Abstract

FUGASSA, Martín H.; MARTINEZ, Pablo A.  and  CENTENO, Néstor. Paleobiological Analysis Of Sediments Associated With Human Remains Found At The Archaeological Site Of Alero Mazquiarán, Chubut Province, Argentina. Intersecciones antropol. [online]. 2008, n.9, pp.03-09. ISSN 1850-373X.

Sediments found in the pelvic girdle of a human skeleton from a multiple burial at the archaeological site of Alero Mazquiarán, Chubut Province, Argentina, were analyzed. Samples were dated to 212 ± 35 years old. Rodent feces, dipteran pupae, and arthropod body parts were identified after macroscopic and stereomicroscopic analyses. A 5 g sub-sample of sediment was treated by floating in over-saturated sucrose solution in order to recover mites. A further sub-sample was processed by Fugassa's modified Stoll technique. Pupae of Diptera (Families Calliphoridae and Piophilidae), and of Lepidoptera (Family Tineidae), and body parts of Coleoptera (Family Dermestidae), were identified. Many immature Astigmata mites (Family Saproglyphidae), and adult Mesostigmata (Family Ichthyostomatogasteridae) and Oribatida (Families Oppiidae and Cosmochthoniidae) were identified under an optical microscope. Heterostigmata mites (Family Tarsonemidae) and indeterminate Astigmata hipopus were found in rodent feces. The results enabled an interpretation of the burial process and the environmental conditions under which it occurred to be obtained. The importance of recovering sediments associated with archaeological material in biocultural studies is emphasized.

Keywords : Archaeological sediments; Acarology; Forensic entomology; Carrion fauna.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )