Objectives: The subsistence system of the first urban centers with monumental architecture from the North-Central Coast of Peru, the core area for the social complexity process of Central Andes, has been debated since the late 1960s. To shed light on this aspect, we report paleodietary data from the two most important sites of the Supe Valley: Caral (3000-200 BC), the major settlement of the middle valley, and Aspero (3000-1800 BC), a notable coastal settlement. Our main objective was to test the Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization hypothesis. Materials and Methods: Stable isotope values (δ 13 C col , δ 13 C ap , and δ 15 N) from 52 individuals (70 samples: 44 bones and 26 teeth) were analyzed using conventional methods and Bayesian Mixing Models to address the role of marine products and plants in people's diet at both sites over time. Results: Our results suggest high C 3 carbohydrate consumption (55%-68% total calories in Aspero and >70% in Caral). The consumption of marine resources was stable for Aspero between 3300 and 1800 BC, but it decreased for Caral between 2550 and 200 BC. Discussion: Marine protein was more important in Aspero than in Caral over time. C 3 plants, possibly tubers, formed the foundation of the diet in both sites during the Formative period (~3000-200 BC). Maize was a marginal food (<12% of calories) at least until 800 BC (29% of calories). The Maritime Foundations hypothesis does not completely account for these findings. Our results suggest the predominance of crop-focused agriculture during the evaluated period.

The objective of this research is to determine the dietary relevance of the plants consumed by the inhabitants of Aspero, an urban center on the coast of the Supe Valley, Peru. For this purpose, starch grains trapped in the human dental calculus of eleven individuals were recovered. Additionally, the results of one individual recovered from the Sacred City of Caral, located in the interior of Supe Valley, are presented. The high number of starch grains recovered from sweet potato and squash possibly indicates a frequent consumption of these starchy plant foods by the inhabitants of Áspero. These results are consistent with previously published isotopic analyses indicating that C3 plants were an important part of the diet of the Áspero inhabitants. Although our results indicate that there was maize consumption at Áspero and Sacred City of Caral, our results and previous isotopic analyses performed on the same individuals, show that maize was not fundamental in the diet of the origins of the civilization. Finally, based on the damage patterns in starch grains, we report the first direct evidence of possible maize fermentation during the Initial Formative Period. Considering the economic and ritual importance of fermented beverage consumption in the ethnohistoric and archaeological record of later periods, this finding could have critical implications for understanding the process of social complexity in the region.

Los autores presentan un avance de los resutados de las excavasiones en el sitio arqueológico de La Salina en el actual distrito de El Agustino, en Lima. El área en mención tiene un proceso de desarrollo desde el Período Formativo hasta la presencia Inca en el valle. El artículo detalla el uso funerario de las estructuras más tempranas luego de su abandono y se centra en la descripción de un partón funerario inédito correspodinte al Intermedio Tardío yal Horizonte Tardío en el valle medio del Rímac.

Previous studies on settlement patterns have suggested that the prehistoric farmers who inhabited the Peruvian north-central coast during the transition between the Middle and Late Formative Periods (500–400 B.C.) experienced considerable population growth. In this study we assess the mean weaning age of the population recovered at the Quebrada Chupacigarro cemetery in the middle valley of Supe (2739–2153 cal B.P.), using stable isotopes, to test if weaning practices are compatible with this scenario. Stable nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes from bone collagen of 34 individuals (18 subadults and 16 adults) were analyzed by age using a cross-sectional approach with the WARN (Weaning Age Reconstruction with Nitrogen isotope analysis) method. Furthermore, stable carbon (δ13C) isotopes were assessed to identify age-related dietary differences between juveniles and adults. The results show that the introduction of supplementary foods occurred around 6 months of age (95‰ CI: 0.0–1.2 years; 65‰ CI: 0.1–0.9 years), while complete weaning was likely achieved at 2.6 years (95‰ CI: 1.2–4.2 years; 65‰ CI: 1.9–3.5 years). The findings suggest a relatively late age of end of weaning, not necessarily compatible with higher fertility rates. The resultant increased fertility in Quebrada Chupacigarro is plausible only under the hypothetical failure of postpartum infertility mechanisms, modulated by other potential factors from the context, such as culture-driven weaning practices.   Estudios previos de patrones de asentamiento sugieren que los agricultores prehistóricos que habitaron la región de la Costa Nor-Central del Perú durante la transición entre los períodos Formativo Medio y Formativo Tardío (500–400 a.C.) experimentaron considerable crecimiento poblacional. Utilizando isotopos estables, en este estudio se investiga la edad promedio de destete de una población exhumada del cementerio Quebrada Chupacigarro (2739–2153 cal A.P.), localizado en el valle medio de Supe, para comprobar si las prácticas de lactancia materna y destete son compatibles con este escenario. Isotopos estables de nitrógeno (δ15N) obtenidos de colágeno óseo de 34 individuos (18 subadultos y 16 adultos) fueron analizados según edad usando un abordaje seccional cruzado con el programa WARN. Además, isótopos estables de carbono (δ13C) fueron utilizados para identificar diferencias dietéticas intrapoblacionales y/o dietas especiales entre subadultos y adultos. Los resultados indican que la introducción de la dieta suplementaria ocurrió alrededor de los 6 meses (IC95‰: 0.0–1.2años; IC65‰: 0.1–0.9 años), mientras el destete final ocurrió a una edad promedio más probable de 2.6 años (IC95‰: 1.2–4.2 años; IC65‰: 1.9–3.5 años). Nuestros resultados sugieren una edad de destete relativamente tardía, no necesariamente compatible con una alta tasa de fertilidad. El incremento resultante de fertilidad en Quebrada Chupacigarro es plausible apenas bajo la hipotética falla de los mecanismos de infertilidad postparto, modulada por otros factores del contexto como hábitos de lactancia materna y destete culturalmente mediados.