Comparación de aproximaciones cuantitativas a la osteometría de camélidos andinos en el noroeste argentino

Identification of wild and domestic camelid species within archaeofaunal assemblages from Northwestern Argentina, or the construction of reliable indicators of taxonomic structure at least, is a central and challenging issue for regional zooarchaeology. Osteometry became the usual method for camelid species identification since the pioneering works of Miller and Kent. This method is based on a purported body-size gradient between Andean Lamini genera and species and the comparison of archaeological measurements against modern specimens from known species. Reviewed literature shows a broad range of quantitative approaches to comparison and classification of archaeological specimens, including univariate, bivariate and multivariate methods. This paper compares these methods applying them to an archaeological sample as to exemplify their usual application and interpretation.