Estudio del nicho isotópico de cazadores-recolectores del centro-oeste de Santa Cruz, Argentina, durante el Holoceno tardío

CHAILE, CECILIA; TESSONE, AUGUSTO

Latin American Antiquity

Cambridge University Press

Año: 2023 p. 1 - 17

1045-6635

This study contributes to the understanding of the interrelationship between environmental change, modifications in the subsistence and mobility strategies of hunter-gatherer groups, and the incorporation of new technologies for resource capture and processing during the late Holocene in southern Patagonia. We present unpublished d13C values on apatite and d15N and d13C values on collagen from 42 individuals recovered in central-western Santa Cruz, Argentina. The individuals were recovered from burial structures with different chronologies during the Late Holocene. The concept of isotopic niche was used to understand the continuities and/or changes in the hunter-gatherer diet. The aim was to evaluate whether there were temporal and sexual variations between the isotopic niches of individuals who present different patterns of social and economic organization at times before and after 900 years BP. The results indicate that there was a change in their diet in the last 1,000 years, which was reflected in lower values in d13Capa of individuals, particularly women, buried in late chenques. Thus, the paleodietary information analyzed and presented here supports the hypothesis of isotopic niche modifications through time.