone for declining maize consumption during the little ice age in central western Argentina
Seasonality and paleodiet in the Chiribaya polity of southern Peru
Dietary reconstruction, mobility, and the analysis of ancient skeletal tissues
Insights into immigration and social class at Machu Picchu, Peru based on oxygen, strontium, and lead isotopic analysis
Influence of seabird guano and camelid dung fertilization on the nitrogen isotopic composition of field-grown maize (Zea mays)
Hydrogen isotope systematics of hair
Studies on amerindian dogs, 1
An archaeological strontium isoscape for the prehistoric Andes
Models for paleodietary research
The Use of Strontium Isotope Analysis to Investigate Tiwanaku Migration and Mortuary Ritual in Bolivia and Peru
Stable isotope analysis of the Inca mummy from Nevado de Chuscha (Salta, Argentina)
Migration and maize in the Virú Valley
Investigating cultural heterogeneity in San Pedro de Atacama, northern Chile, through biogeochemistry and bioarchaeology
Stable isotope analysis of a pre‐Hispanic Andean community
Paleomobility in the Tiwanaku Diaspora
Investigating economic specialization on the central Peruvian coast
Bioarchaeology in perspective
Evaluando El Consumo Y Uso De Plantas Entre Cazadores Recolectores Pescadores Marinos a Través Del Estudio Del Tártaro Dental Humano en Los Canales Septentrionales De Patagonia (41°30’- 47° S)
Pastoralism and the Non-Pastoral World in the Late Pre-Columbian History of the Southern Andes (1000-1535)
The Oxford Handbook of the Incas
Of Summits and Sacrifice
The timing and mode of southern Andean human migrations
Human ancient DNA analysis in Latin America
Non-Local Enemies or Local Subjects of Violence
Trophy heads from Nawinpukio, Perú
Diversity in Socioecological Niches in the Andes (Disenia)
Assessing the life history of an andean traveller through biogeochemistry
Fisherfolk and farmers
Childhood Lost
Tiwanaku Influence in the South Central Andes
El Maíz (Zea Mays) en el Mundo Prehispánico de Chile Central
El Uso de Recursos Vegetales entre los Cazadores-Recolectores de la Pampa Occidental Argentina
La influencia de Tiwanaku en San Pedro de Atacama
Isotopic Evidence for Early Maize Cultivation in New York State
Rethinking the Vertical Archipelago
Pre-Hispanic Political Change and the Role of Maize in the Central Andes of Peru
Maize and the Origin of Highland Chavín Civilization
Integrating Identities
Maize and Sociopolitical Complexity in the Ayacucho Valley, Peru
Decapitation and Rebirth
Maize consumption out of the production areas in southern South America (Norpatagonia, Argentina)
The Signs of Maize? A Reconsideration of What δ13C Values Say about Palaeodiet in the Andean Region
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |