Análisis isotópico seriado de una muestra de cabello del individuo inhumado en el volcán Quehuar (Salta, Argentina)

Abstract

In 1999 the frozen remains of a young female individual of Inca affiliation were found on the summit of volcano Quehuar (Salta, Argentina) at an elevation of 6130 masl. The individual, part of a capacocha ritual, was partially destroyed due to a dynamite explosion executed by looters. In this work, the stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen on a serial sample of hair is presented and discussed to investigate the eating patterns of the last year and a half of the individual's life. The results indicate a diet that included resources under the C₄ photosynthetic pathway and slight dietary variation during the period considered. These results constitute a contribution to the reconstruction of the life histories of the individuals associated with high-altitude Inca burials, accounting for the diversity of experiences they went through in the months before their death.

En 1999 se rescataron en la cima del volcán Quehuar (Salta, Argentina), los restos congelados de un individuo joven, a una altura de 6130 msnm, siendo presumiblemente parte de un ritual de capacocha, y encontrándose parcialmente destruido debido a una explosión con dinamita realizada por saqueadores. En este trabajo se presentan y discuten los análisis de isótopos estables del carbono y nitrógeno sobre una muestra seriada de cabello del individuo con el objetivo de indagar los patrones de alimentación de su último año y medio de vida. Los resultados muestran una dieta que incluyó recursos bajo la vía fotosintética C₄ y una escasa variación dietaria durante el lapso considerado. Estos resultados constituyen un aporte para la reconstrucción de las historias de vida de los niños y jóvenes asociados a inhumaciones de altura incaicas, dando cuenta de la diversidad de experiencias atravesadas por los mismo en los meses previos a su muerte.

Keywords:

• capacocha
• volcano Quehuar
• stable isotope analysis
• paleodiet
• hair
• Inca Empire
• Northwest Argentina

Palabras claves:

• capacocha
• volcán Quehuar
• análisis de isótopos estables
• paleodieta
• cabello
• Imperio Inca
• Noroeste Argentino
• historia de vida

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the FONCyT (Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica) under Grants CONICET, PIBAA N°28720210100584, PICT-2020-SERIEA-02845 and PICT-2017-4044.

Notes on contributors

Violeta A. Killian Galván

Violeta A. Killian Galván is a member of the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina (CONICET) and a teacher at the Buenos Aires University in undergraduate and postgraduate courses. She received her Ph.D. in Archaeology in 2015 and since 2007, her research has aimed at reconstructing the diet and geographic mobility of past societies in Northwest Argentina by stable isotope analysis.

Camila Neveu Collado

Camila Neveu Collado is an Argentine student of Anthropology from Buenos Aires University (UBA). She is currently developing her thesis on paleodietary reconstructions of archaeological humans and camelids from Late Holocene at El Bolsón Valley, Catamarca, Argentina.

Romina Florencia Heras

Romina Florencia Heras received her degree in anthropology from the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature (UBA).

María Fernanda Zigarán

María Fernanda Zigarán is an advanced student of Anthropology at the National University of Salta. Since 2004, she has worked as a technician at the High-Altitude Archaeology Museum (Salta, Argentina). Since 2016, he has been in charge of coordinating the research area of this institution.

Gabriela Recagno Browning

Gabriela Recagno is an Argentinian anthropologist specializing in Archaeology. She was the General Director of the High-Altitude Archaeology Museum from 2010 to 2022 and now she is the Director of the Investigation Department at the same institution. Her research has been aimed at collections related to Inca capacochas and the social role of museums.

Verónica Seldes

Verónica Seldes has a degree in Social Anthropology and a Ph.D. in Archaeology, specializing in studying human remains and funerary practices in Northwest Argentina. She is a member of the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina (CONICET) and a teacher at the Buenos Aires University in undergraduate and postgraduate courses.