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RESUMENLos nódulos de Schmorl (NS) son herniaciones del núcleo pulposo de los discos intervertebrales dentro de los cuerpos vertebrales adyacentes. Las causas de su desarrollo son parcialmente comprendidas, asociadas a factores morfológicos, degenerativos, traumáticos y metabólicos, mientras el rol de su interpretación como indicador de actividad física es aún cuestionado. En este trabajo se estudia la prevalencia de NS en 22 esqueletos arqueológicos de Patagonia Austral, discutiendo sus posibles causas y relación con los estilos de vida propuestos para las poblaciones humanas de esa región. Se registró una prevalencia de 27,3% para el total de los esqueletos analizados. Además, se encontró una mayor prevalencia de NS en la región de Santa Cruz/Magallanes en relación a los esqueletos de Tierra del Fuego. Aunque no puede descartarse una tendencia biológica al desarrollo de estas lesiones, los resultados sugieren un mayor grado de estrés mecánico sobre la columna vertebral en los individuos de la región continental de Patagonia Austral. PALABRAS CLAVE: nódulos de Schmorl, restos humanos arqueológicos, Patagonia austral, paleopatología SCHMORL´S NODES IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SKELETALREMAINS FROM SOUTHERN PATAGONIA ABTRACT Schmorl´s Nodes are herniations of the intervertebral disc nucleous pulposus into the adjacent vertebra. Their causes are partially understood and associated to morphological, degenerative, traumatic and metabolic factors, whereas their role as an indicator of physical activity is currently under debate. In this paper the prevalence of NS in 22 archaeological skeletons from Southern Patagonia is studied, discussing their possible causes and their relationship with the lifestyles of the human populations of this region. A prevalence of 27.3% was recorded. The skeletons from the Santa Cruz/Magallanes region showed higher prevalence of NS than skeletons from northern and southern Tierra del Fuego. Although biological susceptibility for this difference could not be

Previous studies revealed a high frequency of porotic hyperostosis in hunter-gatherer populations from southern Patagonia. Nevertheless, the systematic recovery of new burials with detailed archaeological and paleodietary contextual information during the last two decades offers new opportunities to explore the prevalence of anemia and its possible variation among populations with different marine and terrestrial hunter-gatherer lifestyles. This paper reports the results of an analysis of porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia in skeletal human remains from this region, discussing their most likely causes in the light of current evidence. The results showed a high prevalence of porotic hyperostosis and a low prevalence of cribra orbitalia, without significant differences between age and sexes. Moreover, marine hunter-gatherers presented a higher frequency of porotic hyperostosis than those individuals associated with terrestrial economies. Nutritional and zoonotic factors are proposed as the most probable causes of the high frequency of anemia observed in individuals with marine-based diets. Although no temporal differences were observed, different possible patterns of health in human native populations in the during-contact period are proposed.