Miguel Eduardo Delgado

Universidad Nacional de La Plata | UNLP · División de Antropología

Southern South America represents the last continental region settled by humans which presents high ecological diversity impacting human populations inhabiting the region over the Holocene. Previous studies investigating the craniofacial morphology of Patagonian hunter-gatherers suggest high levels of biological diversity. However, the processes an...

During their dispersal across the globe, modern humans met and interbred with distinct archaic hominin lineages, including Neanderthals, Denisovans, and unknown hominin species [1]. This process is known as introgressive hybridization and is thought to play an important role in Middle/Late Pleistocene hominin evolution [2]. While these population i...

Among the most common and well-preserved elements within the hominin fossil record are the teeth which have been intensively used in evolutionary studies. In addition, much of the recent and contemporary human diversity has been assessed using dental morphological traits, including applications in forensic sciences. However, the genetic bases under...

The Holocene population history of pre-Hispanic populations in Florida has remained elusive because previous bioarchaeological research has focused on specific periods and regions, skeletal collections are poorly preserved, and the use of alternative lines of evidence such as aDNA is not possible. Considering that teeth are the best-preserved remai...

Tooth crown morphology plays a critical role in primate systematics, notably to make taxonomic assessments and to reconstruct the evolutionary history of hominids and hominins in particular. Compared with the outer enamel surface, which can be affected by wear and various taphonomic processes, the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) is generally better p...

Resumen: Estudios anteriores han documentado variaciones temporales en la dieta de cazadores-recolectores y horticultores adaptados a bosques de montaña en la Sabana de Bogotá (Colombia). Sin embargo, hasta la fecha no se ha realizado una caracterización de los recursos potencialmente consumidos, lo cual indica que el espectro de la dieta humana no...

Frecuencia y expresión de rasgos dentales discretos en la superficie externa del esmalte (SEE) y la unión esmalte-dentina (UED) en molares superiores de Homo sapiens Resumen: Una amplia serie de rasgos dentales discretos que se expresan en la superficie externa del esmalte (SEE) se usan actualmente en estudios de afinidad biológica y reconstrucción...

The Deseado Massif (Santa Cruz, Argentina) is a region with an abundant and diverse archaeological record. The recurrent occupations throughout the Pleistocene / Holocene transition have allowed detailed studies of the material culture of the first human groups who arrived at this region. Despite different lines of evidence are commonly investigate...

Teeth play a significant role in the study of diversity and evolution of living and extinct hominoids. Their exceptional preservation in the fossil record has promoted their use in taxonomic assessments. The investigation of the outer enamel surface (OES) and the enamel-dentin junction (EDJ) through different quantitative approaches has become a st...

El uso del modelado 3D en el contexto patrimonial es una tendencia que se viene desarrollando en la arqueología a nivel local e internacional, y que ha servido para la documentación, preservación, análisis y difusión de diferentes materiales, manifestaciones rupestres así como en el trabajo de campo. En este estudio se exponen los alcances y limita...

The investigation of external and internal tooth structures of extant and extinct hominoids has provided interesting clues on primate dental evolution and diversity. Given their morphological complexity, a number of studies have focused on the outer enamel surface (OES) and the enamel dentine-junction (EDJ) of upper and lower molars in different pr...

For two decades, stable isotope studies have documented palaeodietary transitions in the Sabana de Bogotá region of north-west South America. Using traditional and Bayesian stable isotope mixing models, this article investigates the contribution of different resources to Holocene human diets. Temporal patterns include dietary emphases on plants dur...

The craniofacial evidence has been pivotal for the investigation of the Native American population history. However, spatially and temporally biased comparisons and the exclusion of key periods have impeded more comprehensive assessments. The aims of this research are to: assess the Native American craniofacial diversity, and its apportionment, acr...

A thematic volume published in Quaternary International to present and discuss different case studies to provide new insights into the first human peopling of northern South America, and also into the strategies displayed by early Neotropical hunter-gatherers to entering, adapting and colonizing this ecologically diverse region.

Northern South America (NSA), which roughly corresponds to the current territories of Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and even Panama, is a key region to address the initial human peopling of the subcontinent, as well as early Neotropical hunter-gatherer adaptations. The reason is twofold, on the one hand, it presents both a strategic geographic locat...

On the basis of distinct lines of evidence, detailed reconstructions of the Holocene population history of the Sabana de Bogotá (SB) region, Northern South America, have been performed. Currently, there exist two competing models that support temporal continuity or, alternatively, divergence. Despite recent bioarchaeological and isotopic research t...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Guinea pigs (Cavia spp.) have a long association with humans. From as early as 10,000 years ago they were a wild food source. Later, domesticated Cavia porcellus were dispersed well beyond their native range through pre-Columbian exchange networks and, more recently, widely across the globe. Here we present 46 complete mitogenomes of archaeological...

On the basis of distinct lines of evidence, detailed reconstructions of the Holocene population history of the Sabana de Bogota (SB) region, Northern South America, have been performed. Currently, there exist two competing models that support temporal continuity or, alternatively, divergence. Despite recent research that lends support to the popula...

Recientemente la bioantropología ha tenido un notable desarrollo en Latinoamérica y El Caribe. Como actores fundamentales están diferentes instituciones públicas y privadas a través de un variado grupo de investigadores e investigadoras que incluyen docentes universitarios, estudiantes de grado, postgrado así como académicos y académicas independie...

Objectives: The taxonomic status of isolated hominoid teeth from the Asian Pleistocene has long been controversial due to difficulties distinguishing between pongine and hominin molars given their high degree of morphometrical variation and overlap. Here, we combine nonmetric and geometric morphometric data to document a dental pattern that appear...

Morphology of the dentino-enamel junction of second maxillary molars in living and fossil hominoids: interspecific comparisons using 3D geometric morphometrics

Objectives To investigate the variation in dental nonmetric traits and to evaluate the utility of this variation for inferring genetic ancestry proportions in a sample of admixed Latin Americans. Materials and Methods We characterized a sample from Colombia (N = 477) for 34 dental traits and obtained estimates of individual Native American, Europe...

The Sabana de Bogotá in the eastern highlands of Colombia is a well-known archaeological region that has played a significant role in the discussion of the initial human expansion into South America. In addition, such region presents a very complete archaeological, bioarchaeological and paleoenvironmental record that encompass the whole Holocene pe...

The arrival, dispersal and microevolution of modern humans in the New World are major topics of research and debate. The quantitative study of craniofacial morphology, using both traditional and geometric morphometric techniques, has been pivotal to reconstruct the Native American population history. Currently, there exists distinct hypothesis and...

The initial peopling of the New World has been investigated using a wide range of bioanthropological evidences including phenotypic traits. The dental morphological diversity has been traditionally used to delineate peopling and microevolutionary scenarios, some of them suggesting contradictory hypotheses. Two common aspects with problematic implic...

Northern South America, corresponding to the current territories of Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Panama, is a relevant region to address the problem of the initial human peopling of the subcontinent, considering both its strategic location—if we assume a primary terrestrial route of access—and environmental gradient. Within such region a number...

Background: Teeth have been intensively used in human evolutionary studies and much of the contemporary human diversity has been investigated using dental characters. Therefore, a great part of our current knowledge on human diversity and evolution has been obtained from the study of teeth. However, the genetic bases underlying variation in dental...

Objectives The scoring and analysis of dental nonmetric traits are predominantly accomplished by using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS), a standard protocol based on strict definitions and three‐dimensional dental plaques. However, visual scoring, even when controlled by strict definitions of features, visual referen...

Biocultural diversity of contemporarySouth American populations has not been studiedextensively, therefore delineating some of the patterns ofphenotypic variation may be useful for understandingtheir ongoing evolution. Thirty-seven deciduous dentalnonmetric traits were scored on 200 dental casts thatwere obtained from four contemporary Colombianeth...

The Sabana de Bogotá in the northern Andes is an interesting region to investigate temporal patterns of dietary variation because it counts with a vast archaeological and osteological record for the last 10,000 years. In this paper stable isotope data of human archaeological bone collagen and apatite were used to study the evolution of diet and maj...

Objectives: The scoring and analysis of dental nonmetric traits are predominantly accomplished by using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS), a standard protocol based on strict definitions and three-dimensional dental plaques. However, visual scoring, even when controlled by strict definitions of features, visual refere...

The taxonomic status of isolated hominoid teeth from Asian Pleistocene deposits has long been controversial due to the morpho-metrical similarities between Homo and Pongo molars. Here we report a variant observed on the internal surface of the mesial marginal ridge of the upper molars that appears to be taxonomically informative. The presence of me...

Colombia is a key area for the study of the initial human peopling of South America given its geographical position and ecological and cultural diversity. Recent advances in archaeological research as well as in the study of molecular diversity and in the analysis of prehispanic bone remains using statistical methods, population approaches, and mor...

Colombia representa un área importante para estudiar el poblamiento inicial de Sudamérica debido a su posición geográfica y marcada diversidad eco-cultural. Avances recientes en la investigación arqueológica así como en el estudio de la diversidad molecular y en el análisis de restos óseos prehispánicos empleando métodos estadísticos, enfoques pobl...

Objectives: Several authors using multiple and independent lines of evidence investigating the biocultural continuity versus discontinuity in the Sabana de Bogotá region, in the eastern highlands of Colombia, have arrived at contradictory conclusions supporting either scenarios. This study analyzes the craniofacial size and shape variation of diac...

The transition from a hunting-collecting-fishing subsistence system to a one based on domesticated plants and/or animals represent a major shift in the recent human evolution. Such transition had distinct biocultural consequences in different spatial and temporal contexts which are important to document using a wide range of evidences among the mos...

This paper presents a synthesis on the existing of the role of plants on the adaptive strategies of human groups that settled in Northwest South America since the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. To contex-tualize the analysis, a brief description of the Colombian Pleistocene sites is presented. The paper presents a broad description of the lithic...

The aim of this paper is to make a critical appraisal of the available 14C dataset from Northwest South America (Colombia) corresponding to the Pleistocene/Holocene transition (ca. 12,000–8000 14C years BP). The first step in the study was to assemble from both published and unpublished sources an exhaustive database of 14C dates (n = 85), recordin...

Carbon (collagen and apatite) and nitrogen stable isotopes as well as trace elements (Sr and Ba) from archaeological human bone samples from Tibanica, a Muisca settlement (1000-1600 AD) in the eastern highlands of Colombia, were used to study the human diet and subsistence in the region during the Late Muisca Period (1200-1600 AD). Isotope and elem...

The northwestern corner of South America, represented by the current territory of Colombia, is a key region to assess some relevant issues linked with the initial human peopling of the area, including population dispersals, cultural diversity, and early adaptations to the changing environmental conditions experienced by lowland and highland north-A...

Dental and isotopic evidences for cultural and biological change over the Holocene in the Sabana de Bogotá Colombia.

Resumen S e presenta un estudio de la variación craneofacial en muestras del noroccidente de Suramérica, distribuidas ampliamente en un sentido espacial y temporal, con el objetivo de proponer hipótesis sobre el poblamiento inicial. Se llevaron a cabo diferentes análisis (matriz-R, correlación de matrices y morfometría geométrica) para estudiar la...

A partir de los orígenes de la antropología física (biológica), las tendencias en su designación y en sus contenidos, se propone que el término bioantropología tenga un significado más amplio que resalte su perfil interdisciplinar y el uso de métodos mixtos de investigación. Para ilustrar el desarrollo de dichas tendencias en Colombia, se muestra e...

Se presenta un estudio de la variación craneofacial en muestras del noroccidente de Suramérica, distribuidas ampliamente en un sentido espacial y temporal, con el objetivo de proponer hipótesis sobre el poblamiento inicial. Se llevaron a cabo diferentes análisis (matriz-R, correlación de matrices y morfometría geométrica) para estudiar la historia...

Study of the craniofacial diversity among samples from Northwest South America, temporal and spatially scattered, is presented in order to create hypotheses for the early peopling of the region. Several kinds of statistical procedures (R-matrix, matrix correlation analysis and geometric morphometrics) were performed in order to assess the populatio...

Starting with the origins of physical (biological) anthropology, its trends and contents, the authors proposed the term bioanthropology to include a broader meaning which highlights its interdisciplinary profile and the use of mixed methods of research. To illustrate the development of such trends in Colombia, the history of the discipline at the U...

Datos sobre isótopos estables de carbono (colágeno y apatita) y nitrógeno obtenidos de 60 muestras humanas y 7 de fauna provenientes de Tibanica un poblado muisca tardío (1350-940 a.P) en la Cordillera Oriental de Colombia fueron empleados para investigar la dieta y subsistencia durante el periodo muisca (1100-350 a.P). Los análisis isotópicos de l...

The human history of the Sabana de Bogotá (SB) in Northern South America has been interpreted both as a continuous process of biocultural evolution and as a process of population discontinuities. Both hypotheses were evaluated on the basis of craniofacial morphology and radiocarbon evidence within a paleoenvironmental framework. The results suggest...

Geometric morphometric analysis of craniofacial morphology of Samples from the Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia.

Los cambios en el clima y en la vegetación ocurridos durante la transición Pleistoceno/Holoceno (ca. 12-8 años 14C AP) afectaron - a las comunidades ecológicas americanas, por lo que cualquier modelo que pretenda explicar la dispersión de los humanos a escala continental debe incorporar dicha evidencia. En el Norte de Sur América, los cambios paleo...

Contemporary variation in skin pigmentation is the result of hundreds of thousands years of human evolution in new and changing environments. Previous studies have identified several genes involved in skin pigmentation differences among African, Asian, and European populations. However, none have examined skin pigmentation variation among Indigenou...

The Uto-Aztecan premolar (UAP) is a dental polymorphism characterized by an exaggerated distobuccal rotation of the paracone in combination with the presence of a fossa at the intersection of the distal occlusal ridge and distal marginal ridge of upper first premolars. This trait is important because, unlike other dental variants, it has been found...

Se comparó la incidencia de 16 rasgos dentales no-métricos en los homínidos de la Cueva Superior de Zhoukoudian (UC) (c. 34-29 Ka-Norte de China) con otras poblaciones del noreste y sudeste de Asia. Contrario a lo sugerido previamente, la morfología dental de UC posee un sorprendente parecido con el patrón sundadonte típico del sudeste de Asia. Grá...

Biocultural diversity of cotemporary South American populations has not been extensively studied; therefore patterns of phenotypic variation may be useful to understand their ongoing evolution. Thirty-seven dental non-metric traits in deciduous dentition were scored in two hundred dental casts which were obtained from four contemporary Colombian et...

The Atlantic slave trade moved more than 13 million Africans to American lands between the 15th and 19th centuries. Previous historical, linguistic, and social-cultural studies suggested a Western-Central Bantu African origin for the Colombian slaves; however, their precise provenance remains unclear. The present study investigates the variation of...

Native American societies suffered a profound deterioration of health under European colonization. In addition, diet diversity and nutritional quality decreased whereas workloads and violence increased considerably. Social and cultural consequences of such contact have been well documented by archaeology, history and ethno-history. However, the tru...

El estudio de las enfermedades dentales en grupos humanos antiguos busca reconstruir y recrear la forma de vida de las poblaciones antiguas relacionadas directamente con su estado de salud y enfermedad. Con este estudio se pretende conocer la prevalencia de las enfermedades dentales presentes en esta población, así como sus causas y su posible rela...