Abstract

MENENDEZ, Lumila  and  LOTTO, Federico. Morphometric study of cultural modifications of skull in midwest Argentina. Comechingonia [online]. 2016, vol.20, n.1, pp.143-173. ISSN 1851-0027.

The aim of this study is to quantitatively analyze the morphological variation due to cultural changes of the skull in individuals who inhabited the Central West of Argentina (COA) during the late Holocene. A total of 204 skulls of Mendoza and San Juan archaeological sites were analyzed, in which  44  points  that  describe  the  sagittal  contour  of  the  cranial  vault  were recorded  using a mechanical arm Microscribe 2X. A Procrustes Superposition and Principal Component Analysis were performed to assess the main changes in cranial vault shape, considering all the individuals throughout the region, and particularly in four geographical regions (north San Juan, south San Juan, north of Mendoza, south of Mendoza). The results show that the COA individuals exhibit a wide variation including individuals without cranial modifications, individuals with fronto-occipital flattening, the lambdic area, the occipital bone and intermediate shapes. Patterns of variation are presented through color maps based on a three-dimensional model of the skull, and its interpretation is discussed in the context of population dynamics of the region.

Keywords : Geometric morphometrics; Late Holocene; Cranial vault; Colour maps.

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