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Stable isotopes and diet in complex hunter-gatherers of Paraná River Basin, South America

Stable isotopes and diet in complex hunter-gatherers of Paraná River Basin, South America This paper discusses isotopic analyses carried out on human bone samples corresponding to complex hunter-gatherers from the Paraná River basin in northeastern Argentina. Based on the δ15N and δ13C values obtained, the dietary patterns of 23 individuals recovered from pre-Hispanic archaeological sites of the Late Holocene are characterized. These sites are associated with the archaeological unit generically called Goya-Malabrigo, which is identified in South America over the entire middle basin of the Paraná River and on a part of the lower river. The values obtained show diets based on depleted δ13C proteins linked to the C3 photosynthetic pathway, which is in turn consistent with the isotopic values detected in the main food sources of these human groups: freshwater fishes and continental mammals. The δ15N values and the results of a multivariate model also indicate a low consumption of plant foods. Although archaeobotanical information from the area has reported maize and other cultigens, the diet of the individuals studied was based on animal proteins, especially on freshwater fish. Moreover, the intake of maize was not isotopically detectable in the human bones analyzed. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences Springer Journals

Stable isotopes and diet in complex hunter-gatherers of Paraná River Basin, South America

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References (185)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Subject
Earth Sciences; Earth Sciences, general; Archaeology; Chemistry/Food Science, general; Geography, general; Life Sciences, general; Anthropology
ISSN
1866-9557
eISSN
1866-9565
DOI
10.1007/s12520-015-0308-6
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This paper discusses isotopic analyses carried out on human bone samples corresponding to complex hunter-gatherers from the Paraná River basin in northeastern Argentina. Based on the δ15N and δ13C values obtained, the dietary patterns of 23 individuals recovered from pre-Hispanic archaeological sites of the Late Holocene are characterized. These sites are associated with the archaeological unit generically called Goya-Malabrigo, which is identified in South America over the entire middle basin of the Paraná River and on a part of the lower river. The values obtained show diets based on depleted δ13C proteins linked to the C3 photosynthetic pathway, which is in turn consistent with the isotopic values detected in the main food sources of these human groups: freshwater fishes and continental mammals. The δ15N values and the results of a multivariate model also indicate a low consumption of plant foods. Although archaeobotanical information from the area has reported maize and other cultigens, the diet of the individuals studied was based on animal proteins, especially on freshwater fish. Moreover, the intake of maize was not isotopically detectable in the human bones analyzed.

Journal

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences – Springer Journals

Published: Jan 20, 2016

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