Assessing the Early Holocene Environment of Northwestern Guyana: An Isotopic Analysis of Human and Faunal Remains

Authors

Louisa Daggers, University of Guyana
Mark G. Plew, Boise State UniversityFollow
Alex Edwards, University of Georgia
Samantha Evans, Boise State UniversityFollow
Robin B. Trayler, Boise State University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-2018

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1017/laq.2017.87

Abstract

This study used stable carbon δ¹³C and oxygen δ¹⁸O isotope compositions data to assess the extent to which diet breadths of northwestern Guyana changed during the Holocene. We analyzed human bone and enamel remains from seven shell mound sites dating between 7500 and 2600 BP. Our analyses demonstrate some degree of constancy in the availability of C₃ plants during the past several thousand years—though we note an increasing reliance on such plants beginning in the Early Holocene. We also document warming intervals during the Early Holocene (Early Archaic), which appear to correlate with dry periods known elsewhere in the central Amazon during this period.

Copyright Statement

This is an author-produced, peer-reviewed version of this article. The final, definitive version of this document can be found online at Latin American Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press. Copyright restrictions may apply. doi: 10.1017/laq.2017.87

Publication Information

Daggers, Louisa; Plew, Mark G.; Edwards, Alex; Evans, Samantha; and Trayler, Robin B.. (2018). "Assessing the Early Holocene Environment of Northwestern Guyana: An Isotopic Analysis of Human and Faunal Remains". Latin American Antiquity, 29(2), 279-292.