Abstract

GONZALEZ BARONI, Lucia G; HOCSMAN, Salomón  and  ASCHERO, Carlos A. PRÁCTICAS MORTUORIAS DE CAZADORES-RECOLECTORES TARDÍOS DE LOS DESIERTOS DE ALTURA DEL NOROESTE ARGENTINO: EL FARDO FUNERARIO DE QUEBRADA SECA 3. Rev Arg Antrop Biol [online]. 2017, vol.19, n.1. ISSN 1514-7991.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17139/raab.2017.0019.01.10.

In this paper we present the bioarchaeological analysis and characterization of a funerary bundle found at Quebrada Seca 3 rock shelter (Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca, Argentina) that corresponds to the transition from hunting and gathering to food production, ca. 4900 and 4400 years BP. The goals of this paper are to address the bioarchaeological characteristics of this individual, to describe the bundle and its contents, and to identify the type of funeral deposit. The bundle is described and represented by means of pictures and drawings, and taphonomic observations are included. The human remains in the funerary bundle are analyzed to establish the minimum number of indviduals (MNI), the taxonomic and relative abundance of skeletal remains, age estimate and possible cause of death. In order to define the type of funerary deposit, both the field data and the characteristics of the bundle were assessed following specialized bibliography. The funerary bundle consists of two camelid hides, one of them used as an outer covering, and the other as a wrapper for the human skeletal remains. Both leather pieces form a "package" tied with two pieces of cord and covered with grass bundles. The human remains found inside the bundle showed a MNI equal to 1, a skeletal integrity of less than 65% of bone representation, and an estimated age of about 28 weeks of gestation. The possible cause of death of the fetus would have been its unlikelihood to survive due to its premature birth. The funeral deposit is of a secondary type, with anthropic manipulation referring only to the disarticulation of the skeleton when placed in the bundle.

Keywords : bioarchaeology; fetus; secondary burial; late hunter-gatherers; Argentinian Puna.

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