Ancient condors thrived on Peru’s northern coast before retreating to the highlands, study reveals

In a recent study, Dr. Weronika Tomczyk and her colleagues conducted a zooarchaeological and isotopic study of ancient Andean condor bones from an archaeological site Castillo de Huarmey, providing the first and earliest empirical evidence that these birds once inhabited the northern coastal regions of Peru before their retreat into the interior highlands, where they predominantly live today.

The Andean condor

The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is the world’s largest avian obligatory scavenger. In Peru, it has been an important part of pre-Columbian and modern culture and mythology.

Today, it is classified as a “Vulnerable” species on the IUCN Red List, largely owing to continued habitat loss, lead poisoning, poaching, and mishandling during traditional Rachi Condor and Yawar fiesta ceremonies.

However, limited historical evidence exists indicating this bird’s historic habitat within much of the Peruvian Andes, particularly the northern coast.

In an effort to emphasize the relevance of archaeological faunal studies to wildlife management, Dr. Tomczyk and her colleagues conducted zooarchaeological and stable isotope analysis on Andean condor bones recovered from Castillo de Huarmey, a pre-Hispanic administrative and funerary provincial center of the Wari Empire, located on Peru’s Ancash coast.

The work is published in the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology.

Zooarchaeology and stable isotopes

A total of 64 Andean condor remains were recovered from cellular rooms, “recintos” from the “Red Mausoleum” at Castillo de Huarmey. It was estimated that these bones likely belonged to at least three Andean condors.

The bones were subject to zooarchaeological analysis, revealing that the condor bones lacked cut marks or other ancient anthropogenic modifications, suggesting the birds were buried intact.

Meanwhile, four bones were selected for isotopic analysis.

“Isotopic analysis is a geochemical method that can be applied to archaeological investigations of different skeletal tissues, in the case of bird skeletons, such as the Andean condor in my study, bone collagen or feather keratin (if feathers are preserved),” explained Dr. Tomczyk.

“Isotopic analyses are well-suited to complement conventional zooarchaeological studies, which reconstruct the circumstances of an animal’s death, while isotopic investigations of multiple tissues provide a glimpse into the changes and continuities throughout an animal’s life.

“In the environmental settings of the western Andes, the most frequently examined isotopic elements are carbon (δ¹³C), nitrogen (δ¹⁵N), oxygen (δ¹⁸O), and strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr). Carbon and nitrogen isotopes are conventionally used to reconstruct past diets and trophic levels, oxygen isotopes reflect water sources, and strontium isotopes reveal geological provenance.”

Coastal origin

The results revealed that all four condor bones analyzed had isotopic signatures consistent with a diet influenced by a coastal, marine environment.

One individual, P-202, had a more mixed diet. The researchers propose two possible scenarios to explain this diet. The first was that this condor was a dominant bird.

In ethological studies, it is known that dominant, large-bodied Andean condors typically outcompete other scavengers, leading to them having a much broader range of food sources, which leads to a more mixed diet.

Alternatively, the condor was held captive for a period of time prior to burial, where it was fed a more terrestrial-based diet, such as camelid meat, which was the main source of protein for the local people.

A scenario where this condor was held captive may also explain a rope that had been found tied around its leg.

The research provides the first and earliest empirical evidence that Andean condors lived on the northern Peruvian coast, though the environmental factors that eventually led to their migration into the highlands are less understood, explained Dr. Tomczyk,

“Broader ecological changes in Peruvian condor populations are not yet well-researched, but analogous research from Chile and Argentina suggests that these environmental factors were likely anthropogenic—so in Peru, they would be related to habitat loss caused by the progression of urbanization on the Pacific coast; most Peruvians reside along the coast, rather than in the highlands.”

Implications for conservation

The findings provide archaeological evidence that establishes the northern Peruvian coast as a historic habitat of the Andean condor. This evidence can be used to strengthen support for their reintroduction, facilitated by heritage education and eco-tourism initiatives, which would connect Peru’s archaeological legacy with wildlife conservation.

However, reintroduction would also require more public awareness as well as further research on heavy metal pollution, especially in the vicinity of industrial ports, which would threaten condor reintroduction.

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