Morphometric Analysis of Camelid Remains from the Alero Deodoro Roca (ADR) Site (Córdoba, Argentina). An Attempt to Characterise Body-Size Variability in Sierras Pampeanas Australes Region

COSTA, THIAGO; IZETA, ANDRÉS D.

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology

Willey

Año: 2017 vol. 27 p. 465 - 476

This paper focuses in the morphometric analyses of Lama guanicoe remains recovered from the hunter-gatherer archaeological site Alero Deodoro Roca (ADR), located at Sierras Pampeanas region (Córdoba Argentina), an area that has little information on the body-size variability of these artiodactyls. Because of the sparse osteometric data in the region, we focused on determining inter-intraspecific differentiation of wild camelids through corroborated osteometric techniques and multivariate statistical analyses of proximal phalanges. Our results showed a clear interspecific differentiation between modern vicuñas and archaeological specimens. We could also distinguish at least 3 guanaco size groups (small, medium and large) with the archaeological remains from the late Holocene (3000-3600 BP) of the site, presenting medium size characteristics. Finally this paper aims at establishing a first approach in the characterization of guanaco body size in the mountainous region of Córdoba, known as Sierras Pampeanas.