South-Central Andean Area Settlement, Evolution, and Biocultural Interactions

VARELA, HÉCTOR HUGO; COCILOVO, JOSÉ ALBERTO

Biological Anthropology of Latin America. Historical Development and Recent Advances

Smithsonian Institution

Lugar: ISSN: 0081-0223; Año: 2019; p. 295 - 310

This article integrates a series of studies carried out with the aim to illustrate important aspects of the biology of the prehistoric human population that lived in the south-central Andean area, a key region of South America. These studies include (1) biological characterization of the local populations through analysis of a set of factors such as sex, age, and artificial deformation; (2) description of the structure of the populations at local and regional levels; (3) investigation of their genetic relationships; and (4) definition of the factors that determined their evolution. Asynthesis of the cultural development of northern Chile and northwestern Argentina is also included to understand the natural and social historical circumstances associated with the colonization and occupation of the region.