The settlement of Patagonia: a matrix correlation study

Abstract

Matrix correlation represents an innovative methodology to evaluate the explanatory power of several hypotheses, by measuring their correspondence with observed morphological variation. In this paper, we present the case of the Patagonians’ origins viewed from a matrix correlation approach. Personal and published data on nonmetric cranial traits were used to estimate a biological distance matrix involving five major groups of Patagonia and two from Argentina’s Northwest and Northeast regions. To evaluate correspondence with other important factors, we used a geographic distance matrix and five design matrices, representing several patterns of settlement and differentiation. Data was strongly associated with spatial separation, since the correlation between geography and nonmetric cranial distances was highly significant. When geographic distance is held constant, correlation between a model hypothesizing differents ancestors for Northern and Southern populations and morphological variation is highly significant.