Transformation of maritime desert to an agricultural center: Holocene environmental change and landscape engineering in Chicama River valley, northern Peru coast

Goodbred, S. L.; Dillehay, Tom D.; Mora, César Gálvez; Sawakuchi, André Oliveira

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106046

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…There are possible downsides to specialization (overspecialization) that can contribute to dependence on others for vital resources and food shortages, especially during times of social unrest or major environmental stress such as droughts, El Niño, and tsunami floods (81,82). Although specialization potentially would have erected some barriers between different specialized groups, which could have led to communication and exchange problems, there is no evidence of this.…”

Section: Conclusion: Effects Of Dietary Practices On Economies and Lifestylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early specialized maritime and maize economies on the north coast of Peru

Tung

Dillehay

Feranec

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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We assess diet and economies of middle Holocene (∼7,500 to 4,000 calibrated [cal] B.P.) humans at coexisting mound sites (Huaca Prieta and Paredones) in north coastal Peru and document regular consumption of maize by ∼6,500 to 6,000 cal B.P. and its earliest use as a staple food in this area of the Andes between 5,000 and 4,500 cal B.P. Stable isotope data from enamel carbonates and dentin collagen (childhood diet) and dental microwear texture analysis (adult diet) demonstrate dietary and economic specialization. Previous studies revealed maize and mixed-food refuse at both sites, but this study documents actual food consumption, showing that these communities situated a few hundred meters apart had significantly distinct diets in childhood and adulthood. Huaca Prieta focused on marine resources, although there are some contributions from terrestrial meat. Paredones individuals primarily consumed maize during childhood (up to 70% of the juvenile diet), as shown by δ13C values, apatite-collagen spacing, and discriminant analysis of δ13Ccoll, δ13Ccarb, and δ15N values. Maize was likely used as a weaning food (e.g., gruel and/orchicha—a maize beverage), hinting at the significant role of breastfeeding mothers, weanling infants, and children in the development of maize as a staple crop. Additionally, dental microwear data show Paredones adult diets are high in abrasives, potentially from maize processing. The distinct foodways at these neighboring sites result from and also reflect their social and political distinctions. These differences in food production, distribution, and consumption generated opportunities for exchange, an interaction that bound them together in mutual benefit.

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Section: Conclusion: Effects Of Dietary Practices On Economies and Lifestylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early specialized maritime and maize economies on the north coast of Peru

Tung

Dillehay

Feranec

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Caramanica et al (4) studied long-term resilience through a diachronic study of agriculture in the Pampa de Mocan situated in the Chicama valley. Chicama has a complex anthropogenic landscape that developed over millennia (11,21,22). Today, the Pampa de Mocan is a barren landscape, but Caramanica et al (4) report abundant archaeological evidence that this region was intensively farmed in antiquity, supporting claims that indigenous peoples cultivated more land than is under cultivation today (5).…”

Section: Agricultural and Resilience In The Pampa De Mocanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient agriculture and climate change on the north coast of Peru

Nesbitt

2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Climatically, the Central Andes experienced significantly changing conditions over the Holocene 44 . Variations in El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) frequency 45 , 46 and resultant effects such as sediment deposition 47 and precipitation and drought 48 , 49 , have all heavily impacted the area. Spatial variation in the timing and intensity of ENSO appears to have existed between north and south Peru 46 , with staggered transitions in both regions from low intensity and dampened ENSO frequencies to modern ENSO frequencies over the past ~ 7000 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Largely independent of ENSO, average temperatures in the Central Andes have also undergone changes and significant variation 44 , 50 , with sub-regions and localities exhibiting at times divergent patterns. Climatic variation in the Central Andes has been linked to socioeconomic changes 47 , 51 , 52 , intensification in production or infrastructure 41 , settlement shifts 53 , and population history 29 , 54 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate and demography drive 7000 years of dietary change in the Central Andes

Wilson

McCool

Brewer

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Explaining the factors that influence past dietary variation is critically important for understanding changes in subsistence, health, and status in past societies; yet systematic studies comparing possible driving factors remain scarce. Here we compile the largest dataset of past diet derived from stable isotope δ13C‰ and δ15N‰ values in the Americas to quantitatively evaluate the impact of 7000 years of climatic and demographic change on dietary variation in the Central Andes. Specifically, we couple paleoclimatic data from a general circulation model with estimates of relative past population inferred from archaeologically derived radiocarbon dates to assess the influence of climate and population on spatiotemporal dietary variation using an ensemble machine learning model capable of accounting for interactions among predictors. Results reveal that climate and population strongly predict diet (80% of δ15N‰ and 66% of δ13C‰) and that Central Andean diets correlate much more strongly with local climatic conditions than regional population size, indicating that the past 7000 years of dietary change was influenced more by climatic than socio-demographic processes. Visually, the temporal pattern suggests decreasing dietary variation across elevation zones during the Late Horizon, raising the possibility that sociopolitical factors overrode the influence of local climatic conditions on diet during that time. The overall findings and approach establish a general framework for understanding the influence of local climate and demography on dietary change across human history.

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Transformation of maritime desert to an agricultural center: Holocene environmental change and landscape engineering in Chicama River valley, northern Peru coast

Cited by 20 publications

References 50 publications

Early specialized maritime and maize economies on the north coast of Peru

Early specialized maritime and maize economies on the north coast of Peru

Ancient agriculture and climate change on the north coast of Peru

Climate and demography drive 7000 years of dietary change in the Central Andes

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