Capillaria spp. eggs in Patagonian archaeological sites: statistical analysis of morphometric data

FUGASSA, M.H.; TAGLIORETTI, V.; GONÇALVES, M.L.C.; ARAÚJO, A.; SARDELLA, N.H.; DENEGRI, G.M.

MEMóRIAS DO INSTITUTO OSWALDO CRUZ.

FUNDACO OSWALDO CRUZ

Lugar: Rio de Janeiro; Año: 2008 vol. 103 p. 104 - 105

0074-0276

Discriminant analysis was used to identify eggs of Capillaria spp. at specific level found in organic remains from an archaeological site in Patagonia, Argentina, dated of 6,540 ± 110 years before present. In order to distinguish eggshell morphology 149 eggs were measured and grouped into four arbitrary subsets. The analysis used on egg width and length discriminated them into different morphotypes (Wilks lambda = 0.381, p < 0.05). The correlation analysis suggests that width was the most important variable to discriminate among the Capillaria spp. egg morphotypes (Pearson coefficient = 0.950, p < 0.05). The study of eggshell patterns, the relative frequency in the sample, and the morphometric data allowed us to correlate the four morphotypes with Capillaria species.