Using mixing models to study human paleodiets in central ‐western Santa Cruz (Argentina) during Late Holocene

This article seeks to evaluate the differential consumption of resources over time and between sexes among hunter–gatherer populations in the region. A total of 39 adult individuals of both sexes, recov ered from stone burial structures with different chronologies, were analyzed. Quantitative diet reconstruction was achieved through the use of the Bayesian mixing model known as Food Reconstruction Using Isotopic Transferred Signals (FRUITS). The results show that the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) was the most consumed animal throughout the studied period, considering both temporal and sex differences. Additionally, there is an increased importance of plant consumption in the last millennium, particularly among females. However, this can be the result of overrepresentation of this resource in our food web samples, due to the impossibility of resolving the origin of the carbon for the formation of bioapatite values.
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - Category: Science Authors: Tags: SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER Source Type: research