Paleoparasitological study of Holocenic South American camelids (ca. 8970 - 470 years 14C BP) from an archaeological site from Southern Puna of Argentina (Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca)

TIETZE; URQUIZA; BELTRAME

The Holocene

SAGE

Lugar: London; Año: 2021 p. 1 - 9

South American camelids (SAC) have occupied a central role in thedevelopment of Andean societies. They are widely distributed in SouthAmerica and since ancient times are an important factor in Andeaneconomies and social and ritual life. The archaeological site Punta dePeña 4 (PP4) is located in Antofagasta de la Sierra Basin (Southern Punaof Argentina). PP4 is a rock overhang and presents a large occupationalsequence (early Holocene until historic times). The aim of thiscontribution is to study parasite diversity and the relationship amongparasites and SAC through holocenic times in the Southern Puna ofArgentina. Besides, differences in parasite egg preservation in the sitewere discussed. A total of 65 coprolites assigned to SAC wererehydrated, homogenized, filtered, allowed to spontaneoussedimentation and examined for parasite remains. Given the morphologyof the coprolites, the biogeographic origin and the presence of coccidianoocysts of Eimeria macusaniensis in some of them, a camelid origin ofthe coprolites is suggested. This is the first paleoparasitological studyfrom PP4, an archaeological site of Antofagasta de la Sierra, a key regionin northwestern Argentina and Central Andes. Eleven taxa of parasiteswere found belonging to Apicomplexa, Platyhelminthes, and Nematoda.Specific parasite species of SAC were found, such as E. macusaniensisand Lamanema chavezi/Nematodirus lamae. A remarkable finding wasthe presence of Moniezia sp. and Strongyloides sp. in coprolites fromdifferent levels of PP4, pointing out the presence of these genera innative artiodactyls of the region previous to the arrival of Hispanicsocieties. Results displayed a change in the number of parasite taxapresent in SAC through time. The parasite-SAC relation through time anddifferences in parasite egg preservation between levels and sectors(covered and uncovered) of the site are discussed.