Dietary shifting in the Nasca Region as inferred from the carbon- and nitrogen-isotope compositions of archaeological hair and bone Emily Webb a, * , Christine White a , Fred Longstaffe b a Department of Anthropology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada b Department of Earth Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada article info Article history: Received 14 August 2011 Received in revised form 14 August 2012 Accepted 16 August 2012 Keywords: Stable isotope analysis Palaeodiet Hair Mobility Nasca Region Peru Cahuachi abstract The topography of the Andean Region results in short travelling distances among ecologically distinct production zones. As such, it is possible to infer relative changes in residence based on the spatial variability in the isotopic composition of food resources. Here, we determine long-term diet through carbon- and nitrogen-isotope analysis of bone collagen for twenty-nine individuals from Cahuachi, an important ceremonial centre in the Nasca Region. We also reconstruct the temporal sequence of change in dietary isotopic compositions along hair samples for seventeen individuals buried at Cahuachi and the neighbouring site of Huaca del Loro. The collagen isotopic data for individuals buried at Cahuachi indicate that the average diet was a mix of C 3 and C 4 plant foods with greater reliance on maize, and included the variable consumption of plant- derived protein and terrestrial animals. Sequential isotopic analyses of hair reveal distinctive patterns of dietary shifting that distinguish seasonally changing diets from access to multiple production zones. We argue that short-term dietary heterogeneity in this context can be interpreted to represent flexibility as a risk-minimising strategy through the interaction between food acquisition and participation in local mobility among the Nasca. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Palaeodiet reconstruction in the Andes through carbon- and nitrogen-isotope analysis of archaeological human tissues has been used to investigate seasonality, socially- and politically-mediated differences in diet, animal foraging and foddering strategies, and economic networks and subsistence practices (Finucane, 2007; Finucane et al., 2006; Horn et al., 2009; Kellner and Schoeninger, 2008; Knudson et al., 2007; Slovak and Paytan, 2011; Tomczak, 2003; Williams, 2005; Williams and Katzenberg, 2012). The Andean Region is characterised by an extreme topography, resulting in relatively short traveling distances among isotopically and ecologically distinct production zones (Edwards, 2010; Murra, 1972; Tieszen et al., 1979; Tomczak, 2003; Yacobaccio et al., 2009). Therefore, isotopic reconstruction of long-term diets and short- term dietary shifting can be used to explore residential mobility (Fernandez et al., 1999; Knudson et al., 2012; White et al., 2009; Wilson et al., 2007b), arguably a central component of many Andean societies, and can provide insight into the relationship between individuals and the social and physical landscapes. Previous isotopic research in the Nasca Region has focused on residential mobility. Strontium, oxygen and/or carbon isotopic data from tooth enamel were used to investigate the presence of “foreigners” or nonlocal members of burial populations (Buzon et al., 2011; Conlee et al., 2009; Henry, 2008), to characterise childhood geographic origins of individuals transformed into trophy heads (Knudson et al., 2009), and to assess the geographic scale of influence of the ceremonial centre Cahuachi (Webb et al., 2011). In addition to the context-specific interpretations made in each study, considerable variation was observed within the oxygen- isotope datasets (Buzon et al., 2011; Henry, 2008; Knudson et al., 2009; Webb et al., 2011). This variability indicates that drinking water was obtained from sources with widely varying oxygen isotopic compositions. Environmental water baseline isotopic data (Buzon et al., 2011; Webb et al., 2011) were used to assess natural spatial variation in the oxygen-isotope composition of water, and together, human and water oxygen isotopic data indicate a range of possible places of origin distributed throughout the Rio Grande de Nasca drainage. Kellner and Schoeninger (2008) also recon- structed diet and assessed dietary variation using bone carbon- and * Corresponding author. Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Social Science Centre, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2. Tel.: þ1 519 476 8291; fax: þ1 519 661 2157. E-mail address: ewebb8@uwo.ca (E. Webb). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas 0305-4403/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2012.08.020 Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (2013) 129e139