Vertebral body compression fractures: Methodological and interpretive analysis of late Holocene human remains from north-central Mendoza, Argentina Fracturas compresivas de cuerpos vertebrales: Análisis metodológicos e interpretativos en restos humanos del Holoceno tardío en el centro-norte de Mendoza, Argentina

SUBY, JORGE A.; GUEVARA, DANIELA; THAYER, RODRIGO ZÚÑIGA; NOVELLINO, PAULA S.

Intersecciones en Antropologia

Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires

Año: 2022 vol. 2022 p. 125 - 136

1666-2105

Vertebral compression fractures are one of the most frequent fractures in current populations. Although they are also identified in skeletonized human remains, detailed studies of extensive skeletal samples are scarce in Argentina, as well as other countries. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the prevalence, distribution, and possible causes of vertebral body fractures in a sample of human skeletons from populations that inhabited north-central Mendoza during the late Holocene. A sample of 598 vertebrae of 27 individuals (10 females and 17 males; one young adult, 20 middle adults and six old adults) from six archaeological sites was studied through the measurement of the height and morphology of vertebral bodies. Among the studied vertebrae, 1.5% showed compressive fractures, belonging to four out of the 27 skeletons (14.8%). All the fractured vertebrae corresponded to men, most of them middle adults, with no other pathological evidence, so the most likely cause in these cases is acute axial trauma. A higher frequency of fractures was identified in individuals from the 1500-1000 BP period, which is associated with significant cultural and economic changes in the region. Nonetheless, this hypothesis should be evaluated against larger samples in the future.