Morphometric Analysis of Camelid Remains from the Alero Deodoro Roca (ADR) Site (Córdoba, Argentina). An Attempt to Characterise Body‐Size Variability in Sierras Pampeanas Australes Region

Abstract

This paper focuses in the morphometric analyses of Lama guanicoe remains recovered from the hunter–gatherer archaeological site Alero Deodoro Roca, located at Sierras Pampeanas Australes region (Córdoba Argentina), an area that has little information on the body‐size variability of these artiodactyls. Because of the sparse osteometric data in the region, we focused on determining inter‐intraspecific differentiation of wild camelids through corroborated osteometric techniques and multivariate statistical analyses of proximal phalanges. Our results showed a clear interspecific differentiation between modern vicuñas and archaeological specimens. We could also distinguish at least three guanaco size groups (small, medium and large) with the archaeological remains from the late Holocene (3000–3600 bp) of the site, presenting medium‐size characteristics. Finally this paper aims at establishing a first approach in the characterisation of guanaco body size in the mountainous region of Córdoba. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Lama guanicoe remains from the Chaco ecoregion (Córdoba, Argentina): An osteological approach to the characterization of a relict wild population

“…This process might have been associated with environmental pressures, such as climate change, demographic increases in population sizes, and development of new social organizations, probably with the emergence of a more hierarchical structure [ 61 ]. Regional archaeofaunal data suggest that despite the environmental and population changes, guanaco hunting remained an important economic activity [ 13 – 16 ].…”

“…A previous work in the regional characterization of archaeological camelids presented similar results. Despite the size variability, most specimens tended to be medium or large size [ 13 , 16 ]. Finally, mitochondrial DNA data suggest the existence of a guanaco metapopulation that replaced the extinct Patagonian guanacos at ca .…”

“…[ 46 ] for the specimens categorized as adults and, whenever possible, compared these results with the different characteristics of the male/female pelvis described by Kauffman [ 4 , 47 ]. We calculated the geometric mean of the variables measured in the same units (mm), a well- discussed and commonly-used morphological proxy for skeletal size measurements that can be used to understand geometric similarity [ 3 , 16 ]. Results are presented using bivariate graphs and mixture analysis [ 47 , 48 ].…”

“…Archaeological data from Argentina showed that these ungulates have been valued economically and ideologically by human populations in the Late Pleistocene and throughout the Holocene [ 2 – 11 ]. In the central mountains of Córdoba, an area of the Gran Chaco ecoregion, guanacos also would have played an important role in the lives of indigenous people [ 12 – 16 ].…”

“…Regional zooarchaeological data indicate that indigenous people used guanacos as a resource since the Early Holocene [ 12 – 16 ]. Nonetheless, Rivero et al .…”