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Bone histology of human remains from the Late Holocene of Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina: a multidimensional taphonomic approach

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Abstract

This study presents the first histological results on human remains recovered from Late Holocene archaeological sites from Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina, from a multidimensional taphonomic perspective. The burial sites come from different geoenvironmental contexts. The main purpose of this work is to assess the influence of geoenvironmental factors on taphonomic history of human bones. The bone microstructure of eleven human femora was analyzed through thin sections and four of them also with scanning electron microscopy. The relationship of these parameters with a set of geoenvironmental variables was assessed by means of different uni-, bi-, and multivariate statistical analysis. Results indicate that the geoenvironmental contexts led to different preservation of the microstructure of skeletal remains, represented by two different patterns. Bones with the best histological preservation were associated with semi-arid to arid geoenvironmental characteristics and the worst preserved ones with subhumid to humid features. Interestingly, samples from the better-preserved pattern showed staining and microcracks, whereas bioerosion is associated with the poorly preserved ones. A weak incidence of sex and chronology was found on microstructure preservation. Finally, the effects of weathering on naturally unearthed bones were deeply destructive in a short period of time. This work highlights the power of a multidisciplinary approach to discern the taphonomical pathways in archaeological sites.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Fernando Archuby for his advice in statistical analysis and two anonymous reviewers who greatly improved the manuscript with their comments. We thank Claudia Della Negra and Dirección Provincial de Patrimonio Cultural staff for their kind helpfulness with management of permissions and access to the material.

Funding

This work was supported by PI-40-A-613 UNRN grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina

    Romina C. Vazquez, Tamara G. Navarro & Ignacio A. Cerda

  2. CONICET, Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología, General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina

    Romina C. Vazquez, Tamara G. Navarro & Ignacio A. Cerda

  3. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, División Antropología, Museo de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Marien Béguelin

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  1. Romina C. Vazquez
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12520_2021_1435_MOESM3_ESM.jpg

Fig. S_1 Optical microscopic features of well and poorly preserved tissue samples. a) Aquihuecó sample, medial sector. Well preserved tissue with staining heterogeneously distributed; b) Aquihuecó Superficial sample, outer circumferential lamellae of posterior sector. Poorly preserved tissue (no microstructure observed), altered outer cortical layer; c) El Sauce sample. Anterior sector, well preserved tissue and d) secondary osteon with microcracks on its lateral sector; e) Sitio Retamal sample. Medial sector, well preserved tissue and f) anterior sector with high degree of birefringence (polarized light); g) Sitio Grande sample, posterior sector. Well preserved tissue with staining; h) Hermanos Lazcano sample, lateral sector. Badly preserved tissue, only Haversian canals can be observed. Strong bioerosion (OHI= 1); i) Millain, postcontact sample. Badly preserved tissue with moderate bioerosion on its medial sector (OHI= 3); j) Remeco sample, lateral sector. Microcracks and staining. (JPG 3456 KB)

12520_2021_1435_MOESM4_ESM.xlsx

Table S_1 Geoenvironment characterization for each archaeological site according to different sets of variables. References: AAT: average annual temperature; MinT: minimum annual temperature; MaxT: maximum annual temperature (temperatures in Celsius degrees); AAP: average annual precipitation; OM: organic matter; P: phosphorus content; CaCO3: calcium carbonate; HdW: horizontal distance to water body; VdW: vertical distance to water body; masl: meters above sea level. (XLSX 11 KB)

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Vazquez, R.C., Béguelin, M., Navarro, T.G. et al. Bone histology of human remains from the Late Holocene of Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina: a multidimensional taphonomic approach. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 13, 175 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-021-01435-9

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