Eugenio Aspillaga

Dieta en sociedades alfareras de Chile central: aporte de análisis de isótopos estables

espanolEste trabajo pretende contribuir al conocimiento de los sistemas de subsistencia y asentamiento de las poblaciones alfareras prehispanas de Chile central, sobre la base de analisis de isotopos estables de carbono, nitrogeno y oxigeno realizados en hueso y dientes humanos. Dicha tecnica no se habia aplicado anteriormente en esta region y, a diferencia de la informacion inferida de restos botanicos, faunisticos y artefactuales de sitios arqueologicos, asi como de patologias oseas y dentales, permitio reconocer y dimensionar lo que los individuos estudiados realmente consumieron. Los datos humanos fueron interpretados a la luz de las senales isotopicas de los recursos vegetales y faunisticos de Chile central que fueron analizados con la misma metodologia. Los principales aportes son: evidencia concreta de patrones alimentarios diferenciados segun grupo cultural; baja dependencia en los recursos marinos de casi todos los habitantes costeros; evidencia indirecta de patrones de movilidad costa-interior que muestran diferencias entre las poblaciones del periodo Alfarero Temprano y del Intermedio Tardio; aumento del consumo de maiz a lo largo de la secuencia temporal especialmente en la poblacion Aconcagua; diferencias de genero en el consumo de maiz entre esta misma poblacion, con mayor consumo entre individuos masculinos. Los resultados confirman algunas hipotesis previamente planteadas, como la diferencia en las dietas de poblaciones contemporaneas Bato y Llolleo del periodo Alfarero Temprano, cuestionan otras, como la dependencia de los habitantes costeros de los alimentos marinos y abren nuevas preguntas que deberan explorarse en futuras investigaciones EnglishThis is the first time that stable carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotope analyses of human bones and teeth have been used to reconstruct subsistence and settlement patterns of prehispanic ceramic societies from Central Chile. Isotope analyses, unlike the evidence from botanical, faunal and artifactual remains from archaeological sites, and from dental and skeletal pathologies, gave information of which resources were really eaten by each individual during the last years of their life. The human data were evaluated against isotopic values of marine and terrestrial resources from central Chile. These results were interpreted taking into consideration different lines of paleodiet evidence. The main contributions are: empirical evidence of dietary differences according to cultural groups; low dependence on marine foods for most people living on the coast; indirect evidence of mobility strategies that show differences between Early and Late Intermediate societies; increased dependence on maize with time, especially among the Aconcagua people; gender differences in maize consumption for the same Aconcagua groups, men showing the greatest levels of maize intake. The results support some hypotheses, such as the difference in dietary patterns between contemporary Bato and Lolleo groups, contradict others, such as the supposed importance of marine diet for coastal inhabitants, and open new research questions for the future

Análisis de Adn Mitocondrial en Momias del Norte de Chile avala Hipótesis de Orígen Amazónico de Poblaciones Andinas

La hipotesis del origen amazonico de las poblaciones andinas basada en el analisis de marcadores geneticos nucleares es contrastada haciendo uso de ADN mitocondrial antiguo aislado de restos esqueletales de poblaciones prehistoricas del Valle de Azapa, Arica, Chile. Se analizaron 42 muestras de las cuales 32 rindieron amplificados para los cuatro marcadores amerindios permitiendo su tipificacion. La distribucion de haplogrupos (A: 31,2 %, B: 21,9 %, C: 31,2 %, D: 3,1 % y otros 12,5 %) relaciona geneticamente a las poblaciones estudiadas con grupos amazonicos y andinos actuales. El numero de muestras analizadas no permite aun una subdivision por fases cronologicas con el objeto de poner a prueba las hipotesis planteadas por arqueologos y bioantropologos para explicar la microevolucion biocultural de las poblaciones estudiadas

Human Remains Directly Dated to the Pleistocene- Holocene Transition Support a Marine Diet for Early Settlers of the Pacific Coast of Chile

ABSTRACT A coastal route for the initial peopling of the Americas has been debated for over 30 years. Nevertheless, evidence supporting this coastal dispersal is often elusive, especially bioanthropological data. Here we report archaeological human remains directly dated to ca. 11,200 cal BP from the semiarid north coast of Chile (31° S), supporting an early settlement along the Pacific Coast. 15N stable isotope analyses of these remains indicate that the individual relied primarily on marine resources, suggesting coastal dwelling rather than seasonal rounds that included sporadic exploitation of littoral resources. When placed in a regional context, our results suggest that marine resources were important to the subsistence of some groups during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition.

Morphometric and mtDNA analyses of archaic skeletal remains from southwestern South America

Durante decadas los antropologos han discutido como y cuando America fue poblada. El punto de vista predominante al respecto plantea que los primeros paleoindios, poblacion amerindia ancestral, llego en una epoca pre-Clovis desde Asia y Beringia utilizando como ruta la costa pacifica del continente. En el presente trabajo se analizan mediante morfometria geometrica y tecnicas de ADNmt antiguo restos esqueletales de 9.000-4.000 anos a.p., excavados de sitios arqueologicos del Norte, Centro y Sur de Chile. Nuestros resultados muestran que el material craneano arcaico del suroeste de America exhibe un amplio rango de variacion de la forma de la boveda, la cual es independiente de la cronologia de los craneos. El analisis del ADNmt realizado en los mismos restos esqueletales revela la presencia solo de los cuatro haplogrupos fundadores (A, B, C y D) desde los 9.000 a.p. Los resultados obtenidos a partir de datos morfometricos y de mtDNA muestran que, considerando los rasgos analizados, las poblaciones humanas que habitaron America durante la epoca arcaica no constituyen dos grupos diferentes. Estos resultados son consistentes con los analisis de secuencias completas de DNA mitocondrial recientemente obtenidos.

Origen y microdiferenciación de la población del Archipiélago de Chiloé

Las etnias originarias del archipielago de Chiloe presentan caracteristicas culturales que plantean preguntas acerca de su origen como entidad genetica independiente y distinta del grupo continental. Al respecto, hemos caracterizado las frecuencias de los cuatro haplogrupos amerindios fundadores del ADN mitocondrial en cuatro poblaciones del archipielago. El componente aborigen materno de estas poblaciones fue superior al 90 %. El analisis de distancias geneticas sugiere una segregacion norte-sur en donde las poblaciones septentrionales aparecen mas relacionadas con la etnia continental Huilliche. Aun cuando el analisis de diferenciacion interpoblacional y de componentes principales muestran una singularidad en el grupo insular, esta puede ser interpretada a partir de datos geneticos, etnohistoricos y arqueologicos

Direct Dates and mtDNA of Late Pleistocene Human Skeletons from South America: A Comment on Chatters et al. (2014)

In a recent paper in the journal Science (2014, Vol. 344, pp. 750–754), J. Chatters et al. present a new early human skeleton from the Yucatan, Mexico, considering it in the context of eight other early “Paleoamerican” individuals—all from North America—that previously yielded ancient genetic evidence and/or direct radiocarbon ages. Despite including the archaeological site of Monte Verde II, Chile, in their discussion, we were alarmed that the authors otherwise ignored the South American record, presenting a map with the southern continent being devoid of PaleoAmerican human remains. We felt it important to remind our colleagues that South America has produced numerous directly dated human skeletal remains that are as old as the ones cited by Chatters et al. for North America, and that several of these have actually yielded mitochondrial (mt) DNA. Significant implications can be derived from this radiocarbon, bioanthropological, and mtDNA dataset, especially considering the antiquity of the earliest human populations and process of peopling of the New World. Undoubtedly, the remains recovered from Hoyo Negro (HN5/48) cave by Chatters et al. constitute a significant archaeological discovery, considering how elusive and incomplete early skeletal material for the Americas is. The remains were recovered from an ancient cavern that was available to humans before the end of the Pleistocene, before Postglacial sealevel rise. Fresh bone fractures on the individual suggest a death due to a fall when the cavern was filled with shallow water. Consequently, the Hoyo Negro human skeleton represents a bone assemblage deposited naturally, in a palimpsest with remains of other species that accumulated at different times. As the authors discuss, radiocarbon and uranium–thorium dates on human teeth and bones, extinct faunal remains, and calcite speleothems together indicate the human remains were deposited by 12,000–13,000 cal yr BP. However, the absence of associated cultural remains limits the interpretive value of this significant discovery. Other skeletal remains have been recovered in a nearby flooded cave system known as Cenote Naharon, by a team led by A. González. Among them is a human femur radiocarbon dated to about 13,500 cal yr BP according to its amino-acid fraction, but this date has yet to be replicated, underscoring the problematic nature of dating organic material in these submerged cavern systems. In South America, there are now 23 direct dates on 21 individuals from 13 sites that have yielded ages older than 10,000 cal yr BP (Table 1, Figure 1; for references see “Suggested Reading” after the editorial, as well as the report by L. Menendez et al. in this issue of PaleoAmerica). Among them, four sites have produced direct dates older than 12,000 cal yr BP: Los Rieles in the semiarid north of Chile, Arroyo de Frías in the Pampean region of Argentina, Gruta de Candonga in the Sierra de Córdoba of Argentina, and Toca do Gordo do Garrincho in northeastern Brazil. Los Rieles is a shell midden located upon a high marine terrace where several human burials were excavated by D. Jackson, C. Méndez, and E. Aspillaga. Correspondence to: César Méndez, Ignacio Carrera Pinto 1045, Santiago, Chile. Email: cmendezm@uchile.cl.

DIAGRAMA DE CORRELACIÓN DE HALLAZGOS BIÓTICOS, ABIÓTICOS Y CRONOLÓGICOS DE CAVERNA PIUQUENES

Resumen es: El sitio arqueologico Caverna Piuquenes esta ubicado en Saladillo, Ciudad de los Andes, cordillera Central Andina de Chile. Los resultados de los analisi...

Las ocupaciones humanas del sitio arqueológico de Santa Inés, Laguna de Tagua Tagua, Chile central

The study of archaeological and bioanthropological evidence from the SantaInes site (central Chile), together with new radiocarbon dates available, haveallowed us to define this site as a residential settlement with several occupationalevents associated with funerary practices. The first occupations correspond tomid-to-late Holocene hunter-gatherers, while the last event to the Early CeramicPeriod. Santa Ines presents strong affinities to the Cuchipuy site located in thevicinity. As a whole, they formed part of a settlement pattern clustered along theshoreline of the Tagua Tagua basin and its lake-basin resources.

OSTEOFITOSIS VERTEBRAL EN POBLACIONES PREHISPÁNICAS DE SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA, NORTE DE CHILE

Vertebral osteophytosis was studied as a marker for physical stress in prehistoric populations of San Pedro de Atacama from the Middle (400 – 1.000 A.D.) and Late Intermediate (1.000 – 1.450 A.D.) periods. The mean degree of osteophytosis was recorded in each vertebral segment of 154 individuals from four sites: Solcor 3, Coyo 3, Quitor 6 and Toconao Oriente. Osteophytosis prevalence was more severe in older individuals, corroborating its degenerative nature. However, after correction for age impact in osteophytosis prevalence, significant differences were observed between sites. Differences in osteophytosis prevalence between sexes were not significant. The results show that during the Late Intermediate period populations of both sexes suffered less vertebral stress than during the Middle period, particularly during the its end. Changes in activity patterns (amount of energy invested, intensity or type of activities undertaken) could account for the differences found.

NIVELES DE CORTISOL EN CABELLOS DE POBLACIONES PREHISPÁNICAS DE SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA, NORTE DE CHILE

Systemic stress in prehispanic populations of San Pedro de Atacama (SPA) during the Middle and Late Intermediate periods wasexplored through cortisol analysi...