Age estimation of guanaco (Lama guanicoe) based on incisor teeth: a methodological contribution for constructing mortality profiles
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31048/1852.4826.v10.n1.14840Keywords:
guanaco, incisor teeth, age estimation, mortality profileAbstract
The guanaco was the main resource for hunter-gatherers that inhabited the Pampean and Patagonian regions of Argentina. This ungulate played a fundamental role in the economic, social, and ideological spheres of these societies during the Holocene. In this sense, understanding the relationship between human and guanaco populations in the past is crucial to South American zooarchaeology. The aim of this paper is to present a methodology that allows estimating relative ages of guanaco throughout the analysis of the incisor teeth. The sample is composed of incisors from 91 modern guanacos assigned to different age-classes. This analysis included qualitative variables, such as the root and dentine state, and quantitative ones, such as the crown height. The results show that the combination of these variables is a useful indicator for estimating the age of guanacos in isolated incisors, which are usually found in the faunal record.Downloads
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