Enterrados en el tiempo: Estudio de los restos humanos del sitio Mortero Hachado (dpto. Trancas, Tucumán, Argentina) a más de dos décadas de su hallazgo

This work presents the results of the analysis of human remains and necrosoles recovered at the Mortero Hachado archaeological site (Trancas, Tucumán) between 1996-1999. Due to the limited contextual information and the highly fragmented, mixed, incomplete, and deteriorated osteological assemblage, it was necessary to apply theoretical-methodological strategies to obtain bioarchaeological data of interest in samples with these conditions. A plan for preventive conservation of the remains was implemented and quantitative analyses, and sex and age-at-death estimations were carried out. Given the abundance of teeth recovered compared to osseous elements, the recording of health and metabolic-systemic stress indicators focused on dental analysis. In addition, necrosoles from the burial area were analysed to characterize the burial practices. The analyses revealed a Minimum Number of Individuals of 6 non-adult and adult individuals, inhumed in at least three different funerary modalities, with remarkable differences in oral health and numerous indicators of systemic metabolic stress in all adults. This research represents the first bioarchaeological contribution for the Yungas of the northern region of Tucuman province.