STABLE CARBON and NITROGEN ISOTOPE STUDIES in the PARANÁ RIVER DELTA (Argentina): AN APPROACH to PREHISPANIC DIETS

BONOMO, MARIANO; SCABUZZO, CLARA; POLITIS, GUSTAVO G.; ZUCOL, ALEJANDRO F.

Latin American Antiquity

Cambridge University Press

Año: 2017 vol. 28 p. 105 - 126

1045-6635

We focus on prehispanic paleodiets among the indigenous populations who inhabited the delta of the Paraná River during the Late Holocene. Stable isotope analyses of δ13C - from collagen and apatite fractions - and δ15N were performed on human bones from sites assigned to different archaeological entities (mainly Goya-Malabrigo and Guaraní). We contextualize the isotopic data with results from the study of zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical materials from these sites. The Guaraní case shows a greater reliance on C4 plants (maize or wild C4 plants). By contrast, for most Goya-Malabrigo individuals, δ13C values indicate a predominant consumption of C3 plants that could include both domesticated and wild species. Through the integration of archaeofaunal, archaeobotanical, and isotopic information, we conclude that the Goya-Malabrigo case shows a mixed economy. Furthermore, small-scale horticulture of the maize-squash-bean triad supplemented a diet of wild resources procured through hunting, fishing, and gathering.