Metabolic stress and diet, a comparative case study in Mendoza (Argentina) during the final late Holocene

Abstract

Objective: Study the metabolic stress on the skeletal remains of two populations from Mendoza (Argentina) selected based on economic differences. Firstly, the hunter-gatherer population (A) from site B6 (2400-2200 years BP) in the eastern plains, which has an abundant intake of C3 due to the presence of wild plants and animals. Secondly, population (B) from the Potrero Las Colonias site (650-500 years BP), in the highland Andean valleys, which has a predominant C4 intake due to intensive maize agriculture.Materials and Methods: We recorded the presence/absence, degree of severity and stage of healing status and severity of Porotic Hyperostosis (PH) and Cribra Orbitalia (CO).Results: We record high percentages of PH for the farmer population B (88%) compared to population A (32%) and low percentages of CO in both samples. A severe degree of lesion and the presence of active healing was recorded only in the farmers, while mild degree of severity and mixed stages of healing prevail in the hunter-gatherers.Discussion: The isotopic data shows different scenarios in terms of economic organization, which, together with the results presented above, allows the suggestion that the farmers (B) may have had deficient nutrition compared to the hunter-gatherers (A). This generated a greater exposure to systemic stress events (e.g. adverse climatic factors) and caused metabolic alterations contributing to the more frequent formation of lesions. Since this may have been due to larger risks associated to sedentary traditional farming in drylands compared to mobile hunter-gatherer organization, this discussion relates to global debates on diet and health during the transition to productive economies.