TITLE:
Valley to Valley: The Biological Connection between Prehispanic Residents of Cochabamba, Bolivia, and Azapa, Chile
AUTHORS:
Héctor H. Varela, José A. Cocilovo, Tyler G. O’Brien
KEYWORDS:
Craniometrics; Arica; Tiwanaku; South Central Andes
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Anthropology,
Vol.3 No.4,
November
22,
2013
ABSTRACT: One of the most
interesting problems facing the interpretation of south central Andean
prehistory is to decipher the genetic relationships among ancient groups that inhabited this region. This study evaluates the biological
relationships between the ancient inhabitants of the coast and interior valleys
of the Azapa region in northern Chile and the Cochabamba valleys of Bolivia,
with reference to highland Tiwanaku groups. Craniometric data (N = 299) were
statistically evaluated to compute group means using Mahalanobis (D2)
values. Results demonstrate that there is a notable difference between coastal
and interior valley populations of the Azapa region; whereas a close biological
association exists between groups from the Cochabamba valleys and the interior
Azapa valleys, especially for those associated with the Formative and Tiwanaku
Periods.