statistics essay II


The study of stable isotopes, in the central valley of Chile, during the early potter period.

The study with stable isotopes, are very useful to help the archaeologist to recreate and study  diet and mobility of different groups of people. This study is made with Carbon isotopes (C), Nitrogen isotopes (N), and oxygen (O). With these three we can evidence different kind of meal that two groups (el Bato and Llolleo) had on the last 10 years of their lives.  

The results will be analyzed, with these, we will see when did the corn was incorporated to the diet of these two groups.  


First of all we will describe specifically all the studies that we made, and we will compare the results with the two tribes. Later we will see the frequency that shows corn on the diet. Finally we will try to date the appearance of corn on people diet between the archaic period and the early potter period.

We will use principally carbon (C) isotopes, because this is the one that show us the presence of corn in the diet of the people that we have studied. We can see that in the case of el Bato people, corn is almost invisible on the results, while in Llolleo the amount of corn increase slightly according the age of the individuals. Those who represent aged people, consume more than children. We can see a social difference. Also we can assume that the fact that they have more corn in their diet is due to the development of agriculture. 


In el Bato populations, corn is less common and we can only find it in old individuals diet. Besides, on other studies with nitrogen (N) isotopes, we found that el Bato has big numbers of animals on their diet, for example camelids. By the conditions of the tribe el Bato, we can say that the trace of corn came by consuming camelids. The domestic animal is feed with plants, like corn and then the proteins are passed to humans. El Bato is a nomad groups with a few domestic animals and a very basic knowledge in pottery, while Llolleo is a semi sedentary group with a great technique in pottery, animal domestication and very basic new knowledge in agriculture.

The two groups have a constant mobility from the shore to the mountain range. The studies with oxygen (O) isotopes show us the water minerals that they drink, and we can see this mobility by the comparative analyze of different water source. At the early potter period, Llolleo is already semi sedentary, and located next to a big lagoon. At this moment is where the evidence of corn in the diet starts to increase.



Finally we can conclude that Llolleo consume much more corn than el Bato, because of the stability, the location, and the development of agriculture techniques. While el Bato is a step behind, they will develop agriculture and domestication in the later intermediate period. We can assume a connection between the water relation and the development in pottery techniques, with the agriculture development and so the corn consumption.  

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 30, 2017 at 12:42 PM

    It's very surprising how much affects the isotopes in the diet of people, and how changes according to different groups of people or places. I really enjoyed your essay, I learned a lot. Now I will see with new eyes the agriculture and domestication.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JPCareagaOctober 30, 2017 at 1:33 PM

    I wonder what else could it be discovered under an isotope point of view. Does this apply to all mesoamerican or pre-Columbian cultures? I guess that food, as an organic item, causes to evidence to be tracked more easily, what else could it be used as a 'tracker'?

    ReplyDelete

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