Pre-Columbian transregional captive rearing of Amazonian parrots in the Atacama Desert

José M. Capriles; Calogero M. Santoro; Richard J. George; Eliana Flores Bedregal; Douglas J. Kennett; Logan Kistler; Francisco Rothhammer

doi:10.1073/pnas.2020020118

Edited by Susan D. deFrance, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, and accepted by Editorial Board Member Elsa M. Redmond February 3, 2021 (received for review September 26, 2020)

Significance

The brightly colored feathers of macaws, amazons, and other neotropical parrots were one of the most important symbols of wealth, power, and sacredness in the pre-Columbian Americas. Andean highland and coastal societies imported these exotic goods from Amazonian tropical forests by little-understood mechanisms of exchange. The study of 27 complete and partially mummified and skeletonized remains of at least six species of parrots from five archaeological sites in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile provides evidence that capturing, transporting, and keeping macaws, amazons, and conures as pets was part of this provisioning system, likely motivated by their significance for producing and representing relational wealth.

Abstract

The feathers of tropical birds were one of the most significant symbols of economic, social, and sacred status in the pre-Columbian Americas. In the Andes, finely produced clothing and textiles containing multicolored feathers of tropical parrots materialized power, prestige, and distinction and were particularly prized by political and religious elites. Here we report 27 complete or partial remains of macaws and amazon parrots from five archaeological sites in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile to improve our understanding of their taxonomic identity, chronology, cultural context, and mechanisms of acquisition. We conducted a multiproxy archaeometric study that included zooarchaeological analysis, isotopic dietary reconstruction, accelerated mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating, and paleogenomic analysis. The results reveal that during the Late Intermediate Period (1100 to 1450 CE), Atacama oasis communities acquired scarlet macaws (Ara macao) and at least five additional translocated parrot species through vast exchange networks that extended more than 500 km toward the eastern Amazonian tropics. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes indicate that Atacama aviculturalists sustained these birds on diets rich in marine bird guano-fertilized maize-based foods. The captive rearing of these colorful, exotic, and charismatic birds served to unambiguously signal relational wealth in a context of emergent intercommunity competition.

Footnotes

↵¹To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: juc555{at}psu.edu or calogero_santoro{at}yahoo.com.
↵²Deceased July 2, 2017.

Author contributions: J.M.C., C.M.S., and F.R. designed research; J.M.C., C.M.S., R.J.G., and E.F.B. performed research; D.J.K. and L.K. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; J.M.C., C.M.S., and R.J.G. analyzed data; and J.M.C., C.M.S., R.J.G., E.F.B., D.J.K., L.K., and F.R. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no competing interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission. S.D.d. is a guest editor invited by the Editorial Board.
This article contains supporting information online at https://www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.2020020118/-/DCSupplemental.

Data Availability

Raw sequence data for Atacama macaw samples have been deposited in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Sequence Read Archive under BioProject PRJNA675137 (accession nos. SAMN16690475–SAMN16690478). Genome assemblies, MapDamage outputs, and consensus sequences are available in the Dryad Digital Repository (https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.25349/D95C99). Annotated consensus sequences have been deposited in NCBI GenBank (accession nos. MW584234–MW584237).

Published under the PNAS license.

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Table of Contents

Submit

[1] ↵
H. King
, Peruvian Featherworks: Art of the Precolumbian Era (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012).

[2] H. King

[3] ↵
R. E. Reina,
K. M. Kensinger
, The Gift of Birds: Featherworking of Native South American Peoples (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, 1991).

[4] R. E. Reina,

[5] K. M. Kensinger

[6] ↵
C. L. Costin
, Housewives, chosen women, skilled men: Cloth production and social identity in the late Prehispanic Andes. Archeol. Pap. Am. Anthropol. Assoc. 8, 123–141 (1998).
OpenUrl

[7] C. L. Costin

[8] ↵
J. V. Murra
, Cloth and its functions in the Inca state. Am. Anthropol. 64, 710–728 (1962).
OpenUrl CrossRef

[9] J. V. Murra

[10] ↵
K. Flannery,
J. Marcus
, The Creation of Inequality: How our Prehistoric Ancestors Set the Stage for Monarchy, Slavery, and Empire (Harvard University Press, 2012).

[11] K. Flannery,

[12] J. Marcus

[13] ↵
D. Serjeantson
, Birds (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

[14] D. Serjeantson

[15] ↵
A. P. Rowe
, Costumes & Featherwork of the Lords of Chimor: Textiles from Peru’s North Coast (University of Washington Press, 1984).

[16] A. P. Rowe

[17] ↵
L. Núñez,
T. D. Dillehay
, Movilidad Giratoria, Armonía Social y Desarrollo en los Andes Meridionales: Patrones de Tráfico e Interacción Económica (Universidad Católica del Norte, 1995).

[18] L. Núñez,

[19] T. D. Dillehay

[20] ↵
D. Wilkinson
, The influence of Amazonia on state formation in the ancient Andes. Antiquity 92, 1362–1376 (2018).
OpenUrl

[21] D. Wilkinson

[22] ↵
H. Horta Tricallotis
, Diademas de plumas en entierros de la costa del Norte de Chile: ¿Evidencias de la vestimenta de una posible parcialidad pescadora? Chungara Revista de Antropología Chilena 32, 235–243 (2000).
OpenUrl

[23] H. Horta Tricallotis

[24] ↵
H. Horta Tricallotis
, El señorío arica y los reinos altiplánicos: Complementariedad ecológica y multietnicidad durante los siglos pre-Conquista en el Norte de Chile (1000-1540 d.C.). PhD Dissertation (Universidad de Chile, Santiago, 2010).

[25] H. Horta Tricallotis

[26] ↵
D. Valenzuela et al
., Consumption of animals beyond diet in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile (13,000-410 BP): Comparing rock art motifs and archaeofaunal records. J. Anthropol. Archaeol. 40, 250–265 (2015).
OpenUrl

[27] D. Valenzuela et al

[28] ↵
F. Gallardo,
G. Cabello
, Emblems, leadership, social interaction and early social complexity: The ancient formative period (1500 BC–AD 100) in the desert of northern Chile. Camb. Archaeol. J. 25, 615–634 (2015).
OpenUrl

[29] F. Gallardo,

[30] G. Cabello

[31] ↵
P. L. Crown
, Just macaws: A review for the US southwest/Mexican northwest. Kiva 82, 331–363 (2016).
OpenUrl

[32] P. L. Crown

[33] ↵
L. L. Hargrave
, Mexican Macaws: Comparative Osteology and Survey of Remains from the Southwest (University of Arizona Press, 1970).

[34] L. L. Hargrave

[35] ↵
A. D. Somerville,
B. A. Nelson,
K. J. Knudson
, Isotopic investigation of pre-Hispanic macaw breeding in northwest Mexico. J. Anthropol. Archaeol. 29, 125–135 (2010).
OpenUrl

[36] A. D. Somerville,

[37] B. A. Nelson,

[38] K. J. Knudson

[39] ↵
R. J. George et al
., Archaeogenomic evidence from the southwestern US points to a pre-Hispanic scarlet macaw breeding colony. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 115, 8740–8745 (2018).
OpenUrl Abstract/FREE Full Text

[40] R. J. George et al

[41] ↵
C. W. Schwartz,
A. D. Somerville,
B. A. Nelson,
K. J. Knudson
, Investigating pre-Hispanic scarlet macaw origins through radiogenic strontium isotope analysis at Paquimé in Chihuahua, Mexico. J. Anthropol. Archaeol. 61, 101256 (2021).
OpenUrl

[42] C. W. Schwartz,

[43] A. D. Somerville,

[44] B. A. Nelson,

[45] K. J. Knudson

[46] ↵
A. S. Watson et al
., Early procurement of scarlet macaws and the emergence of social complexity in Chaco Canyon, NM. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 112, 8238–8243 (2015).
OpenUrl Abstract/FREE Full Text

[47] A. S. Watson et al

[48] ↵
M. A. Rivera,
F. Rothhammer
, The chinchorro people of northern Chile 5000 BC-500 BC, a review of their culture and relationships. Int. J. Anthropol. 6, 243–255 (1991).
OpenUrl

[49] M. A. Rivera,

[50] F. Rothhammer

[51] ↵
F. Rothhammer et al
., Archeological and mtDNA evidence for tropical lowland migrations during the Late Archaic/Formative in northern Chile. Rev. Chil. Hist. Nat. 82, 543–552 (2009).
OpenUrl

[52] F. Rothhammer et al

[53] ↵
V. G. Standen
, Bienes funerarios del cementerio Chinchorro Morro 1: Descripción, análisis e interpretación. Chungara Revista de Antropología Chilena 35, 175–207 (2003).
OpenUrl

[54] V. G. Standen

[55] ↵
M. A. Rivera,
P. Soto,
L. Ulloa,
D. Kushner
, Aspectos sobre el desarrollo tecnológico en el proceso de agriculturización en el norte prehispano, especialmente Arica (Chile). Chungara Revista de Antropología Chilena 3, 79–106 (1974).
OpenUrl

[56] M. A. Rivera,

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