INVESTIGADORES
GONZALEZ paula Natalia
artículos
Título:
Variation and causal factors of craniofacial robusticity in Patagonian hunter-gatherers from late Holocene.
Autor/es:
BERNAL V.; PEREZ S.I.; GONZALEZ P.
Revista:
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
Referencias:
Año: 2006 p. 748 - 759
ISSN:
1042-0533
Resumen:
Fueguian-Patagonian skulls have been characterized as
some of the most robust of any modern crania; however the causal factors of
such robusticity remain unsettled. This paper assesses within- and among-sample
cranial robusticity of seven samples from continental Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego using
geometric morphometric techniques. In addition, the biomechanical, phylogenetic
and climatic hypotheses proposed to account for robusticity in such samples are
discussed. With this goal two Amerindian samples of farmers and two early
middle Holocene samples from South America were included. The results show: a) large variation in craniofacial
robusticity among the Patagonian samples, with highest robusticity in the
samples from south continental Patagonia and Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego,
whereas center and north Patagonian samples display the same degree of
robusticity that farmer samples; b) early middle Holocene samples display lower
levels of robusticity than South Patagonian samples; c) strong association
between latitude and craniofacial robusticity, with the most robust
craniofacial morphologies occurring at the highest latitudes. In consequence,
neither masticatory stress nor retention of ancestral features is supported by
the morphological evidence analyzed. Therefore, it is hypothesized that
endocrine changes related to cold climate can be a plausible explanation for
several craniofacial features found in Fueguian and south continental Patagonian
samples, such as their large masticatory component, pronounced supraorbital ridge and glabellar region.