The development of an archaeological survey on the coast of Dawson and Wickham island, located in a strategic position between different path roads that connect the central portion of the Magellan strait with the fueguian archipelago, allowed detecting 27 sites that correspond to former marine hunter-gatherer camps of the inhabitants of the zone. The accomplishment of excavations in six of these sites allowed recovering an interesting set of archaeological fauna remains. From the analysis of these assemblages, we describe the main observed characteristics and offer a first panorama referred to the subsistence of the groups that lived in this zone of the fueguian archipelago.

El desarrollo de una prospección arqueológica en la costa de isla Dawson e isla Wickham, ubicadas en una posición estratégica entre las diferentes vías de comunicación que conectan la porción central del estrecho de Magallanes con el archipiélago fueguino, registró 27 yacimientos que corresponden a antiguos campamentos de cazadores-recolectores marinos que habitaron la zona. La realización de excavaciones de sondeo en seis de estos sitios permitió recuperar un interesante conjunto de restos arqueofaunísticos. A partir del análisis de éstos conjuntos, describimos las principales características observadas y ofrecemos un primer panorama referido a la subsistencia de los grupos que habitaron esta zona del archipiélago fueguino.

During the excavations of the XIX century Meadowlark cemetery (Manhattan, Kansas, US), samples of sediments were taken from around five skeletons, and analyzed to detect intestinal parasites. No helminth eggs were found, but immunological ELISA tests for Entamoeba histolytica were positive in three samples. The immunological techniques have been successfully used in paleoparasitology to detect protozoan infections. Amoebiasis could have been a severe disease in the past, especially where poor sanitary conditions prevailed, and there is evidence that this cemetery may have been used in a situation where poor sanitary conditions may have prevailed. The presence of this protozoan in US during the late XIX century gives information on the health of the population and provides additional data on the parasite's evolution since its appearance in the New World.