UC Berkeley

This project uses multiple methods to explore how the biosocial variables of age, sex, and status intersect with social inequalities in a prehistoric Colombian population. The archaeological site of Tibanica in the Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia (AD 1000-1400) is an ideal place to examine the biocultural aspects of intersectionality, as it is a settlement of a complex chiefdom society. Inequality may be tied to age groups, differences between the sexes, or between those who are archaeologically recognized as higher/lower status based on mortuary practices. This project studies three loci where identities and inequality may be expressed and evidenced in the body: food consumption patterns, physical labor, and skeletal health. Human skeletons present the opportunity to study how these variables that are both biologically real and socially constituted, may relate to unequal power access within any society. 199 human skeletons were studied using stable isotope analysis (13C, 15N) of tooth and bone samples (n=199) to reconstruct individual dietary histories, cross-sectional geometry analysis of femur (n=63) and humerus (n=33) bones to study human activity patterns, and bone remodeling in the metacarpal to examine overall bone loss and health (n=75). Dietary and activity data indicate significant differences between women and men over the lifetime, suggesting that different spheres of identity and activities were delineated by sex and age. Stable isotope data show differential access to particular foods, with both sexes consuming significant amounts of maize, but females consumed less maize and more C3-type foods than males. Cross-sectional geometry data revealed that male work emphasized lower body strength, probably related to agricultural work, while female activities required a strong upper body, likely related to food preparation and childcare activities. Skeletal health data indicate that in older age both women and men lost cortical bone in the hand, but women were more severely affected earlier in life, possibly due to skeletal responses to pregnancy and/or lactation. While historical and archaeological research of the Muisca has focused on the importance of social rank within a hierarchical chiefdom society, this dissertation suggests that a very salient aspect of everyday experience for the Muisca may have begun with social difference of another kind: between the sexes. These results demonstrate the capacity for bioarchaeological studies to provide unique data that can reveal complex social relationships that may not be observed through other lines of evidence, challenging assumptions about ancient peoples, and directing us to new lines of inquiry.