Large and colorful bird feathers derived most from macaws and Amazon parrots (Psittaciformes:
Arinae),
offered not only striking appearances but more importantly communicated the religious
and sociopolitical
significance and prestige of prehispanic Peruvians who wore feather cloth mantles,
head ornaments, and/or
held shields and/or staffs with such decoration. Determination of their provenance,
taxonomic identification,
age, and mode and route of acquisition (including possible captive breeding), however,
has commonly
remained in the domain of speculation. For example, Amazonia has long been treated
as an undifferentiated
source of macaw feathers. We present key findings of our cross-disciplinary investigation
of feathered
ornaments that decorated the false heads of Late Intermediate period funerary bundles
excavated in 2005 at
the Max Uhle cemetery in front of the famed Painted Temple at Pachacamac, Peru. Our
international team
composed of zoologists and geneticists as well as archaeologists conducted AMS radiocarbon
dating, aDNA,
and isotopic (C, N) analyses of excavated feather samples. Additionally, landscape
modeling based on
resistance surfaces allowed us to propose possible modes and routes of feather acquisition.
Overall,
implications of our findings on the key issues identified above are discussed.
