. Metabolic stress and diet, a comparative case study in Mendoza (Argentina) during the final late Holocene

GUEVARA DANIELA; NOVELLINO PAULA; ACOSTA CANDELA; TESSONE AUGUSTO; DA PEÑA GABRIELA; BARBERENA RAMIRO

Congreso; . IX Paleopathology Association Meeting in South America; 2024

The study investigates metabolic stress in skeletal remains from two populations in Mendoza, Argentina, differing in economic practices. Group A, consists of hunter-gatherers from Barrancas Maipú´s eastern plains (2400–2200 years BP) relying on C3 wild plants and animals. Group B, is from Potrero Las Colonias (650–500 years BP) in the Andean valleys, engaged in intensive maize agriculture (C4 intake). In 41 skulls of adult individuals (A: n=16, B: n=25), presence/absence, degree of severity and stage of healing of porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia were recorded. Enamel hypoplasia were recorded macroscopically using oblique contrast light. Porotic hyperostosis was notably more frequent in farmer population B (88 %) compared to hunter-gatherers A (32 %). Both groups displayed low levels of cribra orbitalia. Farmers exhibited higher porotic hyperostosis severity and active healing, while hunter-gatherers had milder degrees and mixed healing stages. Enamel hypoplasia percentages were similar between groups (A: 55.5 %, B: 64 %). Isotopic data revealed distinct economic organization between the groups. This, alongside paleopathological findings, suggests that farmers were more exposed to stress events (e.g., adverse climate) leading to metabolic alterations and lesion formation. Sedentary farming in drylands may have posed greater risks compared to the mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyle, contributing to health debates during the transition to productive economies.