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Formative Adaptations, Diet, and Oral Health in the Azapa Valley of Northwest Chile

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

James T. Watson ,
Iván Muñoz Ovalle  and
Bernardo T. Arriaza
James T. Watson
Affiliation:
Arizona State Museum and School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210026, Tucson, AZ 85721 (watsonjt@email.arizona.edu)
Iván Muñoz Ovalle
Affiliation:
Departamento de Arqueología y Museología, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile
Bernardo T. Arriaza
Affiliation:
Instituto de Alta Investigación, Departamento de Antropología y Centra de Investigaciones del Hombre en el Desierto, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile
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Abstract

Indicators of oral health were recorded in a sample of 200 Formative period (1500 B.C.–A.D. 500) skeletons from archaeological sites located in the Lower Azapa Valley of northwest Chile. This period represents a major shift in subsistence strategies in the Atacama Desert, as coastal groups adopted agriculture and moved deeper into the valley. Frequencies of caries and antemortem tooth loss were compared between site locations (coast vs. valley) and by archaeological phase (early vs. late) to interpret the degree to which these incipient agriculturalists were reliant on domesticated resources. Overall, frequencies of caries (11.9 percent) and tooth loss (11.6 percent) are somewhat higher than for other prehistoric groups practicing a mixed subsistence strategy. However, residents of the interior valley exhibited significantly more dental decay and tooth loss than those along the coast. Our results identify that although the Formative period residents of the Lower Azapa Valley practiced a mixed subsistence strategy, the degree of reliance on agricultural production differed between the coast and the valley. We propose that these differential patterns in oral health are tied to local investment, adaptive cycles, and niche construction.

Indicadores de la salud oral fueron registrados en una muestra de 200 esqueletos del periodo Formativo (1500 a.C.–500 d.C.) excavada en varios sitios arqueológicos del Valle de Azapa en el noroeste de Chile. Este periodo representa un cambio significativo en la estrategia de subsistencia dentro del Desierto de Atacama, conforme los grupos costeros adoptaron la agricultura y varios de ellos se mudaron al valle. Se compararon las frecuencias de caries y pérdida de dientes entre las localidades (costa y valle) y entre las fases arqueológicas (temprana y tardía) para interpretar en qué grado estos grupos de agricultores incipientes dependían de recursos domesticados. En general, las frecuencias de caries (11,9 percent) y de pérdida de dientes (11,6 percent) son ligeramente más elevadas en comparación a otros grupos que practican una estrategia de subsistencia mixta. Sin embargo, los residentes del valle exhibieron más patología oral que los que vivían en la costa. Estos resultados identifican que durante el periodo Formativo los residentes del Valle de Azapa practicaban una estrategia de subsistencia mixta pero el porcentaje de dieta agrícola era diferente entre la costa y el valle. Es muy probable que la diferencia entre los patrones de salud oral esté ligada a una inversión local, ciclos de adaptación y la construcción de nichos.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 21 , Issue 4 , December 2010 , pp. 423 - 439
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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