Sex and age-biased exploitation and metric characterization of medium-sized deer in the lower Paraná wetland, South America

Abstract

In this paper, we present an analysis of the exploitation of medium-sized deer in the lower Paraná wetland by pre-Columbian hunter-gatherers. To achieve this goal, we developed an osteometric frame of reference for the proper identification of hunted medium-sized deer, and the sex and age of captured individuals. An analysis of 13 archaeofaunal assemblages showed that Ozotoceros bezoarticus (“pampas deer”) was the medium-sized deer that was hunted with exclusivity. The presence of Mazama gouazoubira (“brown brocket deer”; “gray brocket deer”), which could have been another potentially hunted medium-sized deer, is absent from the record, although this area is indicated as being its southernmost distribution range in South America. These results restrict the distribution of this species to a more northern sector of this large wetland. The hunted individuals of O. bezoarticus are all older than 2 years of age, and preferentially males, although some methodological bias could be influencing these results. Issues related to sex-age selectivity in capturing these animals are discussed according to the development of conservation strategies for local resources.