Towards an isotopic ecology of herbivory in the Puna ecosystem: new results and patterns on Lama glama

Abstract

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.

Variation in Dietary Histories Among the Immigrants of Machu Picchu: Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Evidence

“…**Valores isotópicos promedio obtenidos de tieszen y chapman (1993). (Yacobaccio, Morales, and Samec 2009) that suggests a stepwise, inverse relationship between llama δ 13 C col and grazing altitude in modern specimens from the Argentine puna ecozone. This variation likely extends to archaeological specimens throughout the Andes, given migratory range of llama caravans throughout the Precolumbian Andes (Lynch 1983), regional variation in local biota (Gomez Molina and Little 1981) and different climatological and ecological contexts in different regions affecting the metabolism of plants within the same taxa (Tieszen 1991).…”

Isótopos estables, dieta de camélidos y diferenciación social (valle de ambato, Catamarca, Argentina, siglos VI-XI D.C.)

“…Estos resultados se asemejan a los obtenidos con anterioridad en EA, donde también se ) identificaron valores entre -17,1‰ y -11,8‰, con una media de -14,0‰ y una desviación estándar de 2,21. En M1, el ejemplar MI/22, constituye un caso único, ya que presenta una señal sumamente negativa que se asemeja a la registrada en animales que habitan en zonas ecológicas con un porcentaje mayor de plantas C 3 , como la Puna (Fernández y Panarello 1999-2001, Samec 2011, Yacobaccio et al 2009). …”

Stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) from North West Argentina: paleodietary implications

“…The marked altitudinal gradient between these two regions caused more favorable conditions for the cultivation of C4 plants at lower altitudes (i.e. Quebrada de Humahuaca) compared with the Puna Panarello, 1999-2001;Yacobaccio et al, 2009). These environmental differences determined a preponderance in Puna of subsistence strategies based on herding of camelids, accompanied by a varied spectrum of C3 resources, while people from Quebrada de Humahuaca developed diets based mainly on the production of alimentary resources with a C4 photosynthetic pathway (i.e.…”

“…This paper considers two main regions from Jujuy province that are characterised by marked environmental differences. The western section of Puna is a wide highland plateau that covers approximately some 3000 to 4700 m asl, occasionally interrupted by some streams, salt mines, and mountains (Yacobaccio et al, 2009). To the east at 2000 m asl is the Quebrada de Humahuaca, a long, extended valley paralleled by two geologic formations with a north-south orientation, through which the Rio Grande runs (Figure 1).…”