OCCUPATIONAL STRESS MARKERS IN THE LIMITS OF PRE-HISPANIC AMERICAN AGRICULTURE: TENDENCIES IN CAÑADA SECA 1 (MENDOZA, ARGENTINA)

EVA PERALTA

Congreso; VI Paleopathology Association Meeting in South America; 2015

The daily activities carried out by people along their life can impact on thebody, producing archaeologically observable modifi cations. The analysis of occupational stress markers allows the study of activity patterns and provides an independent line of inquiry for discussing changes in human populations? subsistence. The aim of this paper is to make an enriching contribution to debate the ?agriculturization model? proposed for Southern Mendoza. In this area, we expect to identify stress markers compatible with low mobility and intensive food processing; these patterns would be related to the introduction of farming to the end of late Holocene. The osteoartrosis and musculoskeletal stress markers were the recorded in a sample of human skeletal remains from the Cañada Seca archaeological site (ca. 1500 years BP), located in the middle Atuel valley (San Rafael, Mendoza). The results show the presence of joint wear and alteration in the muscular insertion areas with major incidence in lower over upper limbs. This tendency does not correspond with our expectation and would indicate the existence of highly mobile populations in the latest moments, despite the establishment of farming groups in northern regions and the possible maize consumption, isotopically registered. The stress markers in the upper limbs indicate a reiterated exposure to mechanical stress that could be associated with food processing and hunting or technological activities.