Multi-isotopic and morphometric evidence for the migration of farmers leading up to the Inka conquest of the southern Andes
Date
Authors
LUCERO FERREYRA, GUSTAVO FERNANDO
Barberena, Ramiro
Menéndez, Lumila Paula
Le Roux, Petrus J.
Marsh, Erik J.
Tessone, Augusto
Novellino, Paula Silvana
Lucero, Gustavo F.
Luyt, J.
Sealy, Judith C.
Cardillo, Marcelo
Barberena, Ramiro
Menéndez, Lumila Paula
Le Roux, Petrus J.
Marsh, Erik J.
Tessone, Augusto
Novellino, Paula Silvana
Lucero, Gustavo F.
Luyt, J.
Sealy, Judith C.
Cardillo, Marcelo
Authors
Date
Datos de publicación:
10.1038/s41598-020-78013-x
Keywords
Migración humana - Isótopos estables (Estroncio - Carbono - Nitrógeno) - Morfometría geométrica - Período Intermedio Tardío - Imperio Inca - Valle de Uspallata - Agricultura de maíz.
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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 ~ 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<inf>4</inf> 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. © 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
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Keywords
Migración humana , Isótopos estables (Estroncio , Carbono , Nitrógeno) , Morfometría geométrica , Período Intermedio Tardío , Imperio Inca , Valle de Uspallata , Agricultura de maíz.
Citation
10.1038/s41598-020-78013-x