Francisco J. Otero

Diet and health at Chinikihá, Chiapas, Mexico: some preliminary results

Abstract This study reports stable nitrogen, and carbon isotopic analyses (δ13 C and δ15 N) from bone collagen and enamel apatite for eight human samples at the site of Chinikihá, Mexico, during the Late Classic (AD 650–850). It has been proposed that, during this time period, an increase in maize consumption combined with a decrease in meat consumption could have been the result of an environmental collapse, reflected in a generalised poor diet and health. However, recent studies demonstrate that there is great intrasite variability, and that access to maize and animal protein may relate more to changes in the distribution of foods among social groups. Data from chemical analyses are combined with other variables, such as health status and mortuary patterns to determine differences among the inhabitants of an upper-class household. Our results indicate that, while the basic staple of all the inhabitants of Chinikihá was maize, access to other wild plants and animal protein may have depended on sex, age and other social factors, and not necessarily be the consequence of an environmental depletion of resources. This article provides more data to the growing body of literature that support local variation and internal differences, and expands our knowledge on differential access to resources within the members of a higher-class unit.

Diet and habitat of mesomammals and megamammals from Cedral, San Luis Potosí, México

Using carbon and oxygen isotopic relationships from dental enamel, diet and habitat were inferred for both mesomammals and megamammals that lived in Cedral (San Luis Potosi, north-central Mexico) during Late Pleistocene time. δ 13 C and δ 18 O values show that bison, some horses and mammoth were eating C 4 plants and lived in open areas, while tapir, camel and some llamas ate C 3 plants and inhabited closed areas. All other studied herbivores (pronghorn, glyptodont, mylodont ground sloth, javelina, mastodon, and other llamas, horses and mammoth) had a C 3 /C 4 mixed diet, living in areas with some percentage of tree coverage. On the other hand, American lion and dire wolf ate either C 4 or mixed-diet herbivores, and short-faced bear ate C 3 herbivores. At Cedral, more humid conditions existed than presently, allowing the presence of a forested area near the grassland.

Preliminary data on the diet and habitat preferences of Capromeryx mexicana (Mammalia: Antilocapridae) from the late Pleistocene of Cedral, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

Abstract We inferred the diet and habitat preferences of three individuals of the dwarf pronghorn Capromeryx mexicana from Cedral, Mexico, using stable isotope analysis and the mesowear method. Both approaches showed that the individuals were C3/C4 mixed feeders which inhabited open forest. These results differ from previous hypotheses that suggested this species only fed on grasses and lived in grasslands.

Diet of rinchothere (Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae, Rhynchotherium Species) of Taxco, Guerrero, México

Abstract The diet of a gomphothere (Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae, Rhynchotherium species) from the Mexican Pliocene was determined using carbon and oxygen stable isotopes relationships in dental enamel. The analyses demonstrated that this individual exclusively fed on C3 plants, similar to some specimens found in Florida, United States.

Climate change and peopling of the Neotropics during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition

espanolLa cueva de Santa Marta, Chiapas, es uno de los pocos sitios de los Neotropicos con alta resolucion cronologica que presenta ocupacion humana continua desde 12500 cal BP. En este trabajo se correlacionan los datos de actividad humana con las condiciones climaticas inferidas mediante analisis sedimentarios, palinologicos, arqueozoologicos y de isotopos estables en caracoles de rio con el fin de evaluar las condiciones ambientales del Pleistoceno final y el Holoceno temprano a las que se enfrentaron los primeros pobladores de las regiones tropicales de America. Los resultados sugieren que los dos principales periodos de cambio climatico abrupto (CCA) del Pleistoceno final y el Holoceno temprano (Younger Dryas y evento 8.2 ka) estan registrados en el abrigo y coinciden con los dos principales periodos de ocupacion humana. Los resultados sugieren que estos periodos CCA fueron frios y humedos; mientras que la actividad humana muestra un impacto limitado al nivel local o regional, sobre un entorno cambiante durante la transicion Pleistoceno-Holoceno y la probable introduccion de especies aloctonas. EnglishSanta Marta cave, Chiapas, is a unique archaeological site with high-resolution chronological control and continuous human occupation since 12500 cal BP. In this work we report a correlation between human activity and climate conditions inferred from sedimentological, palynological, archaeozoological and stable isotopic analyses with the aim of assessing the late Pleistocene and early Holocene environmental conditions faced by the first settlers in tropical America. Results suggest that the late Pleistocene and early Holocene periods of abrupt climatic change (ACC), the Younger Dryas and the 8.2 ka event, are recorded in the rock shelter, and coincide with the two main periods of human occupation. The data suggest that these ACC periods were both cold and moist. Human activity had a limited impact at the local or regional level, over a changing environment during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, though there is some evidence for the introduction of exotic species.

Preliminary Paleodiet of a Specimen of the Pliocene Rhinoceros (Teleoceras fossiger) from Michoacán, México

Abstract Using the isotopic carbon and oxygen ratios present in dental enamel, the diet and the habitat of an individual of the Pliocene rhinoceros Teleoceras fossiger from San Francisco de los Reyes, Michoacán, México, were inferred. The values of δ13C and δ18O indicate that this animal fed on C3 plants and lived in enclosed areas similar to those found in some Florida specimens. However, because only one specimen was analyzed, it is not possible to determine if these rhinoceroses in Mexico were specialists or generalists in their diet.