Of Hunting and Herding: Isotopic evidence in wild and domesticated camelids from the Southern Argentine Puna (2120-420Â years BP)

The isotopic analysis showed that domestic camelids at the sites segregated into two groups according to δ13C, reflecting two distinct animal management strategies. This could have involved differences in foddering practices or altitudinal herding ranges. In the case of wild camelids, δ13C and δ15N values indicated that the distances travelled in their hunting varied depending on the site. The observed variability in the management strategies of herding resources, and in the mobility circuits linked to the exploitation of wild camelids, presents the case for puna groups relying on an ongoing re-organisation of longstanding local economic practices to mediate the socio-political and environmental factors that arose through time.