Hunting, Herding, and Caravanning: Osteometric Identifications of Camelid Morphotypes at Khonkho Wankane, Bolivia

GASCO, ALEJANDRA; MARSH, ERIK

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology

Wiley

Año: 2015 vol. 25 p. 676 - 689

1099-1212

Khonkho Wankane is a ceremonial center located in the southern Lake Titicaca Basin, Bolivia. During the Late Formative period (AD 1?500), its residents practiced agropastoral lifeways and participated in the rise of the state at Tiwanaku. Like at many Andean sites, bone elements from the family Camelidae represented by these bones carries far-reaching implications for understanding past hunting, herding, and caravanning practices, and their roles in larger social and economic webs. Identifications were based on a locally focused reference collection, including llamas from the immediate vicinity of the site, as well as Andean guanacos, a much smaller morphotype than the Patagonian guanacos used in many osteometric studies. Multivariate statistical analyses identified all four camelids species, whose presence was confirmed by incisor morphology. Similar results are apparent in bivariate and multivariate analyses, suggesting that the crux of osteometry lies in the reference collection, not the statistical test. An additional, very large morphotype likely corresponds to a castrated llama, the preferred cargo animal among modern drovers. The data is interpreted as evidence that groups hunted vicuña and guanaco, which are not currently present around the site, herded llamas and alpacas, and perhaps organized caravans with castrated llamas.