Human Demography and Ecosystems: Comparative Approach of Human Age-at-Death Profiles from Northpatagonia (Southern Mendoza, Argentina)

Abstract

The aim of this presentation is to provide information about human age-at-death profiles in order to understand the environmental/demographicdynamics of pre-Hispanic people from Southern Mendoza. Burials from 20 archaeological sites are included in age-at-death profiles, which arecompared to discern regional particularities. This is a transitional area between hunter-gatherers groups and farming populations. The presentationevaluates if the introduction of domesticated resources in the diet and the new agricultural subsistence patterns altered the hunter-gathererdemographic dynamics, and specifically if human demography declined during the Little Ice Age (LIA).