Strontium+Isotope+Analysis

Using analysis of strontium isotopes in the enamel of human teeth, it is possible to locate where that person generally lived for the first dozen years of their life. The levels of strontium vary in bone tissue based on plant and water consumption and absorption into hard tissue. While it generally takes between 2-20 years for turnover of bone composition (Parfitt, 1983), tooth enamel does not have this same turnover. Enamel is considered a dead tissue, due to the fact that it is not penetrated by any organic structure after formation and hardening (Hillson, 1986). Because of this, the area where a child was raised while the teeth formed is recorded in the specific composition of four separate strontium isotopes.

The analysis of strontium levels in the enamel of Tihuanaco inhabitants indicates that some were not born and raised at the site, but elsewhere within the Moquegua valley. The same holds true for other sites throughout the valley, including Chen Chen, where women both raised there and away from there have indistinct graves from each other, which would indicate limited to no inequality between the native and foreign inhabitants.

//Strontium analysis of both bone and enamel, showing local Huari burials and trophy heads. The green bar represents current levels of strontium found in guinea pigs from the settlement.//