A HUMAN BODY, A NECKLACE, A PESTLE AND A STONE AXE: OSTEOBIOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF A 4000-YEAR-OLD BURIAL IN CALAMUCHITA VALLEY (CÓRDOBA, ARGENTINA)

MARIANA FABRA; SANDRA GORDILLO; FERNANDO COLOMBO; RODRIGO NORES; GISELA SARIO

Latin American Antiquity

Cambridge University Press

Año: 2022

1045-6635

We report the results of bioarchaeological, genetic, malacological, and lithic analysesof a burial located in the Calamuchita Valley, province of Córdoba, Central Argentina.We discuss this finding from an osteobiographical perspective that considers thephysical body from three spheres of analysis: biological, social, and political. Theskeletal remains correspond to an adult male who died 3770 ± 90 14 C years BP(4404 ? 3850 cal BP). His mitochondrial lineage A2 +16192-16248 could haveoriginated in Central Argentina, a lineage with a subsequent extinction in modernpopulations. In association with the human bones, there were two lithic tools,ornamental shells and a stone pendant arranged as a necklace. Social identity of thisindividual is discussed from a relational perspective from the objects that accompanyhim in the grave. This type of context is infrequent for the region and the periodstudied. Thus, this burial represents a unique and relevant record for regional andSouth American archeology, since it provides the oldest direct evidence of a burial withgrave goods in the hunter-gatherer societies of the province of Córdoba, in the centralregion of Argentina.