Food behaviors, nutrition and identity under the Inka Empire: the Caringa people of Pueblo Viejo-Pucara, Peru

Abstract

Pueblo Viejo-Pucara is one of the coastal archaeological sites that were ruled by the Inka Empire on the central coast of Peru, inhabited by the Caringa people. Labor colonists relocated to the site as part of Inka strategies of annexation of new territories, reducing local polities' power. Archaeological evidence points to connections between the Caringa people and highland communities. An unexplored line of evidence is people's food habits, identity, diet and nutrition. The way society prepares, serves, and eats its food is socio-culturally shaped. An integrative approach based on bioarchaeological, dental anthropological, biochemical, and ethnohistorical data is applied, revealing significant intra-site variability and food behaviors being dictated by people's identity and social status, additionally impacting childhood nutritional condition. The symbolic meaning behind food was embodied in ritual and funerary events, reinforcing local identities, local food cooking modalities, storage facilities and exchange between neighborhoods.