Multi-isotopic and morphometric evidence for the migration of farmers leading up to the Inka conquest of the southern Andes
Multi-isotopic and morphometric evidence for the migration of farmers leading up to the Inka conquest of the southern Andes
Authors
Barberena, Ramiro
Menendez, Lumila
le Roux, Petrus J.
Marsh, Erik J.
Tessone, Augusto
Novellino, Paula
Lucero, Gustavo
Luyt, Julie
Sealy, Judith
Cardillo, Marcelo
Gasco, Alejandra
Llano, Carina
Frigole, Cecilia
Guevara, Daniela
Da Pena, Gabriela
Winocur, Diego
Benitez, Anahi
Cornejo, Luis
Falabella, Fernanda
Mendez, Cesar
Nuevo-Delaunay, Amalia
Sanhueza, Lorena
Santana Sagredo, Francisca
Troncoso, Andres
Zarate, Sol
Duran, Victor A.
Cortegoso, Valeria
Menendez, Lumila
le Roux, Petrus J.
Marsh, Erik J.
Tessone, Augusto
Novellino, Paula
Lucero, Gustavo
Luyt, Julie
Sealy, Judith
Cardillo, Marcelo
Gasco, Alejandra
Llano, Carina
Frigole, Cecilia
Guevara, Daniela
Da Pena, Gabriela
Winocur, Diego
Benitez, Anahi
Cornejo, Luis
Falabella, Fernanda
Mendez, Cesar
Nuevo-Delaunay, Amalia
Sanhueza, Lorena
Santana Sagredo, Francisca
Troncoso, Andres
Zarate, Sol
Duran, Victor A.
Cortegoso, Valeria
Authors
Date
Datos de publicaciĆ³n:
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS,Vol.10,,2020
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Abstract
We present isotopic and morphometric evidence suggesting the migration of farmers in the southern Andes in the period AD 1270-1420, leading up to the Inka conquest occurring similar to AD 1400. This is based on the interdisciplinary study of human remains from archaeological cemeteries in the Andean Uspallata Valley (Argentina), located in the southern frontier of the Inka Empire. The studied samples span AD 800-1500, encompassing the highly dynamic Late Intermediate Period and culminating with the imperial expansion. Our research combines a macro-regional study of human paleomobility and migration based on a new strontium isoscape across the Andes that allows identifying locals and migrants, a geometric morphometric analysis of cranio-facial morphology suggesting separate ancestral lineages, and a paleodietary reconstruction based on stable isotopes showing that the migrants had diets exceptionally high in C-4 plants and largely based on maize agriculture. Significantly, this migration influx occurred during a period of regional demographic increase and would have been part of a widespread period of change in settlement patterns and population movements that preceded the Inka expansion. These processes increased local social diversity and may have been subsequently utilized by the Inka to channel interaction with the local societies.