Maria C. Bruno

Diversity In Andean Chenopodium Domestication: Describing A New Morphological Type From La Barca, Bolivia 1300-1250 B.C

Abstract The domestication of Chenopodium in the Andean altiplano of South America was a complex process that took place during the Formative period (1800 B.C.-A.D. 400). We identified a new archaeological morphological type of Chenopodium sp. at the La Barca site, located in the Department of Oruro, Bolivia. We analyzed testa texture, margin configuration, beak prominence, seed diameter, and testa thickness using scanning electron microscopy. As a member of the same genus as Chenopodium quinoa, the identification of this new anthropogenic morphotype presents us with insights into the many complexities of the process of domestication and points towards selection occurring in multiple regions and different culture groups.

Integrated Contextual Approaches to Understanding Past Activities Using Plant and Animal Remains from Kala Uyuni, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia

For pragmatic reasons, separate specialists usually analyze plant and animal remains recovered in archeological sites. Animal bones and charred plant remains are the products of very different organisms and tissues, fragment differently, and are identified using very different characters (see Peres, this volume; Wright, this volume). Even so, a primary concern of the Taraco Archaeological Project (TAP) has been to integrate these archaeobiological datasets to better understand aspects of ancient lifeways in the Lake Titicaca Basin of the Andes.

Cultigen Chenopods in the Americas: A Hemispherical Perspective

In this chapter, we summarize recent contributions made by archaeologists and researchers in other disciplines toward understanding the many factors involved in the domestication of Chenopodium berlandieri in North America and Chenopodium quinoa in South America. We focus on studies of seed morphology and molecular genetics, which have aided in clarifying the trajectories of domestication for both species. The comparison of these trajectories allows us to examine the similarities and differences in the evolutionary, economic, social, and political processes that contributed not only to their domestication but the roles they played in the later agricultural and sociopolitical systems in their respective regions. The eastern North American cultigen chenopod eventually lost its role as a key component of pre-Columbian agricultural systems, whereas quinoa flourished in the Andes and has attained global super-food status today. Still, both of these crops constituted food that was central to and inseparable from considerations of identity, status, ritual, exchange, and sociopolitical life. An appreciation of chenopods as important foods in each region allows us to reflect upon their diverse evolutionary pathways and the significance of individual foods and broader cuisines within regional histories.

IntCal, SHCal, or a Mixed Curve? Choosing a 14 C Calibration Curve for Archaeological and Paleoenvironmental Records from Tropical South America

Because the 14C calibration curves IntCal and SHCal are based on data from temperate latitudes, it remains unclear which curve is more suitable for archaeological and paleoenvironmental records from tropical South America. A review of climate dynamics reveals a significant influx of Northern Hemisphere air masses and moisture over a substantial part of the continent during the South American Summer Monsoon (SASM). Areas affected by the SASM receive unknown amounts of input from both hemispheres, where an argument could be made for either curve. Until localized tree-ring data can resolve this, we suggest using a mixed calibration curve, which accounts for inputs from both hemispheres, as a third calibration option. We present a calibration example from a crucial period of environmental and cultural change in the southern Lake Titicaca. Given our current lack of data on past14C variation in South America, our calibrations and chronologies will likely change in the future. We hope this paper spurs new research into this topic and encourages researchers to make an informed and explicit choice of which curve to use, which is particularly relevant in research on past human-environmental relationships. (Less)

Social Paleoethnobotany: New Contributions to Archaeological Theory and Practice

The field of paleoethnobotany has advanced greatly over the past century not just as a methodological specialization but also as a contributor to archaeological theory. Since its initial focus on diet, environment, and plant domestication, it has expanded to consider issues of social and political dynamics in past human societies. This volume presents some of the current trends in social paleoethnobotany. The authors address several themes including: the collection of wild resources, the domestication of crops, the spread of agriculture, the role of plant remains in questions regarding domestic life, ritual, and gender as well as the broader implications for a socially engaged paleoethnobotany. These studies point a path forward for paleoethnobotany, one that is methodologically rigorous and theoretically engaged in a constantly evolving field.

Identifying Domesticated and Wild Kañawa (Chenopodium pallidicaule) in the Archeobotanical Record of the Lake Titicaca Basin of the Andes

Here, we present new data on how to identify both the wild and domesticated forms of kañawa (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen) in the archeological record of Andean South America using characteristics of their seed morphology. The ability to identify both the domesticated and wild forms of kañawa is an essential step in advancing our understanding of the processes of its domestication, diversification, and the role it has played in past food systems throughout the Andes.ResumenSe presentan nuevos datos sobre la identificación arqueológica de las especies domesticadas y silvestres de kañawa (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen) utilizando características de la morfología de sus semillas. La capacidad de identificar las formas domesticadas y silvestres de kañawa es un paso clave para avanzar nuestra comprensión de los procesos de su domesticación, diversificación y entender su lugar en los sistemas alimentarios pasados de los Andes.