We present stable isotopic data obtained in order to elucidate the diet of current domestic camelids and their feeding areas, as a necessary step for the interpretation of archaelogical assemblages, and to answer questions regarding past diet, herd structure, foraging zones and interaction with human populations. Seventeen new d 13C collagen isotope values from Lama glama bones were measured in order to start a systematic study of the isotopic ecology of herbivory in the Puna ecosystem of Jujuy province, Argentina. These values were compared with those previously available, and a reliable correlation between altitude and variation in isotopic values was found: of the order of À2% depletion for each 500 m increase in altitude. These results were interpreted as related to variation in vegetal assemblage due to altitude. We consider that the outcomes of this research exceed the scope of our study area, being important to the Argentine Puna as a whole, and will also contribute to the development of current animal population ecological models applied to the interpretation of archaeological remains.

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This article explores the feeding and territorial behaviour of the wild camelids – guanacos and vicuñas – consumed by the inhabitants of the Dry Puna during the Early and Mid‐Holocene, as a way to deal with the strategies for resource exploitation employed by these human groups. We present 38 stable isotope values (δ13C and δ15N) generated from bone collagen extracted from the faunal remains obtained from the Hornillos 2 archaeological site (Susques, Jujuy Province, Argentina). These bone assemblages were recovered from nine layers that comprise human occupations corresponding to both periods (from 9710 to 6130 years bp). These data will be discussed considering ecological and ethological information about wild camelids, especially regarding territorial behaviour and dietary selectiveness of vicuñas and guanacos that currently inhabit the Puna. Finally, the trends and patterns identified in these isotopic evidences will be analysed in the light of the environmental and cultural changes that took place during the mentioned chronological span. Our results show no significant differences between camelid species, implying that δ13C and δ15N values of bone collagen constitute a poor taxonomical indicator, dismissing the possibility to identify the early incidence of human intervention in animal diet as an initial step to deal with the problem of domestication. In chronological terms, the δ15N results from Early and Mid‐Holocene show certain differences that can be linked to the preponderance of arid conditions during the latter. This underscores the usefulness of this line of evidence when evaluating environmental changes. On the other hand, the δ13C values show no substantial differences, meaning that carbon isotopic composition of bone collagen in mixed C3–C4 systems is not a reliable paleoenvironmental proxy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Desde 2012 nuestro equipo de investigación ha llevado adelante el “Proyecto Arqueológico Barrancas” que tiene como objetivo principal el estudio de la historia de los pueblos que habitaron esta localidad y las áreas vecinas durante los últimos 10.000 años y la puesta en valor del patrimonio cultural legado por estas sociedades. El presente trabajo tiene dos objetivos principales: 1) caracterizar la evolución ambiental de la cuenca del río Barrancas desde fines del Pleistoceno y discutir su impacto sobre los grupos humanos que la utilizaron a lo largo del tiempo; y 2) describir sucintamente el registro arqueológico de la cuenca superior y media del Río Barrancas, fundamentalmente en lo que hace a su cronología absoluta y a las características generales de los sitios arqueológicos bajo estudio, así como la cronología relativa y ubicación del arte rupestre relevado hasta el momento. La conjunción de la evidencia arqueológica de Barrancas con la información paleoambiental de la cuenca ilustra la manera en que cambios sustanciales en los hábitats locales tienen una incidencia relevante en el uso que los grupos darán a estos espacios a través del tiempo, permitiendo caracterizar el área de estudio como internodal o nodal de manera alternante a lo largo del Holoceno.

The main goal of this work is to study the camelid herding and management strategies employed by the human groups that occupied the Dry Puna of Argentina during the late Holocene. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope compositions were measured on bone collagen from domesticated South American camelids (llamas: Lama glama) recovered at two archaeological sites (Huirunpure and Chayal Cave). These results were interpreted using an already published data set of δ 13 C and δ 15 N values measured on bone collagen from modern herds of llamas managed in a traditional way. Our results showed that even though the archaeological sites of Huirunpure and Chayal Cave are located within different settingsat 4020 and 3700 masl respectivelyand present different chronologies -0-650 and 1300-1500 CE respectivelythe llamas from both sites exhibit similar δ 13 C and δ 15 N values. This pattern was explained considering the characteristics of the vegetation communities that grow in the vicinity of both sites as well as the paleoenvironmental records of the Andean highlands. In sum, this work presents and discusses some preliminary results on the study of prehispanic herding practices in the Dry Puna of Argentina during the first 1500 years of the Common Era through stable isotope analysis.

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