Bone mineral density for two otarids species from southern South America. Taphonomic implications for coastal sites

GUTIERREZ, M. A. Y F. BORELLA

México, DF

Conferencia; 10th Conference ICAZ2006; 2006

International Council for Archaeozoology

The aim of this paper is to present the bone mineral density values for two otarids species which are more frequent in the southern South American archaeological records and to discuss its taphonomic implications for coastal sites. This kind of studies is poorly developed in marine mammal species, being the phocid seal the only one published up to the present (Chambers 1992, in Lyman 1994:248). For the purpose of this presentation, the bone mineral measurements were carried out on one adult male specimen of Otaria flavescens (South American sea lion) and one sub-adult male of Artocephalus australis (southern fur seal). Bone density values were obtained for complete and fragmented bones. The method and technology employed was the same as that used to measure the structural density of South American camelids (Elkin 1995) and Lesser Rhea (Cruz and Elkin 2003). The results were compared with those obtained for guanaco (Lama guanicoe, Elkin 1995) considering that these three species are commonly associated in the archaeological record of the southern South America. The results indicate that there are not a statistical difference (rho Pearson) between bone mineral values obtained for Otaria and Lama and Artocephalus and Lama. Moreover, a significant correlation exists when the values of both marine species are compared (Borella et al. 2005). As a consequence, these results constitute a useful tool to evaluate the integrity of the archaeofaunistic assemblages in sites where terrestrial and marine mammals occur.