An Integrated isotopic study of Early Intermediate Period camelid husbandry in the Santa Valley, Perú

ABSTRACT

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions were determined for camelid bone collagen, hair, and wool (fibre) sampled from textiles from archaeological sites in the Santa Valley (north coast of Perú) occupied during Moche III (El Castillo, A.D. 300−500) and Moche IV (Guadalupito, A.D. 500−700) phases; a small number of camelid bone collagen samples were also analysed from the Late Suchimancillo Phase (A.D. 0−300). These data suggest that localised camelid husbandry was practiced in the Santa Valley from at least the Moche III phase. The nature of camelid husbandry likely involved animals being kept spatially segregated and fed a diverse range of fodder. The isotopic compositions of the bone collagen and wool textiles were very similar, which suggests that the wool that was used to produce the textiles was derived from local camelids rather than being acquired from the highlands. The transition from Moche III to Moche IV, which saw a significant increase in Mochica presence in the Santa Valley, was not accompanied by major changes in camelid husbandry practices. Localised camelid husbandry continued through this transition with minimal change; the prolonged droughts of the sixth century A.D. had no discernable effect on camelid husbandry, probably due to the special hydraulic conditions unique to the Santa Valley.

KEYWORDS:

• Stable isotopes
• animal management
• camelids
• Moche
• craft production
• textiles

Acknowledgements

We thank Kim Law and Li Huang for technical assistance.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Paul Szpak is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and the Canada Research Chair in Environmental Archaeology at Trent University. He obtained his PhD from the University of Western Ontario in 2013 and held Killam and Banting postdoctoral fellowships at the University of British Columbia. His research uses stable isotope analysis to better understand long-term interactions between humans and their environment. Major areas of emphasis in his research have been experimental studies documenting the effects of fertilizers on plant isotopic compositions, animal management practices in Peru and Chile, and the historical ecology of Arctic and Northeast Pacific marine ecosystems.

Jean-François Millaire is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at The University of Western Ontario. He obtained his PhD from the University of East Anglia in 2002. He specializes in the Andean region of South America and his primary research interests lie in early complex societies of the north coast of Peru. His fieldwork in the Virú and Moche valleys led to research into statecraft, urbanism, social differentiation, land and animal management strategies, food production and consumption, trade networks, mortuary and sacrificial practices, and ancient textiles. This work was informed by different research methods, including archaeological survey and excavations, settlement patterns analysis, radiocarbon dating, remote sensing work, stable isotope analysis, and the use of historical documents and Geographic Information Systems.

Claude Chapdelaine is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Université de Montréal. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in the Moche Valley, Quebec, and Costa Rica, with an emphasis on the emergence of social complexity, the development of urbanism, and early state formation. After six years of fieldwork at the Huacas de Moche Site between 1994 and 2000, he directed a long-term project in the Lower Santa Valley between 2000 and 2008, excavating residential complexes and public spaces at major Moche Sites such as El Castillo and Guadalupito.

Christine D. White is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Western Ontario. She previously held a Canada Research Chair in Bioarchaeology and Isotopic Anthropology. She obtained her PhD from the University of Toronto in 1991 and she conducted pioneering research applying stable isotope analysis to human tissues to study diet, health, demography, migration, and social status in Mesoamerica, South America, and Nubia.

Fred J. Longstaffe is a Distinguished University Professor and Canada Research Chair in Stable Isotope Science in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Western Ontario and Director of the Laboratory for Stable Isotope Science. He obtained his PhD from McMaster University in 1978 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His research involves a diverse range of applications of isotopic techniques across the geological, chemical, biological, and social sciences.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Canada Research Chairs Program and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC Standard Research Grants Program, Joseph Armand Bombardier Doctoral Fellowships).