Browsing by Author "Herrera-Soto, Maria Jose"

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    Gastrointestinal parasites in ancient South American camelid feces from the Atacama Desert (Pampa del Tamarugal, Tarapaca, northern Chile)
    (2023) Ramirez, Dario Alejandro; Herrera-Soto, Maria Jose; Andreu, Josefina Gonzalez; Santana-Sagredo, Francisca; Uribe Rodriguez, Mauricio; Nores, Rodrigo
    Faunal remains from archeological sites worldwide, especially feces and regurgitated pellets, are usually subjected to paleoparasitological examination, allowing the identification of past animal parasites. In this study, we analyzed 10 samples of South American camelid dung, which played an important role for the ancient human groups in the South-Central Andes, dated between 341 and 1635 calCE, from the Iluga Tumulos site (Pampa del Tamarugal, Tarapaca region, Atacama Desert, Chile). Microscopy examination revealed parasite remains in seven samples, in which oocysts of Eimeria macusaniensis and eggs of Lamanema chavezi/Nematodirus lamae, Trichuris sp., Moniezia sp., capillariids, strongylids, and unidentified nematodes were found. Although some of these species pose a potential health risk to camelids, most are not considered to be of major zoonotic importance, which could explain the absence of these parasites on human coprolites from this site analyzed previously. This first paleoparasitological study on camelid fecal remains from northern Chile sheds light on the occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites and its relationship with Andean ancient human populations and the environment.
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    Physical Violence and Social Tension in the Atacama Desert: Osteobiography of a Woman from the Tarapaca 40 Formative Period Cemetery
    (2024) Herrera-Soto, Maria Jose; Gonzalez-Ramirez, Andrea; Diaz, Pablo; Pacheco, Aryel; Retamal, Rodrigo; Saez, Arturo; Santana-Sagredo, Francisca; Uribe, Mauricio
    Physical violence and social conflict have been widely studied in the ancient societies of the Andes. However, studies about violence are scarce for the Formative period of northern Chile (1000 BC-AD 900). Evidence from these investigations is generally interpreted as interpersonal violence, whose protagonists are mostly men. Here, we present the case of an adult female recovered from the Tarapaca 40 cemetery (Tarapaca region, Chile) displaying lesions suggestive of trauma. We reconstruct her life and death in the context of this era's social and political conditions. Results of our bioanthropological characterization, cranial trauma analysis, carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, and recording of the funerary offerings suggest she was a local member of the Formative community buried in the Tarapaca 40 cemetery and that she suffered intentional lethal lesions. Her death is unusual because there are no previous bioarchaeological records of lethal violence against women in the Tarapaca region. The osteobiography of this woman reflects a context characterized by an increase in inequality and social complexity, whereby physical violence could be used as a mechanism of internal regulation and exercise of power during the Formative period.