Human-camelid interactions in the Wari Hinterlands: a stable isotopic analysis of camelid remains from Auquimarca (600–1000 CE), Huancayo, Peru

Abstract

Human-camelid interactions and pastoral practices have shaped social, political, and economic lifeways throughout the history of the Central Andes. However, how camelids were managed in the central highlands during the Middle Horizon (600-1000 CE), and how those strategies reflect negotiations between Andean vertical ecologies, local communities, and the expanding Wari sphere, remain unclear. This study employed a life history approach using sequential camelid enamel samples to analyze stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios. The camelids were recovered from Auquimarca, a highland mortuary site in the Mantaro River Valley, Junín, Peru. Isotopic results are contextualized with archaeological evidence to examine the role camelids had in local subsistence strategies amid regional Wari imperial influence. δ 13 C and δ 18 O analysis of 32 camelid individuals (n=235 enamel carbonate samples) indicate flexible pastoral strategies. Approximately 40% likely grazed on naturally-available C 3 plants common in the highland puna (3,850-4,700 masl), while another ~40% likely received maize fodder closer to human settlements in the region’s fertile kichwa (3,100 – 3,850 masl). Others (~20%) show evidence of mixed C 3 and C 4 diets, suggesting seasonal movement between these environmental zones. δ 13 C and δ 18 O variation within the lives of roughly half of the camelids suggest involvement in long-distance movement, such as camelid caravans to support broader trade networks in the region that could have connected this local community to the larger sphere of Wari influence. These results on human mediated camelid subsistence practices are central to understanding how Wari influence may have impacted communities in distant regions of this Andean empire.

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