Establishing an Ecuadorian Isoscape: The Importance of Baseline Strontium Data in a Volcanic Landscape.

Objectives: Strontium isotopes (Sr/Sr) have been used worldwide to track migrations and identify nonlocal individuals in the past. In South America, these studies often use comparative baseline maps, or isoscapes, established by samples from archaeological fauna and geologic formations. However, baseline research has focused on coastal Peru and the Central and South Andean Highlands.

Patterns of trauma across Andean South America: New discoveries and advances in interpretation.

In his review article John W. Verano covered trauma, warfare, trophy taking, and human sacrifice, but his discussion mostly focused on the results of studies of museum or private collections and the recent discovery of the mass human sacrifice from Huaca de la Luna. Due to the renewed interest in the paleopathology of South America, a trend which Verano observed, these types of investigations have grown exponentially in the past twenty years since his initial publication.

A call for action: Why anthropologists can (and should) join the discussion on climate change through education.

Anthropologists, human biologists, and researchers in related fields have been investigating the human-environment interaction and its effects on health for decades. While there have been numerous studies from the medical- and health-sectors pointing to the connection between climate change and health needs, as well as studies advocating for the incorporation of appropriate curricula addressing these needs in medical schools and health-professional programs, this connection is not being systematically taught to our future healthcare professionals. Here, we first briefly summarize research highlighting the interaction between environment and health; we follow this with discussion about why this interaction is important for current and future medical professionals to understand, particularly in light of the current issues of climate change.

High altitude agriculture in the Titicaca basin (800 BCE-200 CE): Impacts on nutrition and disease load.

Objectives: This study investigates the biological impacts of sedentism and agriculture on humans living in the high altitude landscape of the Titicaca Basin between 800 BCE and CE 200. The transition to agriculture in other global areas resulted in increases in disease and malnutrition; the high altitude of the Titicaca Basin could have exacerbated this. Our objective is to test whether the high altitude of the Titicaca Basin created a marginal environment for early agriculturalists living there, reflected through elevated rates of malnutrition and/or disease.

Three trepanned skulls from the Copacabana Peninsula in the Titicaca Basin, Bolivia (800 BC-AD 1000).

This paper presents three trepanned skulls from the Copacabana Peninsula in the Titicaca Basin, dating from 800 BC to AD 1000. Trepanation has been practiced for two millennia in the Andes, with the earliest specimens coming from the coastal Paracas culture (circa 400 BC). Trepanned skulls have been found throughout the Andes, displaying a variety of techniques.