This study estimates dietary composition during infancy and childhood among 71 adults interred at the site of Machu Picchu, a royal Inca estate in the southern highlands of Peru. Recent research suggests that the majority of individuals were members of the cosmopolitian yana and aclla servant classes, and immigrated to the site from different regions; individual dietary histories may have been similarly varied. Diet was estimated at multiple points in early life through characterization of carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in tooth enamel and dentin, which preserve isotopic values from the first years of life. These data were compared to isotopic data from modern food samples, and analyzed using recently-published statistical models. A subset of individuals also has existing bone collagen isotopic data, which reflects diet from the last decade of life and thus permits comparison over the life course. Results indicate significant variation in enamel δ 13 C (approximately 12‰), dentin δ 13 C (approximately 9‰) and δ 15 N (approximately 8‰) between individuals across the study population. These findings suggest substantial variability in diet during infancy and childhood, and support interpretations that this population was primarily yanacona or mixed yanacona/acllacona. This study also highlights the utility of multi-tissue isotopic analysis in more nuanced reconstruction of diet in the ancient Andes.Key words: Stable isotopes, teeth, Inca, paleodiet, Precolumbian Andes.
este estudio estima la composición dietética durante la infancia y la niñez en 71 entierros de adultos del sitio machu Picchu, una propiedad real inca en las montañas de Perú. esta investigación sugiere que la mayoría de los individuos eran miembros de una clase cosmopolita de servidores yana y aclla que inmigraron a este sitio desde diferentes regiones, por lo que sus historias dietéticas tempranas pudieron haber sido variadas. la dieta fue estimada en múltiples puntos de la primera parte de la vida de estos individuos a través de la caracterización de las proporciones de isotópicos estables de carbón y nitrógeno conservados en el esmalte y dentina de la dentadura desde las primeras épocas de vida de los individuos. estos datos fueron comparados con datos isotópicos de alimentos actuales y analizados con modelos
This study compares trends in dietary composition in two large cemetery populations from the site of Kulubnarti (AD 550-800) in Sudanese Nubia. Bone collagen and bone apatite carbonate were analysed to characterise stable carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotopes. Previous research on these cemeteries has suggested marked differences in nutritional status and health between the populations. Contrary to expectations, there were no significant relationships between any isotopic indicators related to sex or cemetery of burial, suggesting no isotopically-measurable differences in diet. However, collagen 13 C and 15 N were significantly related to age, suggesting age-related differences in protein intake or other factors.Weaning trends are gradual and variable, with the range in 15 N values exceeding 4% among infants/young children (0-3 yrs) and standard deviations exceeding 1% in collagen 13 C and 15 N for both infants/young children and subadults (4-17 yrs). This suggests varied weaning strategies among both populations and variable diets prior to adulthood. Also observed was a distinct range of isotopic carbon and nitrogen values among individuals classified as subadults (4-17 yrs), who are depleted in collagen 13 C and 15 N relative to adults. However, both infants/young children and subadults are slightly enriched in 18 O relative to adults, which suggests the presence of non-local individuals or age-related variation in water sources. While most isotopic studies of age-related dietary trends have focused on reconstructing the weaning process, this study presents findings that indicate tripartite isotopic trends distinguishing infancy, subadulthood and adulthood as separate dietary categories. Broad similarities are evident between the results presented here and those from several earlier studies of smaller populations and to nutritional studies of modern communities. These findings suggest that further research into health disparities at Kulubnarti should focus on non-dietary causal factors, and more generally, that greater attention should be paid to subadulthood in palaeodiet studies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.