Abstract

KAUFMANN, Cristian A.; ALVAREZ, María Clara  and  PEREZ, S. Ivan. AGE ESTIMATION OF GUANACO (LAMA GUANICOE) BASED ON INCISOR TEETH: A METHODOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT/CONSTRUCTION OF MORTALITY PROFILES. Rev. Mus. Antropol. [online]. 2017, vol.10, n.1, pp.19-29. ISSN 1852-060X.

The guanaco was the main resource for hunter-gatherers that inhabited the Pampean and Patagonian regions of Argentina. This ungulate played a fundamental role in the economic, social, and ideological spheres of these societies during the Holocene. In this sense, understanding the relationship between human and guanaco populations in the past is crucial to South American zooarchaeology. The aim of this paper is to present a methodology that allows estimating the relative age of guanacos by analyzing their incisor teeth. The sample is composed of incisors from 91 modern guanacos assigned/attributed to different age-classes. This analysis included qualitative variables, such as root and dentine state, and quantitative ones, such as crown height. Results show that the combination of these variables is a useful indicator for estimating the age of guanacos from analysis of isolated incisors, usually found in the faunal record.

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