Analyzing ancient diet of Andes

[guy]

 

This article challenges my previous notions of what the ancient Andeans ate. I had believed that corn and fish (from the local Lake Titicaca) would have been staples of their diet. This study suggests otherwise: Quinoa, potatoes, and llama were, instead.
 

Quote

Through a cutting-edge scientific process known as compound-specific stable isotope analysis of amino acids, study lead author Melanie Miller analyzed human teeth from excavated burials on the southern shores of Lake Titicaca to reconstruct the ancient Andeans' diet. The remains date between 1400 B.C. and A.D. 1100. “

UC Berkeley archaeologists reconstructed the diets of ancient Andeans living around Lake Titicaca, which straddles Bolivia and Peru 12,500 feet above sea level. They found that quinoa, potatoes and llama meat helped fuel the Tiwanaku civilization through 2,500 years of political and climate upheaval.

Corn was most likely consumed as an alcoholic beverage known as chicha and reserved for special occasions, while tubers, meat from camelids like llama and alpaca, and the nutrient-rich seeds of the flowering Chenopodium quinoa plant were the predominant staples, the study found.

 

https://phys.org/news/2021-11-superfoods-fueled-ancient-andeans-years.html

 

Summary: This is an interesting article that discusses using modern technology to determine ancient diets. I am, however, somewhat skeptical of the findings. I am surprised that fish, a readily available and highly nutritious food source, was not a daily staple. Could it be possible that the amino acid analysis failed to detect fish consumption? I would like to see the study more closely and learn more about the studies’ limitations.

Edited December 8, 2021 by guy