Osteofitosis vertebral en poblaciones prehispánicas de San Pedro De Atacama, Norte de Chile

Abstract

Vertebral osteophytosis was studied as a marker for physical stress in prehistoric populations of San Pedro de Atacama from the Middle (400-1.000 A.D.) and Late Intermediate (1.000-1.450 A.D.) periods. The mean degree of osteophytosis was recorded in each vertebral segment of 154 individuals from four sites: Solcor 3, Coyo 3, Quitor 6 and Toconao Oriente. Osteophytosis prevalence was more severe in older individuals, corroborating its degenerative nature. However, after correction for age impact in osteophytosis prevalence, significant differences were observed between sites. Differences in osteophytosis prevalence between sexes were not significant. The results show that during the Late Intermediate period populations of both sexes suffered less vertebral stress than during the Middle period, particularly during the its end. Changes in activity patterns (amount of energy invested, intensity or type of activities undertaken) could account for the differences found.