The Bolivian Radiocarbon Database: A Countrywide Compilation of Radiocarbon Dates

The radiocarbon dating record from sites in the territory that comprises the Plurinational State of Bolivia has been previously included in datasets that are either obsolete, inaccurate, or incomplete. The Bolivian Radiocarbon Database compiles over three thousand radiocarbon dates produced in the context of archaeological and other paleo-scientific research. By conducting an exhaustive review and correcting various errors from previous regional datasets, this database currently incorporates the largest and most accurate information of radiocarbon dates from the country of Bolivia. In addition to describing how the data was collected and the structure of the database, here I also summarize some general patterns and emergent trends from this data

A Review of Archaeological and Paleoecological Radiocarbon Dating in Bolivia

Radiocarbon dating is one of the most useful and widely used chronometric techniques available for archaeologists and other paleo-scientists. Although generally used for answering specific research questions, radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites have become increasingly used to reconstruct population change at meso and macro temporal and spatial scales, and Bayesian modeling of locally and regionally available dates is facilitating interrogating the synchronicity, correlation, and interaction among various socioecological variables. Because the results of these meta-analyses largely depend on the available data, comprehensive compilations of radiocarbon dates and their associated information are critically important. Moreover, a thorough assessment of these compilations can reveal research spatiotemporal foci, trends, and biases, which should be considered when meta-analyses are attempted. In this review, based on the recently compiled Bolivian Radiocarbon Database, I provide a general assessment of the temporal, geographic, and thematic interests that have driven archaeological and paleoecological research in Bolivia over the last seven decades. Along with a detailed review of research in three broad geographical regions (Andean highlands, inter-Andean valleys, and tropical lowlands), I encourage researchers interested in meta-analysis to critically consider biases in data compilations by means of increased engagement with local experts and interdisciplinary collaboration

Quinoa, potatoes, and llamas fueled emergent social complexity in the Lake Titicaca Basin of the Andes

The Lake Titicaca basin was one of the major centers for cultural development in the ancient world. This lacustrine environment is unique in the high, dry Andean altiplano, and its aquatic and terrestrial resources are thought to have contributed to the florescence of complex societies in this region. Nevertheless, it remains unclear to what extent local aquatic resources, particularly fish, and the introduced crop, maize, which can be grown in regions along the lakeshores, contributed to facilitating sustained food production and population growth, which underpinned increasing social political complexity starting in the Formative Period (1400 BCE to 500 CE) and culminating with the Tiwanaku state (500 to 1100 CE). Here, we present direct dietary evidence from stable isotope analysis of human skeletal remains spanning over two millennia, together with faunal and floral reference materials, to reconstruct foodways and ecological interactions in southern Lake Titicaca over time. Bulk stable isotope analysis, coupled with compound-specific amino acid stable isotope analysis, allows better discrimination between resources consumed across aquatic and terrestrial environments. Together, this evidence demonstrates that human diets predominantly relied on C(3) plants, particularly quinoa and tubers, along with terrestrial animals, notably domestic camelids. Surprisingly, fish were not a significant source of animal protein, but a slight increase in C(4) plant consumption verifies the increasing importance of maize in the Middle Horizon. These results underscore the primary role of local terrestrial food resources in securing a nutritious diet that allowed for sustained population growth, even in the face of documented climate and political change across these periods

Persistent Early to Middle Holocene tropical foraging in southwestern Amazonia

The Amazon witnessed the emergence of complex societies after 2500 years ago that altered tropical landscapes through intensive agriculture and managed aquatic systems. However, very little is known about the context and conditions that preceded these social and environmental transformations. Here, we demonstrate that forest islands in the Llanos de Moxos of southwestern Amazonia contain human burials and represent the earliest settlements in the region between 10,600 and 4000 years ago. These archaeological sites and their contents represent the earliest evidence of communities that experienced conditions conducive to engaging with food production such as environmental stability, resource disturbance, and increased territoriality in the Amazonian tropical lowlands

Early and Middle Holocene Hunter-Gatherer Occupations in Western Amazonia: The Hidden Shell Middens

We report on previously unknown early archaeological sites in the Bolivian lowlands, demonstrating for the first time early and middle Holocene human presence in western Amazonia. Multidisciplinary research in forest islands situated in seasonally-inundated savannahs has revealed stratified shell middens produced by human foragers as early as 10,000 years ago, making them the oldest archaeological sites in the region. The absence of stone resources and partial burial by recent alluvial sediments has meant that these kinds of deposits have, until now, remained unidentified. We conducted core sampling, archaeological excavations and an interdisciplinary study of the stratigraphy and recovered materials from three shell midden mounds. Based on multiple lines of evidence, including radiocarbon dating, sedimentary proxies (elements, steroids and black carbon), micromorphology and faunal analysis, we demonstrate the anthropogenic origin and antiquity of these sites. In a tropical and geomorphologically active landscape often considered challenging both for early human occupation and for the preservation of hunter-gatherer sites, the newly discovered shell middens provide evidence for early to middle Holocene occupation and illustrate the potential for identifying and interpreting early open-air archaeological sites in western Amazonia. The existence of early hunter-gatherer sites in the Bolivian lowlands sheds new light on the region's past and offers a new context within which the late Holocene "Earthmovers" of the Llanos de Moxos could have emerged. © 2013 Lombardo et al

p3k14c, a synthetic global database of archaeological radiocarbon dates.

Archaeologists increasingly use large radiocarbon databases to model prehistoric human demography (also termed paleo-demography). Numerous independent projects, funded over the past decade, have assembled such databases from multiple regions of the world. These data provide unprecedented potential for comparative research on human population ecology and the evolution of social-ecological systems across the Earth. However, these databases have been developed using different sample selection criteria, which has resulted in interoperability issues for global-scale, comparative paleo-demographic research and integration with paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental data. We present a synthetic, global-scale archaeological radiocarbon database composed of 180,070 radiocarbon dates that have been cleaned according to a standardized sample selection criteria. This database increases the reusability of archaeological radiocarbon data and streamlines quality control assessments for various types of paleo-demographic research. As part of an assessment of data quality, we conduct two analyses of sampling bias in the global database at multiple scales. This database is ideal for paleo-demographic research focused on dates-as-data, bayesian modeling, or summed probability distribution methodologies

El contexto y significado de una ofrenda Inca subacuática intacta del lago Titicaca

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe