INVESTIGADORES
BERNAL Valeria
artículos
Título:
Variation and causal factors of craniofacial robusticity in Patagonian hunter-gatherers from late Holocene.
Autor/es:
BERNAL V.; PEREZ S.I.; GONZALEZ P.
Revista:
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
Referencias:
Año: 2006 p. 748 - 765
ISSN:
1042-0533
Resumen:
Fueguian-Patagonian skulls have been
characterized as some of the most robust of any modern crania. However, the
causal factors of such robusticity remain unsettled. We assess within- and
among-sample cranial robusticity of seven samples from continental Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, using geometric morphometric
techniques. In addition, the biomechanical, phylogenetic, and climatic
hypotheses proposed to account for robusticity in such samples are discussed.
Two Amerindian samples of farmers and two early middle Holocene samples from South America were included. The results show: 1)
large variation in craniofacial robusticity among Patagonian samples, with the
highest robusticity in samples from south continental Patagonia and Isla Grande
of Tierra del Fuego, whereas central and north Patagonian samples display the
same degree of robusticity as farmer samples; 2) that early middle Holocene
samples display lower levels of robusticity than South Patagonian samples; and
3) strong association between latitude and craniofacial robusticity, with the
most robust craniofacial morphologies occurring at the highest latitudes. In
consequence, neither masticatory stress nor retention of ancestral features is
supported by the morphological evidence analyzed. Hence it is hypothesized that
endocrine changes related to cold climate may be a plausible explanation for
several craniofacial features found in Fueguian and south continental
Patagonian samples, such as their large masticatory component, and pronounced
supraorbital ridge and glabellar region.