HYPOTHESIS ABOUT THE PEOPLING OF FUEGO-PATAGONIA FROM THE GENETIC POPULATION ANALYSIS OF THE CRANEOFACIAL VARIATION

Abstract

In this work we propose a “model-bound” approach to the settlement of Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia, by testing the association between hypothesized settlement models and craniofacial variation. R matrix methods and matrix permutation analyses were performed upon a data matrix of craniofacial measurements of nine samples belonging to Fueguian/Patagonian populations. Association of biological distances with seven design matrices representing several settlement patterns was tested using matrix permutation tests. A model representing a long history of isolation between Fueguian and Patagonian indians, isolation-by-distance in the central region of Patagonia and a strong effect of the araucanian immigration in the northern area, rather than a model emphasizing differences in life-strategies, shows the best correlation with the biological distance matrix.