Author: Bianca Waldie
Waldie, Bianca, 2019 Mid-Late Holocene Populations at the Fénix Archaeological Complex, Valparaíso Region of Central Chile: An Investigation into Diet and Mobility through Isotope and Elemental Analyses, Flinders University, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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This thesis examines the bone chemistry of mid-Archaic to Late Intermediate Period (c. 7000–550 BP) Chilean populations excavated from the Fénix Archaeological Complex at Quintero Bay in central Chile. Stable carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotope analyses were used to assess changes and/or continuities in the diet and mobility of the Fénix populations, including, but not limited to, marine versus terrestrial resource use, the adoption of agricultural practices and population movement across the landscape. In addition, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was used to investigate a range of elemental concentrations, which can contribute dietary information (such as information on trophic level), and post-burial diagenesis within the sample set. A further six radiocarbon dates were also obtained in order to refine the chronological sequence at the Fénix Archaeological Complex.
Stable carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotope results from skeletal material indicate that the population at the Fénix Archaeological Complex were consuming mixed resources (C3 and C4), with the addition of wild herbivores and marine resources from lower trophic levels, while travelling between the valleys and the coasts of central Chile. Elemental analyses of strontium, barium and calcium suggest that the population were consuming high trophic level terrestrial foods, with the contribution of marine resources. Furthermore, elemental analysis of uranium suggests limited post-burial diagenetic contamination, based on the low concentrations of this element in the skeletal samples analysed. Additional radiocarbon dates of between 5315–557 cal BP expanded the timeline for the Fénix Archaeological Complex allowing for a comprehensive refinement of the chronology of the site and clarification of relative dates in stratigraphically complex areas.
This research presents results for the largest single site sample set that has been undertaken for isotopic research in central Chile to date. As such, not only do these results allow a much deeper understanding of the complex formational history at the Fénix Archaeological Complex, but they also provide a significant set of data for research on coastal central Chilean populations during the mid-late Holocene.
Keywords: Isotope, Diet, Landscape Use, Mobility, Elemental Analysis, Chile, Human bone
Subject: Archaeology thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2019
School: College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Supervisor: Associate Professor Amy Roberts