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Reassessing the late prehistory of the semiarid north of Chile: Diet, mobility, and chronology of individuals buried at El Olivar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2025

Paola González Carvajal Open the ORCID record for Paola González Carvajal [Opens in a new window] ,
Aryel Pacheco  and
Alejandro Clarot
Paola González Carvajal*
Affiliation:
Proyecto Rescate Arqueológico sitio El Olivar, Ministerio de Obras Públicas (Chile), Sociedad Chilena de Arqueología, Roberto del Río 1378, Providencia, Santiago, Chile
Aryel Pacheco
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom, OSTeam SpA, Azapa Block 104A departament 41, Ñuñoa, Chile
Alejandro Clarot
Affiliation:
Pelícano Consultores, Vicuña Mackenna 1725 departament 2023-A, Santiago, Chile
*
Corresponding author: Paola González; Email: paoglez@gmail.com
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Abstract

The recovery of nearly 250 burials at the El Olivar site provided the opportunity to address questions regarding the groups inhabited coastal settings of the semiarid north of Chile between the 800 and 1540 AD. Stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen were analyzed from 60 human samples. Radiocarbon (14C) analyses were conducted in 20 samples from camelids and 42 human samples. Subsequently, a sample of 25 individuals exhibiting diagnostic cultural features of the Las Ánimas Cultural Complex (LACC) and the Chilean Diaguita Culture (CDC) was selected for the purpose of assessing differences in their diet and mobility and clarifying their chronology. The δ13C and δ15N values obtained revealed the existence of a small group of individuals (n=6) with a diet based on C3 plants and terrestrial protein, and another major group (n=33) with values compatible with the consumption of C4 plants and marine resources. Four of the six individuals of the small group presented Ánimas diagnostic features, and in the major group were identified both Ánimas and Diaguita individuals. The δ18O values exhibited a similarity between the Ánimas and Diaguita individuals, suggesting coastal-to-inland mobility in both groups. Calibrated 14C dates indicate that El Olivar was occupied for a period of nearly 380 years, spanning between 1150 and 1536 AD, and that between the 1300 and 1400 AD, Ánimas and Diaguita individuals coexisted at El Olivar. These findings call into question the current thought that the CDC emerged from the LACC around 1000 AD, and that both represent different archaeological entities.

Keywords

Chilean Diaguita culturedietmobilitystable carbon and nitrogen isotopesoxygen isotopessemiarid North
Type
Conference Paper
Information
Radiocarbon , First View , pp. 1 - 11
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of University of Arizona

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 3rd International Radiocarbon and Diet Conference, Oxford, 20–23 June 2023

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