Assessment of an east-west phenotypic variation in body height, body form and body mass among prehistoric hunter-gatherers of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, chile

Abstract

Fuego-Patagonia's marine and terrestrial groups were historically described as phenotypically distinct but, studies of these phenotypic differences have yet to be conducted. This study evaluates phenotypic variation in Fuego-Patagonia. Phenotypic disparities result from extrinsic and intrinsic factors and therefore can reveal differences in both long and short term adaptations as well as genetic differences. Fifty-one adults were assessed. A total of six post-cranial measurements were included: maximum length of the humerus (MHL); maximum length of the radius (MRL); Bicondylar length of the femur (BFL); Maximum length of the tibia (MTL); bi-iliac breadth (BIB), and; antero-posterior diameter of the femoral head (FHD). Brachial index, crural index, body mass, body mass index and stature were then calculated. In general, terrestrial individuals had longer lower limb bones and were the tallest and heaviest. Marine individuals had the shortest bones and were shorter and lighter. Mixed-economy individuals showed mostly intermediate values. The trends are more marked in males than in females. The results suggests the presence of an east-to-west phenotypic gradient in the region that may have resulted from intrinsic and/or extrinsic differences between the groups. But, the sample size of this study is small, and thus the results should be cautiously considered.Key words: Phenotypic variation, Fuego-Patagonia, human colonization. Históricamente grupos marinos y terrestres de Fuego-Patagonia fueron descritos como fenotípicamente distintos. Este estudio examina la presencia de esta variación fenotípica, la cual de existir, podría ser resultado de factores extrínsecos, como son los procesos adaptativos de corto o largo plazo e intrínsecos como son los factores genéticos. La muestra se compone de 51 individuos adultos. Se incluyeron seis mediciones post-craneales: longitud máxima del húmero (MHL); longitud máxima del radio (MRL); longitud bicondilar del fémur (BFL); longitud máxima de la tibia (MTL); ancho bi-ilíaco (BIB), y; diámetro antero-posterior de la cabeza femoral (FHD

Evaluating population histories in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, Chile, using ancient mitochondrial and Y‐chromosomal DNA

“…The chon‐gününa küne language family found among Terrestrial groups and the qawasqar‐yagan of Marine groups form distinctive, distantly‐related linguistic groups (Viegas Barros, 1994). Likewise, phenotypic comparisons between Marine and Terrestrial groups revealed significant differences (Alfonso‐Durruty et al, 2017).…”

“…Territories of the four major ethnic groups according to colonial‐era documents are also highlighted. Site locations from Alfonso‐Durruty et al (2017; 2016; 2015) and Ortíz‐Troncoso (1975).…”

“…After Western colonization of the region, Westerners described the Marine and Terrestrial groups as phenotypically distinct (Emperaire, 2002; Gusinde, 1961, 1980, 1982; Martinic, 1995; Orquera & Piana, 1999). Bioarchaeological analyses of skeletal remains also suggest physical distinctions, with Marine individuals being shorter and weighing less than Terrestrial individuals, and Mixed Economy individuals having intermediate phenotypes (Alfonso‐Durruty et al, 2017). These differences may reflect different population genetic histories for the Marine and Terrestrial groups or be the result of developmental plasticity and/or genetic adaptations to environments that differ dramatically in humidity (Alfonso‐Durruty et al, 2017).…”

A modeling approach to estimate the historical population size of the Patagonian Kawésqar people

“…To the best of our knowledge, there are no estimations or proxies of the expected area occupied by a group of Kawésqar people. Thus, we estimated a proxy by using available data of group mobility for Yagán people (Binford, 2001; Figure 1), another canoeists group from the western Patagonia with important phenotypical similarities (Alfonso-Durruty et al, 2017), cultural affinities and spatial/ecological overlaps with the Kawésqar tradition (e.g. Fiore and Butto, 2018).…”

Ecogeography‐related humerus morphological variation within southern Patagonia hunter‐gatherers

“…Overall, comparisons between SP hunter‐gatherers denote greater variability in lower (femoral and tibial lengths) than in upper (humeral and radial lengths) limb dimensions (Alfonso‐Durruty et al, 2017; Béguelin & Barrientos, 2006). However, statistically nonsignificant differences in brachial and crural indices were found within female and male SP individuals according to terrestrial and marine subsistence strategy, even though the former showed relatively larger upper and lower limb dimensions (Alfonso‐Durruty et al, 2017). Within human populations, variation in brachial and crural indices are largely due to differences in distal limb‐segment lengths (Holliday & Ruff, 2001).…”