Paleodemography of Late Holocene Hunter-Gatherers in the Pampa-Patagonia Transition: Approaches from the Preliminary Analysis of the Médano Petroquímica Site, La Pampa Province, Argentina

Abstract

Paleodemography refers to studying the population structure and dynamics of past societies. In the absence of written records, paleodemographic analyses offer a window for understating the demographics of populations in the past. This work addresses the analysis of human burials from the Médano Petroquímica site, a burial area located in the southwest of the Pampean region (Argentina) and dated to ca. 400 years BP. Radiocarbon dating suggests that huntergatherer societies may have used this site for a short period. The sex-age-at-death analysis of four multiple secondary burials and one single primary burial (n = 75) was performed. Subsequently, an abbreviated life table was prepared, and different paleodemographic parameters were calculated. The results showed that all age categories are represented in the sample. The age-at-death profle obtained shows a bimodal attritional mortality curve typical of hunter-gatherer societies. Juvenile index (JI), fertility index (FI), and population growth rates suggest that the analyzed sample represents a growing society. Furthermore, the juvenile index value suggests that it would not present bias between the different age categories. Finally, the importance of approaching this type of study is highlighted to be able to make inferences about the dynamics of prehistoric societies of the region at a time when important changes in the organization of these groups are proposed.