Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1649e1658 http://www.elsevier.

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Articial cranial deformation in South America: a geometric morphometrics approximation

S. Ivan Perez*
CONICET, Division Antropologa, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900 La Plata, Argentina Received 17 August 2006; received in revised form 16 November 2006; accepted 5 December 2006

Abstract The bioarchaeological record of South America is characterized by the high frequency of individuals with a variety of cranial deformations concentrated in three areas (North-West, Central-West and South) of this subcontinent. The general purpose of this paper is to study the variation in articial cranial deformation in several regions of Central-West and South of South America. Cranial variation related to articial deformation of human cranial remains is analyzed by means of geometric morphometrics and multivariate statistic methods. The results of this work show that there are no large differences in variation among states, chiefdoms and bands of hunter-gatherers. The pattern of variation observed in cranial deformation among regions can be interpreted principally according to the chronological and spatial distribution of the cranial samples analyzed. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Bioarchaeology; Cultural cranial variation; Cluster identication; Semilandmarks

1. Introduction The practice of altering the normal growth and development of the head during the rst few years of life through application of external forces was a widespread cultural phenomenon in modern humans (Buikstra and Ubelaker, 1994; Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938; Dingwall, 1931; Ubelaker, 1984). This practice, named articial cranial deformation, can be intentional (to produce a specic shape), or unintentional (the by-product of other behavior) (Brothwell, 1981; Ubelaker, 1984). While in the rst case the deformation is generally used as indicative of group identity (Blom, 2005a; Getszten, 1993; Munizaga, 1992; Torres-Rouff, 2002, 2003), unintentional deformation is mainly the consequence of the use of a board or band to swaddle the infant to the cradle (Brothwell, 1981). Despite the differences in degree of intentionality, such activities

* Tel.: 54 221 425 9819. E-mail address: iperez@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar 0305-4403/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2006.12.003

result in a modied head shape that is associated with some cultural practices performed during infancy (Buikstra and Ubelaker, 1994; Brothwell, 1981; Torres-Rouff, 2003; Ubelaker, 1984), and therefore carry some social signicance (Torres-Rouff, 2003). The bioarchaeological record of South America is characterized by the high frequency of individuals with a variety of cranial deformations (Imbelloni, 1933a) concentrated in three areas (North-West, Central-West and South) of this subcontinent (Fig. 1). The classic works of Imbelloni and co-workers (Bormida, 1953e54; Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938; Imbelloni, 1933a,b) established that the highest variation in deformations occurs in the Central-West region, coinciding with the chiefdom and state of agriculturalists and/or pastoralists from the Andeans (see Rafno, 1988). In particular, these researchers pointed out that the Tabular erect, Tabular oblique and Annular types (in the classication of Dembo and Imbelloni (1938) as well as their varieties (e.g. Annular erect and oblique) occur in this area (Blom, 2005a; Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938; Imbelloni, 1933a,b; Munizaga, 1992;

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Fig. 1. Geographical distribution of cranial deformations in South America (gray shading; modied after Imbelloni, 1933a) and samples analyzed in this work (abbreviations as in Table 1).

Torres-Rouff, 2002, 2003; Weiss, 1962). In contrast, the bands of hunter-gatherers from the Southern region (i.e. Pampa and Patagonia; see Borrero, 1999, 2001; Orquera, 1987; Politis and Madrid, 2001) have been characterized by low variability of cranial deformations, with all of them considered unin tentional (Bormida, 1953e54; Imbelloni, 1924e25, 1933a). The different deformations found in this area were considered varieties of the Tabular erect type (Bormida, 1953e54; Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938) generated by swaddling the infant to the cradle (although this idea was discussed more recently by Mendonca et al., 1988e89). The analysis of the variation in articial cranial deformation was a relevant issue of earlier anthropological work. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries numerous studies were carried out to construct classications of cranial deformation (e.g. Broca, 1878, 1879; Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938; Gosse, 1855, 1861; Hrdlicka, 1912; Imbelloni, 1924e25; Neuman, 1942; Topinard, 1879). These traditional classications were produced mainly by pooling crania that presented similarities in external vault morphology (Imbelloni, 1924e 25, 1933b) and using a typological (Hull, 1992; Hunt, 1981; Sober, 1992) approach. This procedure is subject to signicant observer error, and it has limited capacity for

the study of morphological variation. In the rst half of the twentieth century, morphometric procedures were developed (based in planes, lineal measurement and angles), along with new classications based on inferring the cause of deformation (e.g. Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938; Imbelloni, 1924e25). In addition to building classications, the early studies were focused in the use of cranial deformation as cultural trait in the analysis of ethnographic and prehistoric groups (Bormida, 1953e54; Imbelloni, 1924e25, 1933a,b; Weiss, 1962, among others), as well as in the inuence of cranial deformation on racial classications (Bormida, 1953e54; Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938). Likewise, more recent studies have been mainly interested in both the effects of cranial vault deformation on craniofacial growth and de velopment (e.g. Anton, 1989; Anton and Weinstein, 1999; Cheverud et al., 1979, 1992; Corruccini, 1976; Friess and Baylac, 2003; Kohn et al., 1993; Konigsberg et al., 1993; Richtsmeier et al., 1984), and the use of deformation as indicative of group identity (e.g. Blom, 2005a; Munizaga, 1992; Torres-Rouff, 2002, 2003). However, although new and more comprehensive morphometric approximations have been applied, in particular to the study of the effects of cranial deformation over craniofacial anatomy (e.g. Cheverud et al., 1992; Friess and Baylac, 2003; Kohn et al., 1993), the analyses in these studies have been based on the traditional classication. In like manner, the recent investigations on articial cranial deformation in the CentralWest region of South America from a bioarchaeological perspective (e.g. Blom, 2005a,b; Munizaga, 1992; OBrien, 2003; OBrien and Sanzetenea, 2002; Torres-Rouff, 2002, 2003) has been addressed from a typological perspective, using the traditional classication (e.g. Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938; Imbelloni, 1924e25; Steward, 1973) to examine broad regional differences. The general goal of this paper is to study the variation in articial cranial deformation in several regions of CentralWestern and Southern South America (Fig. 1). This work aims specically at: (a) analyzing vault variation generated by cultural factors in samples that represent prehistoric populations of band of hunter-gatherers and chiefdoms and state of agriculturalists and/or pastoralists; (b) grouping individuals with similar culturally modied vault morphology within each sample; and (c) comparing cultural variation among samples. Cranial variation related to articial deformation of human cranial remains will be analyzed by means of geometric morphometrics (Adams et al., 2004; Marcus, 1990; Rohlf, 1990; Rohlf and Marcus, 1993) and multivariate statistical methods. The fundamental advantage of geometric morphometrics over traditional approaches (Marcus, 1990; Reyment et al., 1984) is in the development of powerful statistical methods based on models for shape variation of an entire conguration of points corresponding to the locations of morphological landmarks (Bookstein, 1991; Rohlf, 1999, 2000) and semilandmarks (Bookstein, 1997). Thus, it will be possible to contrast previous studies dealing with the variation of cranial deformations in broad regional scale with a new, more objective and powerful procedure.

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2. Materials and methods The samples of human remains included in this study correspond to adult (ca. 18 to 45 years) male and female individuals from several South American regions (Fig. 1, Table 1). Sex and age estimation were made on the basis of cranial and pelvic features (Buikstra and Ubelaker, 1994). The samples analyzed belong to late Holocene prehistoric populations with differences in subsistence modes, hierarchy and social organization (Table 1). While the groups from Andes (B, J-S and NC) are agriculturalists and/or pastoralists with chiefdom or state organization, the Patagonian (NR, ChR and SP), South Cuyo (SC) and Chaco (Ch-E) groups are bands of huntergatherers. For morphometric analyses the individuals were positioned in the Frankfurt plane and digital images were obtained from the crania in lateral (left side) norm with an Olympus Camedia C-3030 digital camera. Coordinates for two landmarks (-) and 78 semilandmarks (C) were recorded on the lateral norm of the crania (Fig. 2). Alignment fans at equal angular displacements along a curve were placed using the MakeFan6 software (Sheets, 2003), and the coordinates of landmarks and semilandmarks were recorded by means of the tpsDIG 1.40 software (Rohlf, 2004). Two series of observations were performed on a sample of 15 crania selected by means of random numbers from the Division Antropologa of the Facultad de Ciencias Natural y Museo (UNLP) collection, with the purpose of evaluating intraobserver reliability for recording the coordinates of landmarks and semilandmarks used in this study. These series of observations were separated by a 15-day interval. Analysis of intraclass correlation was performed on these coordinates to assess the degree of concordance between series (Shrout and Fleiss, 1979; Zar, 1999). The effects of location, scaling and orientation in landmark congurations were removed using Generalized Procrustes analysis (GPA; Bookstein, 1991; Rohlf and Slice, 1990).
Table 1 Samples analyzed Samples Bolivia1 Jujuy-Salta1,2 North Cuyo1,2 South Cuyo3 Negro River1,2 Chubut River1 South Patagonia1,2,4,5,6 Chaco-Entre Ros1,2 Total
1

Fig. 2. Landmarks (-) and semilandmarks (C) recorded from the craniofacial structure.

Semilandmarks of the crania in lateral norm were aligned by means of the sliding semilandmark method proposed by Bookstein (1997). This operation extends the GPA in order to slide the semilandmark points along the outline curve until they match as well as possible the positions of corresponding points along an outline in a reference specimen (Sheets et al., 2004). This is done because the curves or contours should be homologous from subject to subject, whereas their individual points are not (Bookstein et al., 2002). The remaining variation among individuals is considered as difference in shape. In this study we used the Semiland6 software (Sheets, 2003) to align the semilandmarks along their respective curves, sliding them along it, in order to minimize the Procrustes distance between the subject and a reference (Sampson et al., 1996; Sheets et al., 2004).

Abbr. B J-S NC SC NR ChR SP Ch-E

N\ 26 33 18 9 58 66 25 10 245

N_ 36 35 20 23 74 78 33 17 316

Region Altiplano Tilcara, La Poma and La Paya Calingasta, Angualasto, Pachimoco and Jachal Atuel river Negro river (nearby to the coast) Chubut river (nearby to the coast) NW of Santa Cruz, Magallanes and Ro Gallegos Formosa, Chaco and Entre Ros

Years BPa 500e1000 500e1000 600e800 350e800 350e600 2000e3700b 500e1100 1500e2000b 350e1100 200e1000

Division Antropologa, Museo de La Plata (La Plata); 2Museo Etnograco (Buenos Aires); 3Museo Municipal de San Rafael (Mendoza); 4Instituto de la Patagonia Austral (Punta Arenas); 5Instituto Nacional de Antropologa y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, (Buenos Aires); 6Museo Regional Provincial Padre Manuel Jesus Molina (Ro Gallegos). a Approximate date established in base to radiocarbon dating and contextual information. b Some areas present two moments with different cranial deformations.

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Shape variation within each sample was evaluated using Footes (1993) disparity measurement. This is dened as morP phological disparity D (d2)/(n 1) where di represents i the distance of the specimens to the group centroid (Zelditch et al., 2004). Disparity was measured using DisparityBox6 software (Sheets, 2003), which uses the Partial Procrustes distance as di measure. The method of Relative Warps was used for the comparison of the congurations of landmarks and semilandmarks (Bookstein, 1991). Relative warps are principal components of the partial warps plus component uniform vectors (Bookstein, 1991; Rohlf, 1993), and were used to describe the major trends in shape variation among and within samples. The partial warp scores are components along the orthogonal eigenvectors of the bending energy matrix and describe non-afne patterns of shape difference (Bookstein, 1989, 1991; Rohlf, 1993, 1996), whereas the uniform components describe afne shape differences (Bookstein, 1996; Rohlf and Bookstein, 2003). An important aspect of this analysis is that the results of statistical analysis can be expressed as an intuitive deformation grid diagram of each case with respect to the mean form or reference. The analyses were made using the Relative warps 1.40 software (Rohlf, 2004). The value of the alpha parameter was 0 (zero), thus including variation at all scales. A Kernel analysis (Baxter et al., 1997; Browman and Foster, 1963; Wand, 1994; Wand and Jones, 1995) was used to investigate the distribution of the shapes related to cranial deformation in the morphometric plane generated by the Relative Warps analysis. This technique provides a smoother representation of the data and can be used as an informal kind of clustering method (Baxter et al., 1997). Kernel analysis was performed using KernSmooth 2.22 package for R 1.9.1 (Ihaka and Gentleman, 1996). Finally, the variation among the consensus (mean shape; see Bookstein, 1991) of the groups dened by the Relative Warps and Kernel analyses of each sample was analyzed by means of Relative Warps analysis. The patterns of ordination produced by this analysis were compared with the geographic location of the samples using the Procrustes method (Digby and Kempton, 1987; Gower, 1971; Peres-Neto and Jackson, 2001). This method scales and rotates the ordinations, using a minimum squared differences criterion, in order to nd an optimal superimposition that maximizes their t. The sum of the squared residuals between congurations in their optimal superimposition can then be used as a measurement of association (Gower, 1971). A permutation procedure (PROTEST; 10,000 permutations) was then used to assess the statistical signicance of the Procrustean t (Peres-Neto and Jackson, 2001). Procrustes analysis was made using vegan 1.4.4 package for R 1.9.1 (Ihaka and Gentleman, 1996).

The samples from Bolivia, Jujuy-Salta and Negro River samples showed the highest values of disparity when withinsample variation was estimated (Table 2). These values are two (Jujuy-Salta and Negro River samples) and three (Bolivia sample) times higher than those for the undeformed sample (Chaco-Entre Ros) and for the samples with deformed and undeformed crania from Cuyo, Chubut River and South Patagonia (this latter sample presented few cases with evidence of deformation, most of them coming from the north of Santa Cruz province, Argentina). The scores of the two rst relative warps of the cranial vault in lateral norm are illustrated only for male individuals of four samples (two samples of Andean region and other two samples of Patagonian region) in Figs. 3 and 4. The results for female individuals are not presented here, but similar ndings were obtained for both sexes. Interestingly, the patterns of concentrations of points were different among the four samples illustrated (Figs. 3 and 4). Three clearly differentiated sets, grouping concentration of morphologies, were distinguished for the Bolivia sample using kernel density contours (Fig. 3a). The largest group (ND) corresponds to the undeformed crania. The grid that corresponds to the rst group interpretable as deformed crania (B1) shows intense compression in both occipital (around the nuchal crest area) and frontal regions, as well as expansion in the posterior area of the parietal bones. In contrast, the grid corresponding to the other group interpretable as deformed crania (B2) presents slight compression in both the occipital and frontal regions. Clearly different results are obtained when the deformation of the Jujuy-Salta sample is analyzed. In this case no clearly differentiated groups of concentration of morphologies can be distinguished using kernel density contours (Fig. 3b). The individuals that correspond to the undeformed (ND) and deformed (J-S) crania are not differentiated, presenting a continuous distribution along the rst relative warps. The grids corresponding to the individuals interpretable as deformed (J-S) present slight compression in both occipital and frontal regions.

Table 2 Footes measurement of within-sample disparity for the regions analyzed Samples Bolivia \ Bolivia _ Jujuy-Salta \ Jujuy-Salta _ North Cuyo \ North Cuyo _ South Cuyo \ South Cuyo _ Negro River \ Negro River _ Chubut River \ Chubut River _ South Patagonia \ South Patagonia _ Chaco-Entre Ros \ Chaco-Entre Ros _ Disparity 0.0024 0.0027 0.0020 0.0016 0.0013 0.0009 0.0013 0.0011 0.0018 0.0018 0.0008 0.0009 0.0010 0.0011 0.0010 0.0009

3. Results The digitization of landmarks and semilandmarks shows excellent consistency (Fleiss, 1981) between observational series (ICC 1.00).

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Fig. 3. Relative Warps and Kernel analyses performed using the Bolivia (a) and Jujuy-Salta (b) male skull samples.

Fig. 4 shows the results for two Patagonian samples. Fig. 4a shows three groups of concentration of cultural morphologies (NR1, NR2 and NR3) and the undeformed group (ND) for Negro River sample. These groups are distributed more

continually that the Bolivia sample. The grid corresponding to the rst group interpretable as deformed (NR1) presents compression in both occipital (around the nuchal crest area) and frontal regions, as well as slight expansion in the posterior

Fig. 4. Relative Warps and Kernel analyses performed using the Negro River (a) and Chubut River (b) male skull samples.

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area of parietal bones. The grid corresponding to the second group interpretable as deformed (NR2) presents slight compression in both occipital and frontal regions. On the other hand, the NR3 group presents compression in the lambda area. Finally, the Kernel analysis does not allow to nd well-dened groups of morphologies within the Chubut River samples (Fig. 4b). The deformed cases (ChR1 and ChR2) are distributed around the undeformed morphologies (ND). The grid corresponding to the individuals interpretable as deformed in the negative values of relative warp 1 present slight compression in the frontal region (ChR1), whereas the individuals interpretable as deformed in the positive values of relative warp 1 present slight compression in the lambda area (ChR2). Fig. 5 shows the comparison of the consensus for culturally generated cranial morphologies for all the samples (the rst two relative warps comprise 88.3% of the total variation among samples). Fig. 5 shows that the cases with slight compression of the frontal bone only occur in the Chubut River sample. The samples with compression at the lambda region are distributed in Central and Northern Patagonia (ChR2 and NR3) and Southern Cuyo (SC). On the other hand, the cases with compression in the frontal and occipital regions occur in the Bolivia, Jujuy-Salta, Negro River and Northern Cuyo samples. The latter sample presents an intermediate

morphology between the fronto-occipital compression and lambda compression morphologies. The samples from Negro River and Bolivia show deformations with compression in both occipital and frontal regions, as well as an expansion in the posterior area of the parietal bones. Finally, the pattern of variation in cranial deformations among samples of later late Holocene is mainly related with their geographic distribution (Fig. 6). The values of association between these variables is higher for male samples (correlation-like statistic derived from the Procrustes t m12 0.88, p 0.001; Fig. 6a) than for female samples (m12 0.80, p 0.016; Fig. 6b). 4. Discussion Articial cranial deformation has been analyzed mainly by means of visual and traditional morphometrics (based on linear measurement and angles) techniques (e.g. Anton, 1989; Blom, rmida, 1953e54; Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938; 2005a,b; Bo Neuman, 1942; OBrien, 2003; OBrien and Sanzetenea, 2002; Torres-Rouff, 2002, 2003; Weiss, 1962). Traditional morphometrics (e.g. Anton, 1989; Anton and Weinstein, 1999; Brown, 1981; Moss, 1958), as well as some earlier geometric morphometrics techniques (i.e. Elliptic Fourier and Finite Element analyses; e.g. Cheverud et al., 1992; Friess and Baylac, 2003; Kohn et al., 1993), have been employed by several researchers for the study of the relationship between articial cranial deformation and craniofacial growth and development. In these works the morphometric information has been used as dependent variable and traditional classications (e.g. Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938; Steward, 1973) have been employed as the independent variable, without previously establishing an objective independent grouping. Similarly, recent analyses of cranial deformation in the context of bioarchaeological studies have based their assessments upon visual determination. South American studies have mostly used the Imbelloni classication (e.g. Blom, 2005a,b; Munizaga, 1992; OBrien, 2003; OBrien and Sanzetenea, 2002; Torres-Rouff, 2002, 2003). The semilandmarks-based geometric morphometric and multivariate analyses of cranial vault in the present work have shown the existence of different cultural morphologies in South America. These morphologies correspond to lambdic and antero-posterior compression, as well as antero-posterior compression plus superior expansion (Figs. 3e5). The results obtained generally agreement with previous descriptions of cranial deformations in this geographic area that were made using morphoscopic techniques (Bormida, 1953e54; Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938; Imbelloni, 1924e25). However, some differences between the results of the present work and previous ones can be highlighted. In the rst place, although the methods used to deform the human cranium to achieve a particularly desired shape may be similar within human groups and very different among them, the nal shape of crania may vary due to other factors, such as osseous remodelation and variations in the degree and duration of the of the deformation practice performed on each individual, among others. Likewise, due to the fact that the degree of standardization of the

Fig. 5. Relative Warps analyses performed using the consensus of cranial deformation groups.

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Fig. 6. Procrustes t of geographic coordinates (circle) onto the position of female (a) and male (b) cranial deformations on relative warps 1 and 2.

deformation can vary among regions and human groups due to cultural causes, the ability to measure such differences is relevant for anthropological research. For instance, the differences observed in the pattern of variation between Bolivia and Negro River regions can be due to the higher standardization of cranial deformation in the former, which could therefore be related to social and cultural differences between regions. These subtle differences in the resultant cranial deformation can only be studied by means of quantitative methods. In the second place, the recognition of discrete groups with associated cultural meaning (in the way the cranial deformation types were traditionally dened) is very subjective and it is subject to signicant observational errors. In some areas there are clearly differentiated cultural groups (e.g. Bolivia and Negro river regions) whereas in other areas this differentiation is not present (e.g. Jujuy-Salta and Chubut river regions). The use of quantitative methods is a useful approach to control observational error, reducing the subjectivity of the cranial deformation classication. This work uses some of the possible approximations; particularly in some samples (e.g. Bolivia and Negro River) the criterion for establishing groups was chosen on the basis of sets of the most densely clustered points in the multivariate space (Baxter et al., 1997), while in other samples groups were divided by choosing a value along relative warp 1. However, the delimitation of groups with similar morphology is not a simple task and the criteria to be applied require further discussion. Finally, the cultural pattern of variation among regions has not been analyzed satisfactorily in past studies. The use of quantitative methods in this work allows obtaining a pattern of variation in cultural characteristics that can be used together with several models of cultural transmission and evolution (Cavalli-Sforza, 2000). The results of this work show that there are no large differences in the variations of articial cranial deformation in Central-West and Southern South America among states, chiefdoms and bands of hunter-gatherers. In particular, although the Bolivian altiplano region shows the greatest variation in morphologies produced by cultural deformation, it is similar to the one observed in Negro River region (Table 2). However, these areas can be distinguished by the fact that

the Bolivian altiplano sample shows more differentiated groups, whereas the Negro River sample shows a greater number of less differentiated- groups (Figs. 3a, 4a and 5). On the other hand, although the samples from Chubut River and Jujuy-Salta did not show a clear boundary between deformed and undeformed individuals, the latter shows greater variation (Figs. 3b and 4b; Table 2). Thus, my results do not support the view held by Imbelloni and co-workers, which emphasized the existence of large differences in the variation occurring in chiefdoms and states with respect to bands of hunter-gatherers (Bormida, 1953e54; Imbelloni, 1924e25, 1933a). These investigators pointed out that the hunter-gatherers from Patagonia present only one culturally modied morphology (Tabular erect) with several variants (plano-lambdic, plano-frontal and pseudocircular), and that these are only unintentional deformations derived form using a table or band to swaddle the infant to the cradle (Bormida, 1953e54; Imbelloni, 1924e25). The attribution of low cultural (although not morphological) variation to Patagonian groups was primarily the result of the ethnological concepts extracted from Kulturkreislehre thinking (see Lowie, 1946). The pattern of variation in cranial deformation observed among regions can be interpreted according to the chronological and spatial distribution of the cranial samples analyzed. All the samples from the Andean region belong to the later late Holocene (ca. 500e1000 years BP), but only the individuals with compression in the lambda region have been dated to later late Holocene in Patagonia and Southern Cuyo (ca. 350e 1100 years BP; Beron and Baf, 2003; Perez, 2006). The other deformations from Patagonia have been radiocarbon-dated to early late Holocene (ca. 1500e3700 years BP; Beron and Baf, 2003; Perez, 2006). Thus, the variation observed within the Patagonian region is to some extent related with temporal differences. In contrast, the variation in deformations among later late Holocene samples is principally related to the geographic distribution of the samples. The Procrustes analyses show that the morphometric variation among cranial deformations is associated with the geographic distance separating them (Fig. 6). In particular, male samples display higher association than female samples, with females ChR2, NR3 and SC

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showing greater difference from NC, J-S and B2 (Fig. 6a) than the one found among males (Fig. 6b). The spatial pattern found could be explained by means of a model of isolation by distance, which has been successfully applied to other cultural traits (Cavalli-Sforza, 2000). This mathematical model, originally developed to explain biological variation, has three relevant parameters in the case of cultural phenomena; of these, the rst two are responsible for the increase of traits differences: innovation rate (equivalent to mutation rate in biology), sampling or coping error (equivalent to genetic drift in biology), as well as the migration rate of the traits between neighborsdwhich decreases trait differences (Cavalli-Sforza, 2000). However, this model cannot explain all the variation observed in later late Holocene, because an important difference in cranial deformations between neighbors is observed in the Bolivian altiplano (Fig. 6). The presence of different variety of cultural deformations in this region has been interpreted as an ethnic marker in this area (Blom, 2005a). An additional interruption in the geographic ordination of the samples is observed in the Cuyo region (Fig. 6). The use of cranial deformation as an ethnic marker probably takes place also in the early late Holocene of Patagonia and nearby areas, where there is archaeological evidence of an increase of territoriality (Madrid and Barrientos, 2000). The increase of territoriality is concordant with greater diversity of cranial deformations in Patagonia (ChR1, NR1 and NR2). This diversity contrasts with the homogeneity in cranial deformation observed in the later late Holocene of Patagonia (Fig. 5), a period marked by greater cultural homogeneity in the area, probably caused by the expansion of North Patagonian populations to nearby regions (Barrientos and Perez, 2004).

studies, and then analyze quantitatively cultural patterns of variation among regions. The analyzed area, the Central-West and South of South America, was characterized by a diversity of cranial deformations. The morphologies found in this area correspond to lambdic and antero-posterior compression, as well as anteroposterior compression plus superior expansion. The results of the present work show that there are no great differences regarding the overall variation of articial cranial deformation between states-chiefdoms and bands of hunter-gatherers, like it was pointed out previously (Bormida, 1953e54; Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938; Imbelloni, 1933a,b). However, these areas can be distinguished by the fact that the sample from the Andeans state (i.e. Bolivian altiplano) show more dened groups that the Patagonian hunter-gatherers which display an more homogeneous dispersion on the shape space (i.e. Negro River). Finally, the pattern of variation in cranial deformation observed among regions can be interpreted according to the some chronological differences in the Patagonian samples, to geographical distribution during the later late Holocene and to ethnic separation for Bolivia and Cuyo-Patagonian boundary as well. Acknowledgements I am sincerely grateful to Valeria Bernal and Paula Gonzalez for their comments that greatly improved the quality of the manuscript. I thank Hector M. Pucciarelli [Division Antropo loga. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, La Plata (Ar gentina)], Ines Baf and Leandro Luna [Museo Etnograco J. B. Ambrosetti, Buenos Aires (Argentina)], Paula Novellino [Museo Municipal de San Rafael (Mendoza, Argentina)], Mateo Martinic [Instituto de la Patagonia Austral (Punta Arenas, Chile)], Rafael Goni [Instituto Nacional de Antropolo ga y Pensamiento Latinoamericano (Buenos Aires, Argentina)], and the staff at Museo Regional Provincial Padre Manuel Jesus Molina (Ro Gallegos, Argentina) for granting access to the human skeletal collections under their care. I also thank to Amelia Barreiro and Cecilia Morgan for help me with the English version of the manuscript. Marina Perez made the drawings for Figs. 1 and 2. Grant sponsor: Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Grant sponsorship: Doctoral Fellowship Argentina Government (CONICET). References
Adams, D.C., Rohlf, F.J., Slice, D.E., 2004. Geometric morphometrics: ten years of progress following the revolution. Italian Journal of Zoology 71, 5e16. Anton, S.C., 1989. Intentional cranial vault deformation and induced changes of the cranial base and face. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 79, 253e267. Anton, S.C., Weinstein, K.J., 1999. Articial cranial deformation and fossil Australians revisited. Journal of Human Evolution 36, 195e209. Barrientos, G., Perez, S.I., 2004. La expansion y dispersion de poblaciones del norte de Patagonia durante el Holoceno tardo: evidencia arqueologica y modelo explicativo. In: Civalero, T., Fernandez, P., Guraieb, G. (Eds.), Contra viento y marea. Arqueologa de Patagonia, Buenos Aires, pp. 179e195.

5. Conclusion The research performed after the works of Imbelloni and co-workers (Bormida, 1953e54; Dembo and Imbelloni, 1938; Imbelloni, 1933a) have mainly discussed the presence or absence of the types dened by these authors in different areas. This approximation was not particularly useful. The continuous nature of the morphologies analyzed in some areas, the different expression of these deformations among regions, plus the high subjectivity involved in the determination of cranial deformations, make the study of cranial deformation using morphoscopic and typological approach way too narrow for a modern anthropological perspective. The application of geometric morphometrics and multivariate techniques provides a wider approach to analyze the vault variation generated by cultural factors, cluster individuals with similar culturally modied vault morphology within each sample, and compare cultural variation among samples. In particular, the semilandmarks-based geometric morphometric and multivariate analyses of cranial vault used in the present work allowed to nd subtle differences in the cranial deformation between samples, as well as to recognize discrete groups of individuals with similar deformation in a lesser subjective way that the previous

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