VARIATION IN DIETARY HISTORIES AMONG THE IMMIGRANTS OF MACHU PICCHU: CARBON AND NITROGEN ISOTOPE EVIDENCE

This study estimates dietary composition during infancy and childhood among 71 adults interred at the site of Machu Picchu. a royal Inca estate in the southern highlands of Peru Recent research suggests that the majority of individuals were members of the cosmopolitian yana and aclla servant classes and immigrated to the site from different regions individual dietary histories may have been similarly varied Diet was estimated at multiple points in early life through characterization of carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in tooth enamel and dentin, which preserve isotopic values from the first years of life These data were compared to isotopic data from modern food samples. and analyzed using recently-published statistical models A subset of individuals also has existing bone collagen isotopic data which reflects diet from the last decade of life and thus permits comparison over the life course Results indicate significant variation in enamel delta C-13 (approximately 12 parts per thousand), dentin delta C-13 (approximately 9 parts per thousand) and delta N-15 (approximately 8%) between individuals across the study population These findings suggest substantial variability in diet during infancy and childhood, and support interpretations that this population was primarily yanacona or mixed yanaconalac ilacona This study also highlights the utility of multi-tissue isotopic analysis in more nuanced reconstruction of diet in the ancient Andes