Skeletal differentiation at the southernmost frontier of andean agriculture

SARDI, MARINA LAURA; BÉGUELIN, MARIEN

Human bioarchaeology of the Transition to Agriculture

Wiley-Liss

Año: 2009;

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Calibri; mso-font-alt:"Century Gothic"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:ES-AR; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> The Diamante River, in Argentine Centre-West (ACW), was the southernmost region of the Andes where food production evolved. Populations located north of the Diamante River gradually adopted plant and animal domestication around 4,000-3,000 years BP and became more settled. The reliance on agriculture and pastoralism increased after 2,000 years BP and was intensified since 1,000 BP. South of the Diamante River, populations were mobile hunter-gatherers who never adopted food production. This study compares skeletal variation between hunter-gatherers and farmers of the ACW. The hypothesis tested states that different subsistence strategies are associated with changes in different skeletal components. The overall pattern of variation was interpreted considering changes in nutrition and in physical activities. Facial, humeral and femoral measurements were analysed by t-tests. The most important result is the size reduction of farmer faces and limb bones. While facial variation was similar in both sexes, limb variation affected mainly farmer females. The hypothesis proposed could not be rejected. The factors that better explain the overall morphologic pattern are related to physical activities, either by direct muscular loading on skeletal components or by the systemic influence of growth hormone.