Nonmetric cranial trait variation and prehistoric biocultural change in the Azapa Valley, Chile

Abstract

Historically, interpretations of both biological and cultural change within the prehistoric Azapa Valley, northern Chile, have cited large-scale population movements, with replacement from complex societies located in the adjacent highlands to the east. Biological estimates of this change have traditionally relied upon biodistance estimates, using craniofacial measures of both deformed and nondeformed skulls. In order to evaluate whether large-scale prehistoric migrations occurred in the Azapa Valley, we examine biodistance results from nonmetric cranial traits for eight mortuary samples that represent all time periods of prehistoric occupation of the valley. None of the mean measures of divergences (MMD) among mortuary samples examined by this study were significant. These results suggest biological continuity in the Azapa Valley during 5,000 years of prehistory, with nonsignificant gene flow during the late Middle Horizon (AD 750-1100) and Late Intermediate (AD 1100-1476) periods. Biodistance results also suggest endogamy within coastal and inland populations. The broader implications of these results are discussed.

Us and them: archaeology and ethnicity in the Andes

“…Indeed, among the Late Intermediate period mortuary populations examined by this study, the population from Playa Miller-4 is the least similar to other contemporaneous coastal valley populations. Using epigenetic cranial traits to estimate genetic relations among the same Azapa Valley populations, Sutter and Mertz (2004) report similar biodistance results to those obtained here using non-metric dental traits. Analysis of the cranial data indicates small and non-significant biological distances (table 5), indicating genetic continuity with relatively unsubstantial gene flow among prehistoric Azapa coastal valley populations.…”

Nonmetric Subadult Skeletal Sexing Traits: I. A Blind Test of the Accuracy of Eight Previously Proposed Methods Using Prehistoric Known-Sex Mummies from Northern Chile

“…Indeed, Arriaza and colleagues (17) have reported some spectacular instances where mummified females were found with mummified infant remains still in the birth canal. Although these remains come from a number of different nearby sites and vary in their antiquity, epigenetic studies indicate that the prehistoric northern Chilean populations were characterized by relatively little genetic variability and gene flow (18)(19). Therefore, temporal genetic differences among the remains examined by this study are not expected to be a major influence on any given subadult sex-linked trait's expression.…”

Evidence for long‐term migration on the Balkan Peninsula using dental and cranial nonmetric data: Early interaction between Corinth (Greece) and its colony at Apollonia (Albania)

“…Twenty-eight morphological tooth cusp and root traits listed in the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS) (Turner et al, 1991) were scored according to the proscribed procedures. Additionally, 16 nonmetric cranial traits were recorded as either present or absent using the "individual count" method, where individuals are recorded as having the trait, regardless of whether or not the trait appears bilaterally (Buikstra and Ubelaker, 1994;Sutter and Mertz, 2004). This large battery of traits was included in order to prevent potential biases due to trait selection (Harris and Sjïvold, 2004).…”