Early andean diaspora, culinary traditions, and dietary continuity in the periphery

The deep social meaning behind food behaviors has significant consequences in diasporic communities and may be one of the hallmarks of the expansion of the Tiwanaku state in the central Andes. The consumption or utilization of corn beer (chicha), coca leaves, and hallucinogenic drugs spread from the altiplano along with several material traditions, but may superficially overlie complex biocultural interactions across the region. This report contextualizes oral pathology from Middle Horizon (AD 500–1100) skeletal samples in the Azapa Valley of northern Chile into the material record to test how diet was constructed and manipulated under influences from the Andean diaspora. Six oral pathology variables were recorded in 295 individuals and compared (age-adjusted) among archaeological traditions (Alto Ramirez, Cabuza, and Maytas-Chiribaya).