20235602(en)/5 - Diets of Infants and Mothers from Conchopata: A Study of Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotopes
DIETS OF INFANTS AND MOTHERS FROM CONCHOPATA: A STUDY OF STABLE CARBON AND OXYGEN ISOTOPES
DIETAS DE LOS LACTANTES Y LAS MADRES EN CONCHOPATA: UN ESTUDIO DE ISÓTOPOS ESTABLES DE CARBONO Y OXÍGENO
Tiffiny A. Tung, Anna Fancher Whittemore y Thomas J. Snyder
The study of diet in infants and young children is important for our understanding of political economy, food production practices, and cultural ideas regarding what is acceptable to eat. In this study, we present an analysis of dental carbon and oxygen stable isotope values from the archaeological site of Conchopata. Conchopata, located in the present-day city of Ayacucho, Peru, was inhabited in the Early Intermediate Period (1 - 600 AD) and the Middle Horizon (600 - 1000 AD), and was the secondary city in the heartland of the Wari Empire, just 10 km south of the capital city of Huari. Using carbon and oxygen isotopes, we are able to estimate the dietary composition and water source of the individuals from Conchopata as children. Ultimately, we find that children were likely eating a large volume of maize and shared similar water sources. The exception is the woman who breastfed the infant from Space 205; the carbon isotope data suggests that this individual had less maize in their diet and may have consumed water from a different source. This suggests that this individual may have been a migrant or embodied a social identity distinct from the other individuals sampled in this study.
