Stable isotopes and human diet in central western Argentina

Central western Argentina is the southern boundary of prehispanic maize in the archaeological record. This paper explores the stable isotope information from human bone (δ13C, from collagen and δ13C from apatite) and tooth (δ13C from enamel) samples in order to characterize the temporal and spatial trends of these isotopes and to understand them in terms of human diet. We analyzed 104 human individuals from the last 6000 years. Using the Kellner and Schoeninger (2007) model the results shows a high variation in human diet with few human individuals with a notably high significance of C4 plants (probably maize) as an energy source and these samples have a chronology around ca. 1000 years BP. On the other hand a high variation in an individual’s dietary life history is shown by differences between δ13C collagen, apatite and enamel.

► Maize consumption in southern America farming frontier has never significant in the human diet. ► Maize consumption significance in the human diet was highly variable in Central Western Argentina. ► Only after ca. 1000 years BP the maize could be significant in some individual and mostly in North of Central Western Argentina.