Temporal trends in the morphometric variation of the lithic projectile points during the middle holocene of southern andes

CARDILLO MARCELO

Tendencias en Arqueología Evolutiva

Series BAR

Lugar: Inglaterra; Año: 2009; p. 13 - 20

The  focus  of  this  paper  is  to  discuss  theoretical  and  methodological  issues regarding the study of artifact´s morphometric variation, which to some extent can be considered as an outcome of three interrelated dimensions: a) prior history (heredability of a particular shape), b) adaptation to proximate requirements and c) design constraints (architectural restrictions). The methodology proposed here, is based on the application of metrical and non metrical techniques, as geometric morphometrics. The last one, and the principal focus of this paper, allows us to perform shape and form analysis, treating these two variables independently one from the other. Based from the analysis of a small sample of middle Holocene projectiles lithiqués from the South Andes (Puna), we discuss here the potentials and limitations of the phylogenetic analysis over morphometric data. The results of this analysis suggest that while some basic traits of the form and shape have changed in different ways through time, other have tended to endure.