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.