Abstract
Isotopic measurements of plant remains from archaeological sites are now routinely used to reconstruct agricultural practices in the Old World. These studies use charred botanical remains as the analytical substrate because (1) these are the materials that are commonly preserved in the archaeological record and (2) the integrity of the isotopic compositions of archaeological plant remains that are uncharred or desiccated has been questioned, particularly for δ15N. By comparing charred and uncharred plant remains from two Late Moche (ad 600–800) sites in the Jequetepeque valley on the north coast of Peru—San José de Moro and Cerro Chepén—we sought to directly test the assumption that the isotopic compositions of desiccated plant remains are not representative of the isotopic compositions of the living plants. The average δ15N values of charred (+11.3 ± 4.4‰) and desiccated (+10.1 ± 5.1‰) remains from these two sites did not significantly differ from one another, suggesting that uncharred plant remains can produce reliable isotopic measurements under some circumstances. Furthermore, the relatively high δ15N values of the plant remains from these two sites are consistent with the ancient use of composted camelid manure as a fertilizer.
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Funding was provided by the Canada Research Chairs Program (950-231012), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (435-2019-0657), and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (36506). Corrie Hyland provided assistance in the laboratory.
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Szpak, P., Chiou, K.L. A comparison of nitrogen isotope compositions of charred and desiccated botanical remains from northern Peru. Veget Hist Archaeobot 29, 527–538 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-019-00761-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-019-00761-2