Collagen and carbonate isotope data of fauna from pre-Columbian Panama

Abstract

Raw isotope data of collagen (δ¹³C_collagen and δ¹⁵N_collagen) and carbonate (δ¹³C_carbonate and δ¹⁸O_carbonate) of bone, enamel, and dentine of 101 faunal samples from Parita Bay, Panama are presented. These samples were taken from four archeological sites that span a long termporal range beginning with early hamlet agriculture period marked by the introduction of agricultre (circa 6000 BCE), and extending into the time of Spanish contact (1521 CE). The collection represents twelve faunal species of secondary browsers (deer), potentially captive or habituated birds (waterfowl, parrots, guan, among others), and carnivores (ocelot and domesticated dog). One modern deer specimen was also taken to link archeological baselines with known modern environmental data. This data complements our argument, presented in the article "Domesticated landscapes of the Neotropics: Isotope signatures of human-animal relationships in pre-Columbian Panama" [1], that stable isotope analysis can be a useful proxy to document degrees to which human-plant/animal co-habitation has created anthropogenic ecosystems in the Neotropics.

Keywords: Archaeology; Central America; Domestication; Panama; Stable isotopes; Zooarchaeology.