Paleodietary analyses of the first Andean cities: high-resolution assessment to macronutrients using a multiproxy approach.

The transition to urbanism is generally associated with farming of annual staple crops. In the case of the rise of Andean cities around 5 000 years ago, the conditions accompanying this growth are unclear. A seminal 1975 publication suggested that coastal Peruvian civilisation was founded on a fishing economy. And recent archaeological evidence indicates that agriculture significantly preceded the rise of urban centres. Evaluating the diet of these early people could provide clues to the foods that fuelled their urbanisation. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PACHAMAMA project will analyse palaeodietary macronutrients using a multiproxy approach that harnesses bone collagen and dental calculus to enhance understanding of the period’s social complexity and urban development.