δ13C and δ15N variability in modern guanaco (Lama guanicoe) assemblages in southern Patagonia: Implications for zooarchaeological studies

We study the isotopic variability of modern social groups of guanacos (Lama guanicoe) and discuss the implications of these results for the analysis of archaeofaunas from archaeological sites of Patagonia. The aim of this work is to evaluate whether the study of the isotope composition of carbon and...

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Publicado: 2014
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Acceso en línea:https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_1047482X_v24_n2_p202_Tessone
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_1047482X_v24_n2_p202_Tessone
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spelling paper:paper_1047482X_v24_n2_p202_Tessone2023-06-08T16:01:17Z δ13C and δ15N variability in modern guanaco (Lama guanicoe) assemblages in southern Patagonia: Implications for zooarchaeological studies Carbon Collagen Guanaco Holocene Hunter-gatherer Nitrogen Patagonia Zooarchaeology We study the isotopic variability of modern social groups of guanacos (Lama guanicoe) and discuss the implications of these results for the analysis of archaeofaunas from archaeological sites of Patagonia. The aim of this work is to evaluate whether the study of the isotope composition of carbon and nitrogen from collagen (δ13C and δ15N) is a methodology that allows the discussion of hunting strategies - individual versus mass - carried out by human populations in this particular case of the guanaco from southern Patagonia. Samples come from five modern assemblages of guanacos located in the west margin of the Cardiel Lake and are the result of a catastrophic mortality episode produced by winter stress. The isotopic variability of these samples is compared with that of a mesoregional attritional assemblage built from multiple sites and chronologies. The results indicate, in the first place, that there is no differentiation between males and females, second, that the offspring show no increase of signals when compared to the other age categories and finally, juveniles recorded the lowest δ15N values. In relation to the main purpose of this research, measurements of variability from modern assemblages and the attritional groups have been compared. The three assemblages with lower variability are modern ones. However, the two remaining modern assemblages record a variability higher than or equal to the attritional groups. Thus, for southern Patagonian guanacos, the hypothesis that proposes that the isotopic variability of a herd would be lower than the one obtained from multiple populations and different hunting events is rejected. Finally, we analyze the possible causes for these results together with situations in which δ13C and δ15N can be used in the study of the guanaco hunting strategies in southern Patagonia. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 2014 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_1047482X_v24_n2_p202_Tessone http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_1047482X_v24_n2_p202_Tessone
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Carbon
Collagen
Guanaco
Holocene
Hunter-gatherer
Nitrogen
Patagonia
Zooarchaeology
spellingShingle Carbon
Collagen
Guanaco
Holocene
Hunter-gatherer
Nitrogen
Patagonia
Zooarchaeology
δ13C and δ15N variability in modern guanaco (Lama guanicoe) assemblages in southern Patagonia: Implications for zooarchaeological studies
topic_facet Carbon
Collagen
Guanaco
Holocene
Hunter-gatherer
Nitrogen
Patagonia
Zooarchaeology
description We study the isotopic variability of modern social groups of guanacos (Lama guanicoe) and discuss the implications of these results for the analysis of archaeofaunas from archaeological sites of Patagonia. The aim of this work is to evaluate whether the study of the isotope composition of carbon and nitrogen from collagen (δ13C and δ15N) is a methodology that allows the discussion of hunting strategies - individual versus mass - carried out by human populations in this particular case of the guanaco from southern Patagonia. Samples come from five modern assemblages of guanacos located in the west margin of the Cardiel Lake and are the result of a catastrophic mortality episode produced by winter stress. The isotopic variability of these samples is compared with that of a mesoregional attritional assemblage built from multiple sites and chronologies. The results indicate, in the first place, that there is no differentiation between males and females, second, that the offspring show no increase of signals when compared to the other age categories and finally, juveniles recorded the lowest δ15N values. In relation to the main purpose of this research, measurements of variability from modern assemblages and the attritional groups have been compared. The three assemblages with lower variability are modern ones. However, the two remaining modern assemblages record a variability higher than or equal to the attritional groups. Thus, for southern Patagonian guanacos, the hypothesis that proposes that the isotopic variability of a herd would be lower than the one obtained from multiple populations and different hunting events is rejected. Finally, we analyze the possible causes for these results together with situations in which δ13C and δ15N can be used in the study of the guanaco hunting strategies in southern Patagonia. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
title δ13C and δ15N variability in modern guanaco (Lama guanicoe) assemblages in southern Patagonia: Implications for zooarchaeological studies
title_short δ13C and δ15N variability in modern guanaco (Lama guanicoe) assemblages in southern Patagonia: Implications for zooarchaeological studies
title_full δ13C and δ15N variability in modern guanaco (Lama guanicoe) assemblages in southern Patagonia: Implications for zooarchaeological studies
title_fullStr δ13C and δ15N variability in modern guanaco (Lama guanicoe) assemblages in southern Patagonia: Implications for zooarchaeological studies
title_full_unstemmed δ13C and δ15N variability in modern guanaco (Lama guanicoe) assemblages in southern Patagonia: Implications for zooarchaeological studies
title_sort δ13c and δ15n variability in modern guanaco (lama guanicoe) assemblages in southern patagonia: implications for zooarchaeological studies
publishDate 2014
url https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_1047482X_v24_n2_p202_Tessone
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_1047482X_v24_n2_p202_Tessone
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