Violence in hunters, fishermen, and gatherers of the Chinchorro culture: Archaic societies of the Atacama Desert (10,000–4,000 cal yr BP)

Abstract

Objectives: This article addresses evidence of violence imbedded in both soft and hard tissues from early populations of hunters, fishermen, and gatherers, known as the Chinchorro culture, who lived between 10,000 and 4,000 cal yr BP, along the coast of the Atacama Desert, one of the driest environments on Earth. Our study is aimed to test two hypotheses (a) that interactions and violent behaviors increased through time as population density and social complexity augmented; and (b) that violence was more prevalent between local Chinchorro groups and groups from other inland locations. Material and Methods: Two lines of data were analyzed: (1) bioarchaeology, through the quantification of physical traces of interpersonal violence in skeletons and mummies from a sample of 136 adult individuals and, (2) isotopic chemical analysis (strontium) of individuals with traces of trauma in order to determine their local or foreign origin. Results: Violence among Chinchorro populations was ubiquitous and remained invariant over time, with a remarkable skew to male (about 25% above female across the complete sample). Moreover, the chemical signature of individuals with traces of violence was not of foreign origin.Discussion: The violence exerted by the Chinchorro groups was not related to increased population size, nor social complexity and was mostly restricted to individuals coming from the same coastal habitat. That is, our data suggest that violence was constant across the Archaic period among the Chinchorro, implying that violent behavior was part of the sociocultural repertory of these populations, likely associated to mechanisms to resolve conflicts and social tensions. K E Y W O R D S archaic populations, Atacama Desert, Chinchorro culture, violence, Strontium isotopes

Prevalence of cranial trauma in Eurasian Upper Paleolithic humans

“…The sex effect in the previous study (posterior mean: 1.515; CI: 0.178-2.921; pMCMC: 0.017 for skeletal elements, and posterior mean: 3.533; CI: 0.865-6.397; pMCMC: 0.002 for specimens) was more pronounced than in the present study (Table 2). Furthermore, a higher male than female cranial trauma prevalence is consistent with the common bioarchaeological finding that male skeletal remains are more likely to show injuries than female remains (Cohen et al, 2014;Fibiger et al, 2013;Jiménez-Brobeil et al, 2009;Larsen, 1997;Milner, Boldsen, Weise, Lauritsen, & Freund, 2015;Redfern, 2017b;Scaffidi & Tung, 2020;Schwitalla, Jones, Pilloud, Codding, & Wiberg, 2014;Standen et al, 2020;Walker, 2001), which might suggest that males exposed themselves more frequently to risky situations, such as physical confrontations, warfare, or risky leisure activities (Judd, 2017;Kwan, Cureton, Dozier, & Victorino, 2011;Martin et al, 2015;O'Jile, Ryan, Parks-Levy, Betz, & Gouvier, 2004;Redfern, 2017b;Sutherland, 2002). The observed, yet small, difference in cranial trauma prevalence between the sexes in our study might indicate different exposures to hazardous situations, for example, because of different behaviors or the involvement in different activities.…”

Five thousand years of bellyaches: Exploring boron concentration in ancient populations of the Atacama Desert

“…These chemical elements are abundant and occur simultaneously in the water of local rivers. Thus, if we try to reconstruct the daily lives of ancient people living in the Atacama Desert region, we get a picture that is far from idyllic (Snoddy et al, 2018; Standen et al, 2020).…”

Relational bodies: affordances, substances and embodiment in Chinchorro funerary practices c. 7000–3250 BP

“…Coastal marine ecosystems also began to be affected by the increasing intensity and frequency of El Niño Southern Oscillation events. Technological innovations, including spear throwers (atlatls) and basketry, as well as other long-known devices, such as harpoons, hooks and weights, all had a signficant effect on the exploitation of both coastal marine and inland resources (Marquet et al 2012;Santoro et al 2017aSantoro et al , 2017bStanden et al 2020).…”