A Bioarchaeological Reconstruction of Demography and Social Class

Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc., Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

The fundamental goal of this research is to gain insight into how large political entities such as empires and state level societies integrate large numbers of individuals, often speaking different languages and of different ethnicities into centralized functioning units and the effect that such integration has on different groups of individuals. Through use of archaeological data it is possible both to trace such processes over time and to examine aspects of human biology which might be difficult to accomplish with living populations. With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Bethany Turner will conduct a three-year project analyzing archaeological human remains from the southern highlands of Peru. In collaboration with her Peruvian colleagues and their students, as well as her own students, Dr. Turner will reconstruct patterns of diet and migration in over two hundred individuals recovered from three sites in the heartland of the Inca Empire. In just under a century, the Inca took control of large areas of western South America and subjugated an estimated twelve million people. As part of their governing strategies, Inca administrators forcibly relocated individuals and even entire communities throughout the empire - this strategy quashed pockets of resistance, relocated communities of specialists to where their skills were most needed, and provided an enormous labor pool for military campaigns and building projects. It also translated to different patterns of diet, disease exposure, violence, and other key factors influencing the health and well-being of Inca subjects. Reconstructing the composition of populations at different Inca sites is therefore critical to better understanding whether, and if so, how the life histories of different Inca subjects were affected by Inca imperialism: estimating who was moved, from where, to where, and why can provide insights into not only their life histories, but those of in situ populations by comparison. To accomplish this goal, Turner and her colleagues will produce a combination of multi-isotopic data from collected samples of bone and tooth fragments from each individual, as well as dental data that represent aspects of genetic ancestry. These data will be used to create in-depth profiles of diet and residence at different points in the lifespan and relate them to genetic variation within and between each site. Moreover, these data will be analyzed along with published and unpublished data on skeletal health and disease, using Turner's novel approach to better understanding the causes of common skeletal pathological conditions. The intellectual merit of this study lies in its use of multiple lines of data to reconstruct aspects of identity and life history in a large sample of indigenous remains, and interpret them using a theoretical perspective centered on social stratification, resource inequality, and ancient statecraft. These data also provide new opportunities to tease apart the different causes of stressors affecting the skeleton, an area of longstanding debate in biological anthropology. This study has broader impacts for archaeology and historical studies, particularly of complex and urbanized societies. The Inca Empire was like other states, past and present, in that it stood on the shoulders of its people, most of whom passed anonymously into history. This study's focus on analyzing the skeletal remains of Inca subjects opens a new window into understanding the workings of this ancient empire. This study also provides valuable research opportunities for students in the United States and Peru. Importantly, the results of these analyses will be disseminated to academic and non-academic audiences in the United States and Peru, including to those indigenous descendants of the Inca who are often marginalized in modern Peruvian culture.