Lama guanicoe remains from the Chaco ecoregion (Córdoba, Argentina): An osteological approach to the characterization of a relict wild population

Abstract

Guanacos (Lama guanicoe) are large ungulates that have been valued by human populations in South America since the Late Pleistocene. Even though they were very abundant until the end of the 19th century (before the high deforestation rate of the last decades), guanacos have nearly disappeared in the Gran Chaco ecoregion, with relicts and isolated populations surviving in some areas, such as the shrubland area near the saline depressions of Córdoba province, Argentina. In this report, we present the first data from a locally endangered guanaco wild population, through the study of skeletal remains recovered in La Providencia ranch. Our results showed that most of the elements belonged to adults aged between 36 and 96 months; sex evaluation showed similar numbers of males and females. Statistical analysis of the body size of modern samples from Córdoba demonstrated that guanacos from the Chaco had large dimensions and presented lower size variability than the modern and archaeological specimens in our database. Moreover, they exhibited dimensions similar to those of modern guanacos from Patagonia and San Juan, and to archaeological specimens from Ongamira and Cerro Colorado, although further genetic studies are needed to corroborate a possible phylogenetic relationship. Finally, we used archaeozoological techniques to provide a first characterization of a relict guanaco population from the Chaco ecoregion, demonstrating its value to the study of modern skeletal remains and species conservation biology.

Can first phalanx multivariate morphometrics help document past taxonomic diversity in South American camelids?

“…The "Cieneguillas_1" and "Cieneguillas_3" llamas were used for transporting goods and fiber production, respectively, while, "Cieneguillas_2" was used for both purposes. Additionally, 72 fore and 64 hind phalange measurements from 38 individuals, including all four species from the Central and South-Central Andes, have been taken from the literature (Costa and Barri, 2018;Gasco and Marsh, 2015;Izeta et al 2009;Mondini and Muñoz, 2017) (Table 1). Finally, because the skeletal collection is no longer available for study, we used the mean of first phalange measurements of modern Peruvian domestic SAC published by Kent (1982) which included 8 Lama glama and 26 Vicugna pacos.…”

“…Although llamas are not found in the region today (Diaz et al, 1987;Geisa, 2012;Rosacher, 1992Rosacher, , 2004) ethnohistorical descriptions, rock art and pottery representations (Costa and Izeta 2016) support their previous existence. The possible presence of castrated males requires further research, especially for Argentine archaeological sites because of the very large size of the wild modern guanaco population of Córdoba (Costa and Barri, 2018). The effect of castration on body size of camelids should also be further analyzed in the future.…”

El manejo territorial de los camélidos en la circumpuna de Atacama desde el Arcaico al Formativo (10.000-2400 aP): Una aproximación isotópica y taxonómica

“…Esto implica que las medidas de los guanacos de referencia de Chile central son potencialmente de una talla levemente mayor a los guanacos de la circumpuna de Atacama.

Figura 2.(a) Distribución latitudinal de medidas (mm) Bp de primeras falanges anteriores de guanacos de Alto Maipo (Chile), comparadas con ejemplares del Arcaico temprano y Arcaico medio de Tulán y Puripica y guanacos actuales de localidades emplazadas entre los 24° y 53°S (Costa y Barri 2018; Izeta et al 2009). Dispersión bivariante de medidas (mm) de los especímenes arqueológicos respecto de los ejemplares de referencia: (b) astrágalos; (c) cuarto carpiano; (d) segundas falanges anteriores y posteriores; y (e) primeras falanges anteriores y posteriores.

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“…El problema que presentan estas muestras es que no dan cuenta de la amplia variabilidad de tamaños de camélidos domésticos y las potenciales diferencias de talla entre los guanacos del norte árido y Chile central. Para evaluar esta variabilidad, derivada en parte por las diferentes latitudes de donde provienen las muestras actuales, se compararon las medidas de primeras falanges anteriores de distintas localidades que abarcan de los 24° a 53°S publicados por Izeta y colaboradores (2009) y Costa y Barri (2018), junto a ejemplares de referencia de guanacos de Chile central —utilizadas como base comparativa en el presente trabajo— y los especímenes arqueológicos de Tulán y Puripica (Tabla Suplementaria 2e).…”

Diversidad faunística y potenciales agentes tafonómicos en el Chaco árido (Córdoba, Argentina): una aproximación preliminar con cámaras trampa

“…Para comenzar a llenar ese vacío de información nos proponemos realizar un primer acercamiento a los agentes tafonómicos (Erlandson y Moss, 2001) que actúan sobre carcasas de grandes ungulados desde una perspectiva interdisciplinaria, en la que confluyen la tafonomía actualista y la ecología (Behrensmeyer y Miller, 2012), en un área cercana a las Salinas Grandes de Córdoba. El interés por esta región en particular reside en su enorme riqueza en términos de biodiversidad (Costa y Barri, 2018), ya que aloja a gran parte de la fauna autóctona que assemblages in the region. The monitoring recorded 5869 animals and identified 30 species.…”