A look into the wild. Pathological analysis of a modern collection of guanacos from the Dry Chaco and its implications for South American camelid paleopathological studies

Objective

This article evaluates the prevalence of lesions in a modern osteological collection of guanacos (Lama guanicoe) and discusses the potential of paleopathological data to assess human intervention and environmental stress.

Materials

A modern osteological collection of guanacos (NISP = 862) from north-western Córdoba, Central Argentina.

Methods

The prevalence of pathological specimens per skeletal element and the pathological index (Bartosiewicz et al., 1997) was used. The prevalence of arthropathies, trauma and infections was quantified. Additionally, thorn lesions in the autopodium were recorded.

Results

11.03 % of the specimens presented pathological changes and the mean pathological index was 0.01. Degenerative lesions were the most prevalent type (10.34 %), followed by traumatic (0.81 %) and infectious pathologies (0.12 %). Thorn lesions (2.55 %) were recorded especially in metapodials.

Conclusions

Guanacos are exposed to the development of degenerative lesions, mainly in the autopodium and vertebrae. These lesions are probably common in camelids and should not be used to argue human management. Traumatic and infectious lesions are less frequent.

Significance

This work provides baseline information for the paleopathological study of South American camelids and contributes to the characterization of a regionally endangered species.

Limitations

The nature of the faunal assemblage did not allow for direct correlations between pathologies and individual variables such as sex or age.

Suggestions for further research

The comparison of our results with other wild and domesticated modern populations would be valuable to expand the baseline information for paleopathological studies. The use of quantitative methods is encouraged for future comparative and diachronic studies.