Late Holocene dietary and cultural variability on the Xingu River, Amazon Basin: A stable isotopic approach

Although once considered a ‘counterfeit paradise’, the Amazon Basin is now a region of increasing interest in discussions of pre-colonial tropical land-use and social complexity. Archaeobotany, archaeozoology, remote sensing and palaeoecology have revealed that, by the Late Holocene, populations in...

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Main Authors: Letícia Morgana Müller, Renato Kipnis, Mariane Pereira Ferreira, Sara Marzo, Bianca Fiedler, Mary Lucas, Jana Ilgner, Hilton P. Silva, Patrick Roberts
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9348659/?tool=EBI
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author Letícia Morgana Müller
Renato Kipnis
Mariane Pereira Ferreira
Sara Marzo
Bianca Fiedler
Mary Lucas
Jana Ilgner
Hilton P. Silva
Patrick Roberts
author_facet Letícia Morgana Müller
Renato Kipnis
Mariane Pereira Ferreira
Sara Marzo
Bianca Fiedler
Mary Lucas
Jana Ilgner
Hilton P. Silva
Patrick Roberts
author_sort Letícia Morgana Müller
collection DOAJ
description Although once considered a ‘counterfeit paradise’, the Amazon Basin is now a region of increasing interest in discussions of pre-colonial tropical land-use and social complexity. Archaeobotany, archaeozoology, remote sensing and palaeoecology have revealed that, by the Late Holocene, populations in different parts of the Amazon Basin were using various domesticated plants, modifying soils, building earthworks, and even forming ‘Garden Cities’ along the Amazon River and its tributaries. However, there remains a relatively limited understanding as to how diets, environmental management, and social structures varied across this vast area. Here, we apply stable isotope analysis to human remains (n = 4 for collagen, n = 17 for tooth enamel), and associated fauna (n = 61 for collagen, n = 28 for tooth enamel), to directly determine the diets of populations living in the Volta Grande do Rio Xingu, an important region of pre-Columbian cultural interactions, between 390 cal. years BC and 1,675 cal. years AD. Our results highlight an ongoing dietary focus on C3 plants and wild terrestrial fauna and aquatic resources across sites and time periods, with varying integration of C4 plants (i.e. maize). We argue that, when compared to other datasets now available from elsewhere in the Amazon Basin, our study highlights the development of regional adaptations to local watercourses and forest types.
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spelling doaj.art-4be4b06830a14630a237ab5ecf558c222022-12-22T02:48:42ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01178Late Holocene dietary and cultural variability on the Xingu River, Amazon Basin: A stable isotopic approachLetícia Morgana MüllerRenato KipnisMariane Pereira FerreiraSara MarzoBianca FiedlerMary LucasJana IlgnerHilton P. SilvaPatrick RobertsAlthough once considered a ‘counterfeit paradise’, the Amazon Basin is now a region of increasing interest in discussions of pre-colonial tropical land-use and social complexity. Archaeobotany, archaeozoology, remote sensing and palaeoecology have revealed that, by the Late Holocene, populations in different parts of the Amazon Basin were using various domesticated plants, modifying soils, building earthworks, and even forming ‘Garden Cities’ along the Amazon River and its tributaries. However, there remains a relatively limited understanding as to how diets, environmental management, and social structures varied across this vast area. Here, we apply stable isotope analysis to human remains (n = 4 for collagen, n = 17 for tooth enamel), and associated fauna (n = 61 for collagen, n = 28 for tooth enamel), to directly determine the diets of populations living in the Volta Grande do Rio Xingu, an important region of pre-Columbian cultural interactions, between 390 cal. years BC and 1,675 cal. years AD. Our results highlight an ongoing dietary focus on C3 plants and wild terrestrial fauna and aquatic resources across sites and time periods, with varying integration of C4 plants (i.e. maize). We argue that, when compared to other datasets now available from elsewhere in the Amazon Basin, our study highlights the development of regional adaptations to local watercourses and forest types.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9348659/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Letícia Morgana Müller
Renato Kipnis
Mariane Pereira Ferreira
Sara Marzo
Bianca Fiedler
Mary Lucas
Jana Ilgner
Hilton P. Silva
Patrick Roberts
Late Holocene dietary and cultural variability on the Xingu River, Amazon Basin: A stable isotopic approach
PLoS ONE
title Late Holocene dietary and cultural variability on the Xingu River, Amazon Basin: A stable isotopic approach
title_full Late Holocene dietary and cultural variability on the Xingu River, Amazon Basin: A stable isotopic approach
title_fullStr Late Holocene dietary and cultural variability on the Xingu River, Amazon Basin: A stable isotopic approach
title_full_unstemmed Late Holocene dietary and cultural variability on the Xingu River, Amazon Basin: A stable isotopic approach
title_short Late Holocene dietary and cultural variability on the Xingu River, Amazon Basin: A stable isotopic approach
title_sort late holocene dietary and cultural variability on the xingu river amazon basin a stable isotopic approach
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9348659/?tool=EBI
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