Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand;
Archaeological Research Facility, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Dec 7;118(49). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2113395118.
The Lake Titicaca basin was one of the major centers for cultural development in the ancient world. This lacustrine environment is unique in the high, dry Andean , and its aquatic and terrestrial resources are thought to have contributed to the florescence of complex societies in this region. Nevertheless, it remains unclear to what extent local aquatic resources, particularly fish, and the introduced crop, maize, which can be grown in regions along the lakeshores, contributed to facilitating sustained food production and population growth, which underpinned increasing social political complexity starting in the Formative Period (1400 BCE to 500 CE) and culminating with the Tiwanaku state (500 to 1100 CE). Here, we present direct dietary evidence from stable isotope analysis of human skeletal remains spanning over two millennia, together with faunal and floral reference materials, to reconstruct foodways and ecological interactions in southern Lake Titicaca over time. Bulk stable isotope analysis, coupled with compound-specific amino acid stable isotope analysis, allows better discrimination between resources consumed across aquatic and terrestrial environments. Together, this evidence demonstrates that human diets predominantly relied on C plants, particularly quinoa and tubers, along with terrestrial animals, notably domestic camelids. Surprisingly, fish were not a significant source of animal protein, but a slight increase in C plant consumption verifies the increasing importance of maize in the Middle Horizon. These results underscore the primary role of local terrestrial food resources in securing a nutritious diet that allowed for sustained population growth, even in the face of documented climate and political change across these periods.
的的喀喀湖流域是古代世界主要的文化发展中心之一。这个湖泊环境在高海拔、干燥的安第斯地区是独一无二的，其水生和陆地资源被认为促成了该地区复杂社会的繁荣。然而，对于当地的水生资源，特别是鱼类，以及可以在沿湖地区种植的外来作物玉米，在多大程度上促进了可持续的粮食生产和人口增长，从而支撑了从形成期（公元前 1400 年至公元 500 年）开始的社会政治日益复杂，最终导致了提瓦纳库国家（公元 500 年至 1100 年）的出现，这一点仍不清楚。在这里，我们通过对跨越两千多年的人类骨骼遗骸的稳定同位素分析，以及动物群和植物群的参考资料，提供了直接的饮食证据，以重建的的喀喀湖南部随时间推移的饮食方式和生态相互作用。 总体稳定同位素分析，加上特定于化合物的氨基酸稳定同位素分析，使我们能够更好地区分水生和陆地环境中消耗的资源。 综合这些证据表明，人类饮食主要依赖 C 植物，特别是藜麦和块茎，以及陆地动物，特别是家养骆驼。 令人惊讶的是，鱼类并不是动物蛋白的主要来源，但 C 植物消费的略有增加证实了在中美洲时期玉米的重要性日益增加。 这些结果强调了本地陆地食物资源在确保营养饮食方面的主要作用，即使在这些时期有记录的气候和政治变化的情况下，也能维持人口的持续增长。
