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Objective: The Southeast and South Coast of Brazil was inhabited during most of the Holocene by shellmound builders. Although there are cultural differences in the archaeological record between regions, it is still debatable how these differences may relate to different population histories. Here, we contribute to this discussion by exploring dental morphological affinities between several regional series., Materials and Methods: Dental morphology of 385 individuals from 14 archaeological sites was analyzed using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System. Fifteen traits were used to explore morphological affinities among series through Euclidean distance, Mean Measure of Divergence, and Principal Component Analysis. Mantel matrix correlation and partial correlation tests were used to examine the association between biological, geographic, and chronological distances., Results: Morphological affinities show that ceramic and nonceramic South Coast groups cluster and differ from most Southeast series. In contrast, Southeast coastal and riverine groups display high morphological variance, showing less biological coherence among them. These biological distances between regions are partially explained by geography, but not by chronology., Conclusions: The results support that these coastal populations were low-mobility groups. Although interactions between individuals of different regions likely existed, gene flow occurred mostly among individuals from local or adjacent areas. The introduction of ceramic in the South Coast is not associated with changes in dental morphology patterns, suggesting its adoption is not exclusively associated with the arrival of different biological groups. Southeast coastal and riverine groups show high phenotypic diversity, suggesting a different history of human occupation and cultural development than observed in the South Coast., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

This article describes the emergence of health concerns relating to the epidemics that occurred during the twentieth century in La Pampa, a province in Argentina. Epidemics such as smallpox drove such policies, which frequently originated in Buenos Aires, the country's capital. The spread of many epidemics was due to shortages: water, sewage and adequate refuse disposal, an insufficient number of health care workers, the presence of disease transmission vectors such as mosquitos, and, ultimately, poverty. The historical experience described in this text highlights the importance of analyzing the impact of SARS-CoV-2 beyond the big cities.

Objectives: Cranial vault modification (CVM), the intentional reshaping of the head, indicated group affiliation in prehistoric Andean South America. This study aims to analyze CVM data from the Cuzco region of Peru to illuminate patterns of early migration and settlement along with the later impact of the Inca Empire (AD 1438-1532) on the ethnic landscape., Materials and Methods: 419 individuals from 10 archaeological sites spanning over 2300 years were assessed for CVM using morphological analysis., Results: CVM patterns show distinct temporal attributes: the tabular type of modification appeared first and dominated the early sample (900 BC-AD 600), followed by an influx of unmodified crania during the Middle Horizon (AD 600-1000). The annular type appeared later during the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1438). In the subsequent period of Inca imperialism, modification rates were higher at sites in the Cuzco countryside than in Cuzco city sites., Discussion: The study results, combined with archaeological and ethnohistoric data, reveal the sociopolitical transformations that occurred prior to and during the rise of the Inca Empire. The influx of unmodified crania during the Middle Horizon resulted at least partly from Wari occupation, while the appearance of the annular type during the LIP points to migration into the area, possibly from the Lake Titicaca region. In the Inca Imperial Period, Inca individuals at Cuzco city sites refrained from modification as a sign of their ethnic identity, while modification patterns in the Cuzco countryside likely reflect state-coerced resettlement of different ethnic groups., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objectives: This study uses osteological and radiocarbon datasets combined with formal quantitative analyses to test hypotheses concerning the character of conflict in the Nasca highlands during the Late Intermediate Period (LIP, 950-1450 C.E.). We develop and test osteological expectations regarding what patterns should be observed if violence was characterized by intragroup violence, ritual conflict, intermittent raiding, or internecine warfare., Materials and Methods: Crania (n = 267) were examined for antemortem and perimortem, overkill, and critical trauma. All age groups and both sexes are represented in the sample. One hundred twenty-four crania were AMS dated, allowing a detailed analysis of diachronic patterns in violence among various demographic groups., Results: Thirty-eight percent (102/267) of crania exhibit some form of cranial trauma, a significant increase from the preceding Middle Horizon era. There are distinct trauma frequencies within the three subphases of the LIP, but Phase III (1300-1450 C.E.) exhibits the highest frequencies of all trauma types. Males exhibit significantly more antemortem trauma than females, but both exhibit similar perimortem trauma rates., Discussion: There was chronic, internecine warfare throughout the Late Intermediate Period with important variations in violence throughout the three temporal phases. Evidence for heterogeneity in violent mortality shows a pattern consistent with social substitutability, whereby any and all members of the Nasca highland population were appropriate targets for lethal and sublethal violence. We argue that by testing hypotheses regarding the targets and types of conflict we are better able to explain the causes and consequences of human conflict., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objectives: Cuncaicha, a rockshelter site in the southern Peruvian Andes, has yielded archaeological evidence for human occupation at high elevation (4,480 masl) during the Terminal Pleistocene (12,500-11,200 cal BP), Early Holocene (9,500-9,000 cal BP), and later periods. One of the excavated human burials (Feature 15-06), corresponding to a middle-aged female dated to ~8,500 cal BP, exhibits skeletal osteoarthritic lesions previously proposed to reflect habitual loading and specialized crafting labor. Three small tools found in association with this burial are hypothesized to be associated with precise manual dexterity., Materials and Methods: Here, we tested this functional hypothesis through the application of a novel multivariate methodology for the three-dimensional analysis of muscle attachment surfaces (entheses). This original approach has been recently validated on both lifelong-documented anthropological samples as well as experimental studies in nonhuman laboratory samples. Additionally, we analyzed the three-dimensional entheseal shape and resulting moment arms for muscle opponens pollicis., Results: Results show that Cuncaicha individual 15-06 shows a distinctive entheseal pattern associated with habitual precision grasping via thumb-index finger coordination, which is shared exclusively with documented long-term precision workers from recent historical collections. The separate geometric morphometric analysis revealed that the individual's opponens pollicis enthesis presents a highly projecting morphology, which was found to strongly correlate with long joint moment arms (a fundamental component of force-producing capacity), closely resembling the form of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers from diverse geo-chronological contexts of Eurasia and North Africa., Discussion: Overall, our findings provide the first biocultural evidence to confirm that the lifestyle of some of the earliest Andean inhabitants relied on habitual and forceful precision grasping tasks., (© 2020 The Authors. American Journal of Physical Anthropology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objectives: The aim of this work is to explore the maternal genetic diversity of hunter-gatherers of the southern Tierra del Fuego, specifically the north coast of Beagle Channel, the Península Mitre, and Isla de los Estados through ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis., Materials and Methods: The hypervariable regions 1 and 2 of the mitochondrial genome of five individuals from the north coast of Beagle Channel, six individuals from Península Mitre, and one individual from Isla de los Estados were analyzed. Through diversity statistics, Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA), and Median Joining networks analyses, maternal relationships in the region were evaluated and phylogenetic similarities between ancient and contemporary populations of Tierra del Fuego were determined., Results: The mitochondrial DNA lineages from the ancient individuals analyzed reveals the presence of subclades C1b and D1g. Pattern of decreasing genetic diversity toward the South is observed. The AMOVAs performed found no statistically significant differences between individuals of the north coast of Beagle Channel and Península Mitre-Isla de los Estados, and modern Yámana populations. Median joining network of haplotypes of clades C1 and D1g, show the same results., Discussion: Ethnohistoric and ethnographic records of Península Mitre show that this region was occupied during the 19th century by Haush or Manekenk populations, although their biological, cultural, and subsistence characterization is unclear. We explore their maternal lineages and encounter low levels of genetic diversity and the absence of population differentiation with modern Yámana groups. We suggest that Península Mitre-Isla de los Estado was part of the same hunting and gathering populations as those of the Beagle Channel., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: This study was designed to search for ancient parasites in abdominal content and coprolites from Bolivian mummies., Materials: Twelve mummified individuals from the Andean highlands, housed at the National Museum of Archaeology (MUNARQ) in La Paz, Bolivia., Methods: Microscopic analysis of rehydrated samples (coprolites and abdominal content), following Lutz's spontaneous sedimentation technique., Results: Eggs of Enterobius vermicularis were identified in coprolites from one mummy, and capillariid eggs in the organic abdominal content from another individual., Conclusions: This is the first evidence of ancient intestinal parasites in Bolivian mummies., Significance: This pioneering study focused on the search of ancient intestinal parasites in human remains of the Bolivian Andes and contributes to greater knowledge of paleoparasitology in South America., Limitations: All mummies in the MUNARQ belonged to the Andean Bolivian highlands (post-Tiwanaku era or Late Intermediate Period), although the exact provenance of the material and the associated contexts are not well recorded., Suggestions for Further Research: Considering the great number of well-known archaeological sites and other unexplored sites in Bolivia, in addition to large collections in museums, further paleopathological and paleoparasitological molecular studies in mummies and skeletons are called for., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the morphological variation of human populations that inhabited the southern Andes (Mendoza city, Argentina) during 16 th to 19 th centuries. That period represents an encounter of several distinctive populations inhabiting the same area: Europeans, descendants from Europeans ( criollos ), Africans, and Native Americans. In this paper, we study the shape changes of the cranial base, cranial vault, facial skeleton, and mandible to evaluate if the craniofacial variation differs in relation to the colonial periods and burial areas. For this, we analyzed 44 skulls from four colonial temples of the Foundational Area of Mendoza, and 36 prehistoric ones as a comparative sample. A total of 84 3D anatomical landmarks were registered with a Microscribe G2X. First, we explored the morphological changes by chronological period through a Principal Component Analysis, and then we calculated Mahalanobis distances among the individuals from different chronological periods. Second, we evaluated the morphological variation of the colonial subsample according to chronological period, archaeological site, and burial area. For this, we conducted a Principal Component Analysis and a MANOVA. We represent the morphological changes by Wireframes that show the main variation along PC1 and PC2. The results obtained showed morphological differences in the cranial base and facial skeleton of the individuals from different chronological periods, while the cranial base and mandible vary when comparing individuals from different burial areas. We conclude that the colonial society was highly diverse in terms of biological and cultural variation, and that there were differential dietary patterns among them.

The article analyzes the travel narratives to the hinterlands of the states of Mato Grosso and Goiás published in 1935 and 1936 by the São Paulo-based explorer Hermano Ribeiro da Silva, which proved a great publishing success and had a considerable impact on lettered society in Brazil. The analysis focuses on his ideas about the relationship between the environment in Central Brazil and the man who inhabited it, the potential economic exploitation of the region, and the role of the State in orchestrating initiatives capable of promoting its effective incorporation into the nationhood. It also seeks to understand how he grounded his discourse on generic scientific concepts and schemas endowed with rhetorical and argumentative power.

Objective: This paper reports a new case of treponemal disease in a pre-Columbian hunter-gatherer inhabiting the desert coast of South America., Materials: A well-preserved adult male skeleton from the "Vertedero Municipal" archaeological cemetery, located near the city of Antofagasta (Northern Chile)., Methods: The skeleton was radiocarbon dated, and isotopic analyses were performed to assess diet and mobility. Lytic and proliferative lesions identified were evaluated macroscopically and radiologically., Results: A radiocarbon date of 1830 ± 20 BP and isotopic values indicating a marine diet and coastal residence were obtained. The cranium shows reactive changes as focal superficial cavitation, radial scarring and nodular cavitation, while the ribs, sternum, clavicles, and scapulae exhibit multiple lytic and proliferative lesions. The right femur has a node while both tibiae show mild anterior cortical thickening with a narrowed medullary cavity., Conclusions: Cranial lesions are pathognomonic for treponemal disease while postcranial changes are typical, and highly consistent with this pathology., Significance: The type, morphology, and pattern of lesions make this case a good candidate for venereal syphilis. The case is relevant to the origin of venereal syphilis due to the lifestyle, temporal and ecological context of the individual., Limitations: Diagnosis of venereal syphilis is based on skeletal lesions; thus, it must be confirmed by molecular analysis., Suggestions for Further Research: A comprehensive review of cases of pre-Columbian treponemal disease in South America as well as molecular studies are needed to confirm the presence of venereal syphilis in the New World before European contact., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective and Materials: This research evaluates the presence and chronology of tuberculosis (TB) in the northeastern highlands of Peru (CE 800-1535) through the analysis of osseous lesions from Pre-Contact Kuelap, Chachapoyas., Methods: We examined macroscopic lesion morphology and distribution from the skeletal series (MNI = 207)., Results: We determined that skeletal evidence was highly consistent with advanced multifocal and spinal tuberculosis in 13 individuals. Destructive lesions of the lower thoracic and/or lumbar vertebra bodies and sacroiliac joints are evident in most cases, but we also observed lesions within the manubriosternal, hip, and knee joints. Both adult males (n = 7) and females (n = 6) present skeletal lesions from young adult to older adults, but there is only one late adolescent. Only three individuals demonstrate similar lesion distributions., Conclusions: Variation in lesion distribution in this population-based study shows the importance of identifying extra-vertebral tuberculosis and suggests that the disease may have manifested differently than at other coastal sites. These cases confirm the presence of tuberculosis both before and after Inca occupation across this central Andean highlands region., Significance: This evidence for the likely endemic presence of TB in the New World prior to European Contact furthers our understanding of the distribution of this infectious disease across the region as well as elucidating lesion distribution., Limitations: The diagnosis of tuberculosis is based on skeletal lesions and it should be confirmed by molecular analysis., Future Research: Additional examination of vertebral bodies (including juvenile remains) for evidence of earlier manifestations of infection., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis provides a powerful means of investigating human migration, social organization, and a plethora of other crucial questions about humanity's past. Recently, specialists have suggested that the ideal research design involving aDNA would include multiple independent lines of evidence. In this paper, we adopt a transdisciplinary approach integrating aDNA with archaeological, biogeochemical, and historical data to investigate six individuals found in two cemeteries that date to the Late Horizon (1400 to 1532 CE) and Colonial (1532 to 1825 CE) periods in the Chincha Valley of southern Peru. Genomic analyses indicate that these individuals are genetically most similar to ancient and present-day populations from the north Peruvian coast located several hundred kilometers away. These genomic data are consistent with 16th century written records as well as ceramic, textile, and isotopic data. These results provide some of the strongest evidence yet of state-sponsored resettlement in the pre-Colonial Andes. This study highlights the power of transdisciplinary research designs when using aDNA data and sets a methodological standard for investigating ancient mobility in complex societies., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest., (Copyright © 2020 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)

Objectives: This study examines violence-related cranial trauma frequencies and wound characteristics in the pre-Hispanic cemetery of Uraca in the lower Majes Valley, Arequipa, Peru, dating to the pre- and early-Wari periods (200-750 CE). Cranial wounds are compared between status and sex-based subgroups to understand how violence shaped, and was shaped by, these aspects of identity, and to reconstruct the social contexts of violence carried out by and against Uracans., Materials and Methods: Presence, location, and characteristics (lethality, penetration, and post-traumatic sequelae) of antemortem and perimortem cranial fractures are documented for 145 crania and compared between subgroups. Cranial wounds are mapped in ArcGIS and the locational distribution of injuries is compared between male and female crania., Results: Middle adult males were disproportionately interred at Uraca, particularly in the elite Sector I. The Uraca mortuary population presents the highest rate of cranial trauma reported for pre-Hispanic Peru: 67% of adults present trauma, and among those, 61.1% present more than one cranial injury. Males exhibit significantly more cranial trauma than females and present a higher mean number of injuries per person. Elite males show the highest mean number of injuries per person, more antemortem injuries, and are the only ones with perimortem cranial trauma, bladed injuries, penetrating injuries, and post-traumatic sequelae. Both sexes were most frequently injured on the anterior of the cranium, while the proportion of posterior injuries was higher for females., Discussion: The rate, intensity, and locational patterns of cranial trauma suggests the community was engaged in raids and/or war with enemy groups, some of which may have increased physical violence between community members. Engaging in violence was likely a prerequisite for burial in the elite sector and was bound up with the generation and maintenance of social status differences linked to male social life., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

This study analyzed an artifact (a book on health) conceived by the Maxakali people, called Hitupmã'ax: curar (2008). Parallel to the project for the production of this book, the aim was to understand the negotiation of public health in Brazil from a historical and intercultural perspective of non-Western epistemologies. It was found that the construction of the Maxakali work represented an effort to bridge the gap in the perception of health and health care between indigenous and non-indigenous people. This was then used to demonstrate the importance of this intercultural project for the shaping of public policies for indigenous people in general and particularly for the promotion of the history, knowledge, and culture of the Maxakali people.

Objectives: To characterize the paleodiet of individuals from Formative Period (1500 B.C.-A.D. 400) Atacama Desert sites of Ancachi and Quillagua as a means of understanding the dietary and cultural impacts of regional systems of exchange., Materials and Methods: Thirty-one bone samples recovered from the cemetery of Ancachi (02QU175) and in/around the nearby town of Quillagua were the subject of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen and hydroxyapatite and multisource mixture modeling (FRUITS, food reconstruction using isotopic transferred signals) of paleodiet. These individuals were compared with nearly 200 other Formative Period individuals from throughout the region to identify differences in dietary behaviors., Results: 80.6% (25/31) of the samples yielded sufficient well-preserved collagen and were included in the multisource mixture model. The FRUITS model, which compared individuals with a robust database of available foods from the region, identified a wide diversity of diets in the Ancachi/Quillagua area (including both coastal and interior individuals), and, most notably, thirteen individuals who consumed an average of 11.2 ± 1.9% terrestrial animals, 19.8 ± 1.9% legumes, and 22.5 ± 3.1% marine fauna, a balanced pattern of protein consumption distinct from both the coastal and inland individuals in our larger regional sample., Conclusions: The combination of stable isotope analysis and multisource mixture modeling permitted the characterization of dietary behavior of 25 individuals from nodal sites in the Atacama Desert, thus enhancing our understanding of the economic and social relationships that bound together Formative Period sites, populations, and individuals in this hyperarid region., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Introduction: Although pre-Hispanic hunter-gatherer and horticulturalist (known as Guaraní) societies from the lower Paraná River Delta (Argentina) presented differences in diet, pottery decoration, mortuary practices, and places of origin, differences in skeletal morphology between such groups have never been systematically explored. This work focuses on variations in humeral and femoral external linear measurements and derived structural properties of adult individuals from both societies as well as on variations in body mass and stature., Materials and Methods: Bone length, epiphyseal size, and midshaft breadth were measured in 82 adult humeri and 100 femora from hunter-gatherer and Guaraní archeological sites. Epiphyseal and midshaft robusticity, residual strength, midshaft shape and area, stature, and body mass were then estimated. Mann-Whitney tests were run to compare the hunter-gatherer and Guaraní samples., Results: Male Guaraní individuals presented stronger humeri and more robust femoral and humeral proximal epiphyses than hunter-gatherers. In addition, female Guaraní individuals showed rounder femoral diaphyses in comparison with female hunter-gatherers. Concerning stature, the Guaraní individuals were found to be shorter than hunter-gatherers, regardless of sex. No statistical differences were found in body mass., Discussion: Despite the fact that skeletal variations between Guaraní and hunter-gatherers could be a consequence of differences in mechanical loadings and genetic composition, bone robusticity is also positively correlated with increased age, but as the age composition of the Guaraní sample could not be estimated, skeletal variation between the samples could be a consequence of differences in age distribution., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Between 1922 and 1934, three pamphlets and a series of articles on mental hygiene were published in important newspapers in Lima, Peru. Their authors were Hermilio Valdizán and Honorio Delgado, two members of the first generation of psychiatrists in the country. These mass publications aimed to educate the population on what mental illness was, as well as its causes and symptoms. In addition, they sought to promote the figure of the psychiatrist as a specialist in "madness" whose recommendations should be heeded in family life. To that end, these publications contained true cases, related in melodramatic language, in order to reach a broader audience. Beyond their educative intention, these publications used ideas that Peruvian elites held about racial differentiation, because they were aimed at White and mestizo readers and had the express intention of preventing racial "degeneration." The analysis of this primary source material is complemented with other texts by Valdizán that sought to comprehend the manifestations of insanity among Native Peruvians, for which he used degeneration theory to explain the degree of "backwardness" observed among the races that were considered inferior. This article seeks to analyze the viewpoints held on racial differences by the most significant members of Peru's first generation of psychiatrists, in which degeneration theory was key in explaining the differences between human groups and in justifying the superiority of Whites and Western culture in the Peruvian state's mestizo identity initiative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Objectives: To assess the intraspecific variation in bone remodeling patterns in modern humans, we studied two populations from southern South America that represent the extremes of morphological variation in this region. We particularly analyzed the ontogenetic changes in the patterns of bone growth remodeling and compared the patterns between samples., Materials and Methods: We obtained high-resolution casts of the periosteal surface of the upper and middle face of subadults (n = 36) and adult (n = 36) individuals from a sample of hunter-gatherers from Patagonia and a sample of horticulturists from Northwest Argentina. The areas of bone formation and resorption were registered using an incident-light microscope. We then estimated the average bone remodeling map by sample and age, and performed principal component analysis and multivariate regressions to assess the extension and distribution of these areas across ontogeny and between samples., Results: We found that the remodeling pattern of the glabella, supraorbital arch, frontal process of the maxilla, and a large part of the zygomatic bone is relatively constant in subadults and adults from both sample with a clear predominance of bone formation. In contrast, the middle face is characterized by the spatial alternation between formation and resorption areas, and greater variation with age and between samples. The main differences were found in areas related to chewing and muscle insertions., Conclusions: Our study provides the first evidence of interpopulation variation in bone growth remodeling and suggests that biomechanical factors can influence the observed patterns. It also underlines the need to account for ecological factors in within and between species comparisons., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Considerable debate surrounds the economic, political, and ideological systems that constitute primary state formation. Theoretical and empirical research emphasize the role of religion as a significant institution for promoting the consolidation and reproduction of archaic states. The Tiwanaku state developed in the Lake Titicaca Basin between the 5th and 12th centuries CE and extended its influence over much of the south-central Andes of South America. We report on recent discoveries from the first systematic underwater archaeological excavations in the Khoa Reef near the Island of the Sun, Bolivia. The depositional context and compositional properties of offerings consisting of ceramic feline incense burners, killed juvenile llamas, and sumptuary metal, shell, and lapidary ornaments allow us to reconstruct the structure and significance of cyclically repeated state rituals. Using new theoretical tools, we explain the role of these rituals in promoting the consolidation of the Tiwanaku polity., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Objectives: Daily activities involve biomechanical strains acting on skeletal structures. This study identifies differences in activity patterns between males and females, and between young, middle, and older aged individuals within an excavated Muisca skeletal sample from the Eastern Andes region of Northern South America., Materials and Methods: The Tibanica archaeological site (AD 1000-1400) is located at 2600 masl on the Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia. Cross-sectional geometric analysis of femurs from 63 individuals and paired-humerii from 33 individuals was used to examine bone size (TA), strength (J) and diaphyseal shape (I max /I min , I x /I y )., Results: The findings indicate both age- and sex-related differences in activity patterns. An emphasis on upper body strength and robusticity was observed in the females, while males performed more strenuous work using their lower bodies, suggesting gender-based differences in labor. Men showed significant asymmetry in their humerii, with most showing right-hand dominance for upper body activities, while females showed high levels of humeral symmetry indicating similar levels of biomechanical stress for both arms. Female femoral diaphyseal shape changes with age, suggesting more mobility in youth and decreased mobility in middle and older ages., Discussion: These results suggest that daily life may have been structured through patterns of routine labor that united and divided particular age and sex groups. Cross-sectional geometry data indicate women likely spent significant time and energy preparing food, especially grinding maize or other foods, while men may have done more long-distance walking potentially to work in agricultural fields or procure other resources., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Native Americans from the Amazon, Andes, and coastal geographic regions of South America have a rich cultural heritage but are genetically understudied, therefore leading to gaps in our knowledge of their genomic architecture and demographic history. In this study, we sequence 150 genomes to high coverage combined with an additional 130 genotype array samples from Native American and mestizo populations in Peru. The majority of our samples possess greater than 90% Native American ancestry, which makes this the most extensive Native American sequencing project to date. Demographic modeling reveals that the peopling of Peru began ∼12,000 y ago, consistent with the hypothesis of the rapid peopling of the Americas and Peruvian archeological data. We find that the Native American populations possess distinct ancestral divisions, whereas the mestizo groups were admixtures of multiple Native American communities that occurred before and during the Inca Empire and Spanish rule. In addition, the mestizo communities also show Spanish introgression largely following Peruvian Independence, nearly 300 y after Spain conquered Peru. Further, we estimate migration events between Peruvian populations from all three geographic regions with the majority of between-region migration moving from the high Andes to the low-altitude Amazon and coast. As such, we present a detailed model of the evolutionary dynamics which impacted the genomes of modern-day Peruvians and a Native American ancestry dataset that will serve as a beneficial resource to addressing the underrepresentation of Native American ancestry in sequencing studies., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)

The region of Lagoa Santa, Central-Eastern Brazil, provides an exceptional archeological record about Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene occupation of the Americas. Since the first interventions made by the Danish naturalist Peter Lund in the 19th century, hundreds of human skeletons have been exhumed in the region. These skeletons are complemented by a rich botanic, faunal, technological, and geomorphological archeological record. We explore here the contributions of Lagoa Santa material to the origins and lifestyle of early Americans, providing an historic background. Cranial morphology of Lagoa Santa skeletons allowed the proposition of a model of two biological components for the occupation of the Americas, in which early Americans are morphologically similar to people of African and Australo-Melanesian origin. Furthermore, the archeological record in the region has revealed an intense use of plant resources, a restricted spatial distribution, and the symbolic elaboration of local hunter-gatherers, unveiling a distinct lifestyle compared to early North American populations., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Patagonia was the last region of the Americas reached by humans who entered the continent from Siberia ∼15,000-20,000 y ago. Despite recent genomic approaches to reconstruct the continental evolutionary history, regional characterization of ancient and modern genomes remains understudied. Exploring the genomic diversity within Patagonia is not just a valuable strategy to gain a better understanding of the history and diversification of human populations in the southernmost tip of the Americas, but it would also improve the representation of Native American diversity in global databases of human variation. Here, we present genome data from four modern populations from Central Southern Chile and Patagonia ( n = 61) and four ancient maritime individuals from Patagonia (∼1,000 y old). Both the modern and ancient individuals studied in this work have a greater genetic affinity with other modern Native Americans than to any non-American population, showing within South America a clear structure between major geographical regions. Native Patagonian Kawéskar and Yámana showed the highest genetic affinity with the ancient individuals, indicating genetic continuity in the region during the past 1,000 y before present, together with an important agreement between the ethnic affiliation and historical distribution of both groups. Lastly, the ancient maritime individuals were genetically equidistant to a ∼200-y-old terrestrial hunter-gatherer from Tierra del Fuego, which supports a model with an initial separation of a common ancestral group to both maritime populations from a terrestrial population, with a later diversification of the maritime groups., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Objectives: Archaeological and genetic research has demonstrated that the Pacific Coast was a key route in the early colonization of South America. Research examining South American skeletons >8000 cal BP has revealed differences in cranial morphology between early and late Holocene populations, which may reflect distinct migration events and/or populations. However, genetic, cultural, and some skeletal data contradict this model. Given these discrepancies, this study examines ∼9000 years of prehistory to test the hypothesis that Early skeletons have a distinct cranial morphology from later skeletons., Materials and Methods: Using 3D digital models, craniofacial landmarks, and geometric morphometric analyses, we compared Early Holocene crania (n = 4) to later Chilean samples (n = 90) frequently absent in continental assessments of craniofacial variation. PCA, Mahalanobis distances, posterior and typicality probabilities were used to examine variation., Results: Two of the earliest skeletons from northern Chile show clear affinities to individuals from later sites in the same region. However, the hypothesis cannot be rejected as one Early individual from northern Chile and one individual from inland Patagonia did not always show clear affinities to coastal populations., Discussion: Biological affinities among northern populations and other regions of Chile align with genetic and archaeological data, supporting cultural and biological continuity along the Pacific Coast. In Patagonia, archaeological data are in accordance with skeletal differences between the Early inland steppe individual and coastal populations. This study incorporates 3D methods and skeletal datasets not widely used in assessments of biological affinity, thus contributing to a critical body of research examining the ancient population history of western South America., (© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Introduction: DNA extracted from ancient human bones allows to analyze the genetic makeup of pre-Columbian populations and to determine the dynamics that gave rise to the diversity of contemporary populations., Objective: To determine the genetic diversity of skeletal remains associated with the Templo del Sol (Sun Temple) and their relationship with other contemporary and ancient communities of America., Materials and Methods: We analyzed 13 individuals belonging to the pre-Columbian Muisca Period (IX-XVI centuries AD) from the vicinities of the Templo del Sol (Sun Temple) (Sogamoso, Boyacá) in the eastern Colombian Andes. Mitochondrial DNA was amplified and RFLPs were performed in order to type the four traditional Amerindian haplogroups (A, B, C and D). In addition, autosomal markers including amelogenin and Y-chromosome STRs were amplified., Results: Among the observed mitochondrial lineages, haplogroup A was the most frequent, followed by haplogroups B and C; no evidence of haplogroup D was found. The genetic variation analysis indicated a similar diversity of pre-ColumbianMuiscas to that of contemporary populations belonging to the Chibcha linguistic family from Colombia and Central America. Molecular sexing was accomplished and it was compared to osteological data. With only one exception, anthropological and molecular data were consistent., Conclusions: Our results contribute new genetic elements supporting the hypothesis of Central American origin of the Chibcha groups of the Cundiboyacense plateau, and allowed sex typing and kinship evaluations.

Spondylolysis is a fracture of the pars interarticularis, the portion of the neural arch that lies between the superior articular facets and the inferior articular facets. Clinical evidence has suggested repetitive trauma to be the most probable cause, even though morphological weakness of the vertebra is probably also involved. Prevalence is between 3% and 8% in modern populations, while in archaeological samples it varies from 0% to 71.4%. Considering that very little data about this condition is available in past populations from the southern extreme of South America, the aim of this paper is to analyze the spondylolysis in a human skeletal sample from Southern Patagonia and, at the same time, to explore the prevalence of spondylolysis in archaeological contexts around the world to gain a better understanding of the results presented here. The Southern Patagonian skeletal series analyzed here showed a prevalence of 20%, with lower prevalence in the pre contact sample (11.1%) than in the contact period (23.1%). Skeletons from the Salesian Mission "Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria" showed a higher prevalence (25%) than the sample of skeletal remains recovered from outside the mission (20%), suggesting that changes in lifestyle of hunter-gatherers during contact could be implicated in the development of spondylolysis in this sample. A worldwide survey displays a wide range of prevalence figures in American and Asian samples and low diversity between African and European populations. Hunter-gatherers from Southern Patagonia showed similar values to those observed in other American samples., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

During the first Modern Era (15th-17th c.), bodily health and expressions of physiognomy were explained under the doctrine of humors. This doctrine -based on Corpus Hipocraticum-established a close relation between humors (blood, yellow bile, phlegm, and black bile), qualities (dry, moist, warm, and cold) and the elements (water, air, earth, and fire). One of these humors -black bile-, commonly a hallmark of the melancholic temperament, was associated to the complexion and nature of American Indians. This accusation was legitimized by the empirical examination of the physiognomy of a subject that was melancholic, sad and pusillanimous. In this article, we describe, based on the analysis of colonial texts (16th-17th c.), how the essential premises of the humor theory were transferred to the New World and in particular and how the Indian complexion was defined through the examination of subjects plagued by black humor and phlegm. With this, we determine the way these individuals -referred as 'Indians'- were inscribed in medical knowledge, during the global spread of the Hippocratic-Galenic postulates.

Objectives: To determine genetic differences between agriculturalist and hunter-gatherer southern Native American populations for selected metabolism-related markers and to test whether Neel's thrifty genotype hypothesis (TGH) could explain the genetic patterns observed in these populations., Materials and Methods: 375 Native South American individuals from 17 populations were genotyped using six markers (APOE rs429358 and rs7412; APOA2 rs5082; CD36 rs3211883; TCF7L2 rs11196205; and IGF2BP2 rs11705701). Additionally, APOE genotypes from 39 individuals were obtained from the literature. AMOVA, main effects, and gene-gene interaction tests were performed., Results: We observed differences in allele distribution patterns between agriculturalists and hunter-gatherers for some markers. For instance, between-groups component of genetic variance (F CT ) for APOE rs429358 showed strong differences in allelic distributions between hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists (p = 0.00196). Gene-gene interaction analysis indicated that the APOE E4/CD36 TT and APOE E4/IGF2BP2 A carrier combinations occur at a higher frequency in hunter-gatherers, but this combination is not replicated in archaic (Neanderthal and Denisovan) and ancient (Anzick, Saqqaq, Ust-Ishim, Mal'ta) hunter-gatherer individuals., Discussion: A complex scenario explains the observed frequencies of the tested markers in hunter-gatherers. Different factors, such as pleotropic alleles, rainforest selective pressures, and population dynamics, may be collectively shaping the observed genetic patterns. We conclude that although TGH seems a plausible hypothesis to explain part of the data, other factors may be important in our tested populations., (© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Advances in forensic identification using molecular genetics are helpful in resolving some historical mysteries. The aim of this study was to confirm the authenticity of shrunken-head artifacts exhibited by two Polish museums. Shrunken heads, known as tsantsas, were headhunting trophies of South American Indians (Jivaroan). A special preparation preserved their hair and facial appearance. However, it was quite common to offer counterfeit shrunken heads of sloths or monkeys to collectors of curiosities. We sampled small skin specimens of four shrunken-head skin from the museum collection from Warsaw and Krakow, Poland. Following genomic DNA isolation, highly polymorphic short tandem repeats were genotyped using a commercial chemistry and DNA sequencing analyzer. Haplogroups of human Y chromosome were identified. We obtained an informative genetic profile of genomic short tandem repeats from all the samples of shrunken heads. Moreover, amplification of amelogenin loci allowed for sex determination. All four studied shrunken heads were of human origin. In two ones, a shared Y-chromosome haplogroup Q characteristic for Indigenous Americans was detected. Another artifact was counterfeited because Y-chromosome haplogroup I2 was found, characteristic for the Southeastern European origin. Commercial genetic methods of identification can be applied successfully in studies on the origin and authenticity of some unusual collection items.

When humans moved from Asia toward the Americas over 18,000 y ago and eventually peopled the New World they encountered a new environment with extreme climate conditions and distinct dietary resources. These environmental and dietary pressures may have led to instances of genetic adaptation with the potential to influence the phenotypic variation in extant Native American populations. An example of such an event is the evolution of the fatty acid desaturases ( FADS ) genes, which have been claimed to harbor signals of positive selection in Inuit populations due to adaptation to the cold Greenland Arctic climate and to a protein-rich diet. Because there was evidence of intercontinental variation in this genetic region, with indications of positive selection for its variants, we decided to compare the Inuit findings with other Native American data. Here, we use several lines of evidence to show that the signal of FADS-positive selection is not restricted to the Arctic but instead is broadly observed throughout the Americas. The shared signature of selection among populations living in such a diverse range of environments is likely due to a single and strong instance of local adaptation that took place in the common ancestral population before their entrance into the New World. These first Americans peopled the whole continent and spread this adaptive variant across a diverse set of environments.

The archaeological sites near Monte Alegre, along Brazil's lower Amazon River, provide new information on the little-known activities and symbolism of South American Paleoindians toward the end of the Ice Age. While paleoindian sites like Monte Verde in Chile, or Guitarrero Cave in Peru, are located near the pacific coast, Monte Alegre lies much further inland, 680 km upriver from the mouth of the Amazon River and the Atlantic Coast. With excavated wood charcoal radiocarbon dated as early as 13,200 calibrated years ago, the hill-as a source of sandstone and quartz lithics-supplied early pioneers with adequate tools needed for colonizing the interior of the continent. Once there, they painted rock art on the landscape, which bears a record of the sun's horizon positions throughout the year. At just 2° south of the equator, Monte Alegre shows no overt seasonal changes beyond fluctuating rainfall amounts, unlike at higher latitudes where temperature, amount of daylight, foliage, and forms of precipitation markedly change. Near the equator, solar and stellar horizon sightings most visibly track the passage of time and seasonal cycles. However, horizons are often hidden behind high forest canopy throughout much of the Amazon Rainforest; but in the Monte Alegre hill ridges looming above the river, paleoindians could hike above the canopy to peer at the horizon, more effectively synchronizing their activities to ecological cycles. This research suggests that Monte Alegre paleoindians delimited the azimuthal range of the sun in a solar year with notational pictographs aligned to horizon sightings at Painel do Pilão, and leaving a painted grid of tally marks that might have served as a rudimentary early calendar. The broad-reaching implication for early Americans is that through the strategic placement of rock art, these ancient artists fostered predictive archaeorecording from which resources could be optimally extracted, ceremonial activities could be consistently scheduled, and gatherings for social and economic exchange could be more efficiently coordinated., Competing Interests: The author has declared that no competing interests exist.

Socio-economic and environmental changes are well known causes of demographic collapse of agrarian cultures. The collapse of human societies is a complex phenomenon where historical and cultural dimensions play a key role, and they may interact with the environmental context. However, the importance of the interaction between socio-economic and climatic factors in explaining possible breakdowns in Native American societies has been poorly explored. The aim of this study is to test the role of socio-economic causes and rainfall variability in the collapse suffered by the Aymara people of the semiarid Andean region of Tarapacá during the period 1820-1970. Our motivation is to demonstrate that simple population dynamic models can be helpful in understanding the causes and relative importance of population changes in Andean agro-pastoral societies in responses to socio-environmental variability. Simple logistic models that combine the effects of external socio-economic causes and past rainfall variability (inferred from Gross Domestic Product [GDP] and tree-rings, respectively) were quite accurate in predicting the sustained population decline of the Aymara people. Our results suggest that the depopulation in the semiarid Tarapacá province was caused by the interaction among external socio-economic pressures given by the economic growth of the lowlands and demands for labor coupled with a persistent decline in rainfall. This study constitutes an example of how applied ecological knowledge, in particular the application of the logistic equation and theories pertaining to nonlinear population dynamics and exogenous perturbations, can be used to better understand major demographic changes in human societies., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The aim of this work is to present the singularity of the concept of anthropophagy in Brazilian culture. This article examines its use in the Modernist Movement of the 1920s and explores the possibilities it creates for thinking about Brazilian culture in nonidentitarian terms. We then use the concept of anthropophagy in a broader, practical sense to understand psychology as a kind of anthropophagical knowledge. We do so because in many ways the discipline of psychology is similar to Brazilian culture in its plurality and complexity., ((c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).)

Paleoclimate records indicate a series of severe droughts was associated with societal collapse of the Classic Maya during the Terminal Classic period (∼800-950 C.E.). Evidence for drought largely derives from the drier, less populated northern Maya Lowlands but does not explain more pronounced and earlier societal disruption in the relatively humid southern Maya Lowlands. Here we apply hydrogen and carbon isotope compositions of plant wax lipids in two lake sediment cores to assess changes in water availability and land use in both the northern and southern Maya lowlands. We show that relatively more intense drying occurred in the southern lowlands than in the northern lowlands during the Terminal Classic period, consistent with earlier and more persistent societal decline in the south. Our results also indicate a period of substantial drying in the southern Maya Lowlands from ∼200 C.E. to 500 C.E., during the Terminal Preclassic and Early Classic periods. Plant wax carbon isotope records indicate a decline in C4 plants in both lake catchments during the Early Classic period, interpreted to reflect a shift from extensive agriculture to intensive, water-conservative maize cultivation that was motivated by a drying climate. Our results imply that agricultural adaptations developed in response to earlier droughts were initially successful, but failed under the more severe droughts of the Terminal Classic period.

A pattern of population crash and rapid recovery is a common feature of the pacification and settlement experience of the indigenous peoples of tropical South America. Despite the obvious importance of these events to the demographic and anthropological sciences as a whole, as well as their significant practical implications, little is known about the microdemographic determinants of these paired phenomena. Using methods of asymptotic and stochastic demographic analysis, we reconstructed the microdemographic drivers of this history among one indigenous population: the Northern Aché of eastern Paraguay. This article explores the implications of these relationships for understanding the overall demographic turnaround observed within similar groups, as well as for the future trajectory of the Northern Aché in particular.

The existing biocultural links are analyzed among ancient inhabitants of the Cochabamba valleys (Bolivia) from the Formative and Tiwanaku periods, coastal and inland Azapa region (Chile) from the Late Archaic to the Late periods, and the Atacama Desert oases (Chile) from the Formative period to the time of European contact. Craniometric information obtained from a sample of 565 individuals from different sites of the studied regions was evaluated using methods derived from quantitative genetics and multivariate statistical analysis techniques. It is shown that during the Formative and Tiwanaku periods inhabitants of the Cochabamba valleys maintained contact with the population of northern Chile. This contact was more fluid with the people from the interior valley of Azapa than it was with the settlers of San Pedro Atacama (SPA). An important biological affinity in the Late Period between the inhabitants of the Azapa valley and the late SPA groups is also examined. The Late-Inca Catarpe SPA sample shows a broad genetic variability shared with the majority of the groups studied. The results reaffirm the differences between the coastal and interior Azapa valley groups and strengthen the hypothesis of two pathways to populating the south central Andean area. The divergence observed among subpopulations can be explained by the spatiotemporal dispersion between them, genetic drift dispersion compensated by the action of gene flow, and cultural norms that regulate within group mating., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

When Francisco Pizarro and his small band of Spanish conquistadores landed in northern Peru in A.D. 1532 to begin their conquest of the vast Inca Empire, they initiated profound changes in the culture, language, technology, economics, and demography of western South America. They also altered anthropogenically modulated processes of shoreline change that had functioned for millennia. Beginning with the extirpation of local cultures as a result of the Spanish Conquest, and continuing through today, the intersection of demography, economy, and El Niño-driven beach-ridge formation on the Chira beach-ridge plain of Northwestern Peru has changed the nature of coastal evolution in this region. A similar event may have occurred at about 2800 calibrated y B.P. in association with increased El Niño frequency.

The peopling, origins, and early prehistory of the Americas are topics of intense debate. However, few studies have used human remains to document and interpret patterns of health and lifestyle of Paleoamericans. This study provides the first investigation to characterize oral health in a series of early Holocene skeletal remains from Lagoa Santa, Brazil, a locality containing the remains of some of the earliest inhabitants of South America (10,000-7,000 BP). The sample is composed of 949 teeth and 1925 alveoli from an estimated 113 individuals excavated from 17 archaeological sites located in the State of Minas Gerais. We compare dental caries and abscess prevalence at Lagoa Santa to a large sample of human skeletons from the Western Hemisphere Project (WHP) database using both individual and tooth/alveolus count methods. In addition, antemortem tooth loss and tooth wear were analyzed in Lagoa Santa by sex and age. The results show that Lagoa Santa dental caries and abscess prevalence are significantly higher than observed among other hunter-gatherers included in the WHP database, except when abscess prevalence is considered by individual count. Adult females have less tooth wear coupled with higher prevalence of dental caries and antemortem tooth loss than adult males. These results point to an unexpected record of poor oral health at Lagoa Santa, especially among females. A diet based on a highly cariogenic combination of wild tubers and fruits is suggested as an explanation for the elevated rate, characterizing an early adaptation to a tropical environment in South America., (Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

A brief history of medicine in Amazonas: the end of shamanism and the progressive Christianisation of therapeutical rites among the Tarianos, in the suburbs of Manaus.

Previous studies have shown that ecological factors had a significant role in shaping the patterns of craniofacial variation among South American populations. Here, we evaluate whether temperature and diet contributed to facial diversification in small geographic areas. Facial size and shape of 9 osteological samples from central Patagonia (Argentina) were described using 2D landmarks and semilandmarks. Data on mean annual temperature, diet composition (δ(13)C and δ(15)N values) and femoral head maximum breadth, used as a proxy of body mass, were obtained for each sample. We then tested the association of body mass and the ecological variables with facial morphology using spatial regression techniques and a model selection approach. Akaike Information Criterion produced disparate results for both components of facial morphology. The best model for facial size included temperature and body mass proxy, and accounted for more than 80% of variation in size. Lower temperatures were related to larger facial sizes. Body mass was negatively associated with facial size and showed no relationship with the temperature. This suggests a relatively independent variation of cranial traits and body mass at the spatial scale studied here. Facial shape was not associated with the temperature or diet composition, contrasting with the patterns observed at larger spatial scales. Our results point out that the effect of climatic variables on cranial traits might be a source of morphological differentiation not only at large scales but also in small geographic areas, and that size and shape display a differential preservation of environmental signals., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The first part of this work was published in the previous issue of this magazine. In order to finalize with the historical review of infectious diseases which have been determining factors on regional infant mortality, we analyze firstly the case of religious missions and its impact on the rapid extinction of Patagonian Indians. Secondly, we review the health situation of Punta Arenas during the first half of the 20th century, switching from a high mortality rate from infectious or contagious diseases, to a remarkable improvement in this issue, coming to bear the best health indicators in the country.

Historical background of infectious diseases of children in the Region of Magallanes is reviewed, with special emphasis on their impact on infant mortality. For purposes of publication, the research is divided into two parts. In this first one, we present a brief relation of the facts that led to the death of almost all of the Spanish colonizers of the Strait of Magellan, including children (1584-1590); following, a description of the available data on infectious diseases affecting Patagonian Indians before contact with white man. Finally we describe the health situation in Punta Arenas, from the foundation of Bulnes Fort until the end of the 19th century.

This article examines the reception of the early modern hospital among the indigenous people of the Andes under Spanish colonial rule. During the period covered by this study (sixteenth to mid-eighteenth centuries), the hospital was conceived primarily as a manifestation of the sovereign’s paternalistic concern for his subjects’ spiritual well being. Hospitals in the Spanish American colonies were organised along racial lines, and those catering to Indians were meant to complement the missionary endeavour. Besides establishing hospitals in the main urban centres, Spanish colonial legislation instituted hospitals for Indians in provincial towns and in small rural jurisdictions throughout the Peruvian viceroyalty. Indian hospitals often met with the suspicion and even hostility of their supposed beneficiaries, especially indigenous rulers. By conceptualising the Indian hospital as a tool of colonial government, this article investigates the reasons behind its negative reception, the work of adaptation that allowed a few of them to thrive, and the eventual failure of most of these institutions.

In 2009, in the Indian Kamëntša community in southern Colombia an oral inspection was conducted on 61 young people. Using the methods of Arizona State University's Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS) the presence of unilateral Uto-Aztecan premolar (UAP) is reported here., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The skull cult is a cultural tradition that dates back to at least Neolithic times. Its main manifestations are trophy heads, skull masks, moulded skulls and shrunken heads. The article reviews the skull cult in both pre-Columbian America and the ethnographic present from a neuro-anthropological perspective., Development: The tradition of shaping and painting the skulls of ancestors goes back to the Indo-European Neolithic period (Natufian culture and Gobekli Tepe). In Mesoamerica, post-mortem decapitation was the first step of a mortuary treatment that resulted in a trophy head, a skull for the tzompantli or a skull mask. The lithic technology utilised by the Mesoamerican cultures meant that disarticulation had to be performed in several stages. Tzompantli is a term that refers both to a construction where the heads of victims were kept and to the actual skulls themselves. Skull masks are skulls that have been artificially modified in order to separate and decorate the facial part; they have been found in the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan. The existence of trophy heads is well documented by means of iconographic representations on ceramic ware and textiles belonging to the Paraca, Nazca and Huari cultures of Peru. The Mundurucu Indians of Brazil and the Shuar or Jivaroan peoples of Amazonian Ecuador have maintained this custom down to the present day. The Shuar also shrink heads (tzantzas) in a ritual process. Spanish chroniclers such as Fray Toribio de Benavente 'Motolinia' and Gaspar de Carvajal spoke of these practices., Conclusions: In pre-Columbian America, the tradition of decapitating warriors in order to obtain trophy heads was a wide-spread and highly developed practice.

Uruguayan population has been considered as of European descent, as its Native populations victims of genocide apparently disappeared in the 19th century. Contradicting this national belief, genetic studies have shown a substantial Native contribution. However, the continuity between prehistoric, historic, and present populations remains unproved. With the aim of adding elements to prove a possible population continuity, we studied a mitochondrial lineage, part of haplogroup C1, analyzing the complete genome of a modern Uruguayan individual and the hypervariable region I (HVRI) in prehistoric, historic, and contemporary individuals. Several individuals carried the mutations that characterize this lineage: two from an archaeological mound located in the east of the country, the Charrúa Indian chief Vaimaca Perú and five individuals from the present population. The lineage was initially characterized by its HVRI sequence, having the four typical C1 mutations and adding 16051G and 16288C; other mutations were also found: 16140C was found in all but the oldest individual, dated 1,610 years BP, while 16209C, 16422C, and 16519C were found only in some individuals. Hypervariable region II showed the typical C1 mutations and 194T. The coding region, analyzed in modern individuals, was characterized by 12378T, while other mutations found were not common to all of them. In summary, we have found and described a new lineage that shows continuity from prehistoric mound builders to the present population, through a representative of the extinct Charrúa Indians. The lineage appeared at least 1,600 years ago and is carried by approximately 0.7% of the modern Uruguayan population. The continuity of the lineage supports alternative perspectives about Uruguayan national identity and the meaning of the genocide, best labeled as ethnocide because of its consequences. It also contributes to the discussion about who the prehistoric mound builders were, and to the origin, at least in the maternal line, of a Charrúa Indian. From a more general perspective, we can conclude that the characteristics, evolution, and expansion of founder haplogroup C in America have not yet been elucidated.