Bounding Middle Period Cemetery Use in San Pedro De Atacama, Chile

Abstract

The San Pedro de Atacama oases, located in northern Chile’s hyperarid Atacama Desert, have been occupied for at least 3000 years. Here, we examine cemetery use in the oases, with emphasis on the Middle Period (ca. AD 400–1000). By modeling of a large corpus (n=243) of radiocarbon dates, over 90% of which are direct AMS assays of human bone collagen, we attempt to establish a temporal framework by which to explore the establishment of formalized social inequality in this period. Modeling of these dates at three locally defined scales (all ayllus, inter-ayllu, and intra-ayllu) permit heretofore unavailable insights into the chronological and spatial dimensions of life and mortuary activity in the oases and allow us to better contextualize patterns of social inequality during the dynamic Middle Period. The results of this modeling indicate two distinct peaks of occupation during the Middle Period in San Pedro and document significant temporal variability in cemetery use patterns on both inter- and intra-ayllu scales. These results stress the importance of local social and environmental factors to the occupation of the oases and provide crucial chronological structure for future archaeological and bioarchaeological research in the region.

Temporal, spatial and gender-based dietary differences in middle period San Pedro de Atacama, Chile: A model-based approach

“…In our previous examination of the chronology of the six ayllus under consideration here [ 42 ], we noted the apparent independence of the use-life patterns of different ayllus . Based on this, we contend that the dynamics of human activity in each ayllu would appear to have been particularly sensitive to local socio-cultural and environmental dynamics, a conclusion that reinforces previous archaeological and bioarchaeological findings of significant differences among ayllus during the Middle Period [ 43 – 46 ].…”

“…A detailed review of the history of research and the preservation status of the collections can be found in [ 24 , 63 ]. The chronological contextualization of the cemeteries has been detailed in [ 42 ].…”

“…All told, our sample included 167 individuals (65%) for whom we possessed both isotope values and direct AMS dates. The temporal structure of the dates used in our statistical considerations below are based on Bayesian modeling of available dates conducted at two scales (all ayllus and inter- ayllu ), as fully detailed in [ 42 ].…”

“…Furthermore, in the temporal realm, we sought to test the dietary dimensions of a hypothesis advanced in Pestle and colleagues [ 42 ], which proposes a disjuncture between what we term the early/incipient (pre-600 calAD) and late/established (post-600 calAD) Middle Period. As above, the large corpus of dated individuals allows for a specific examination of whether there existed dietary correlates of this proposed inflection point in San Pedro’s history.…”

“…This line of inquiry flows from the notion that differences in access to different foodstuffs among ayllus could be a consequence of different positioning vis-à-vis the inter-regional exchange systems of the period, or indeed of differences in positions in the status hierarchy of the ayllus . As the different ayllus sometimes belong to different portions of the Middle Period, we augmented our comparisons of the “raw” modeled foodstuff proportions with a second comparison of the residuals of modeled contributions after regression against calibrated radiocarbon dates (derived from the Inter- Ayllu date model of [ 42 ]). These time-corrected dietary differences should allow us greater insights into the mechanics of life in the various ayllus after the variable of time is fully accounted for.…”