Abstract: This ethnography is about a particular human-animal relationship based on primatological research on groups of wild robust capuchin monkeys living in Parque Estadual Carlos Botelho (Brazil), one of the largest preserved areas of Atlantic Tropical Forest in the world. It emphasizes the complex situations that highlight the difficulty of making this research. This space integrates administrative, scientific and local interests, producing a unique cartography. We reflect on the scientific research considering the relations among primatologist, field assistant and other animals and comparing it with the hunt. “Hunt” is a model inspired in techniques and in some aspects of recreational hunt to expand the comprehension of a complex routine defined to obtain behavior data.

ABSTRACT The origin and dispersion of the first Americans have been extensively investigated from morphological and genetic perspectives, but few studies have focused on their health and lifestyle. The archaeological site of Lapa do Santo, central-eastern Brazil, has exceptionally preserved Early Holocene human skeletons, providing 19 individuals with 327 permanent and 122 deciduous teeth dated to 9,250 to 7,500 years BP. In this study, we test whether the inhabitants of Lapa do Santo had high prevalence of dental caries as previous studies of Lagoa Santa collection have indicated, using individual and tooth as units of analyses. The results show a high prevalence of dental caries in the permanent dentition (5.50%, n=327 teeth; 69.23%, n=13 individuals) compared to other samples of hunter-gatherers worldwide. In addition, dental caries in deciduous teeth start occurring as early as 3 to 4 years old, suggesting an early start to caries. Compared with other samples from Lagoa Santa, Lapa do Santo shows statistically similar prevalence of overall caries but different caries location pattern. We believe that a subsistence adaptation to a tropical environment rich in sources of carbohydrates, such as fruits, is the best explanation for the overall caries prevalence.

ABSTRACT Recent fossil material found in Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa, was initially described as a new species of genus Homo, namely Homo naledi. The original study of this new material has pointed to a close proximity with Homo erectus. More recent investigations have, to some extent, confirmed this assignment. Here we present a phenetic analysis based on dentocranial metric variables through Principal Components Analysis and Cluster Analysis based on these fossils and other Plio-Pleistocene hominins. Our results concur that the Dinaledi fossil hominins pertain to genus Homo. However, in our case, their nearest neighbors are Homo habilis and Australopithecus sediba. We suggest that Homo naledi is in fact a South African version of Homo habilis, and not a new species. This can also be applied to Australopithecus sediba.

Vertebral osteophytosis was studied as a marker for physical stress in prehistoric populations of San Pedro de Atacama from the Middle (400 - 1.000 A.D.) and Late Intermediate (1.000 - 1.450 A.D.) periods. The mean degree of osteophytosis was recorded in each vertebral segment of 154 individuals from four sites: Solcor 3, Coyo 3, Quitor 6 and Toconao Oriente. Osteophytosis prevalence was more severe in older individuals, corroborating its degenerative nature. However, after correction for age impact in osteophytosis prevalence, significant differences were observed between sites. Differences in osteophytosis prevalence between sexes were not significant. The results show that during the Late Intermediate period populations of both sexes suffered less vertebral stress than during the Middle period, particularly during the its end. Changes in activity patterns (amount of energy invested, intensity or type of activities undertaken) could account for the differences found.

Se estudió la osteofitosis vertebral como indicador de estrés físico en grupos humanos prehistóricos de San Pedro de Atacama, durante los períodos Medio (400 DC - 1000 DC) e Intermedio Tardío (1000 DC - 1450 DC). Se registró el grado promedio de osteofitosis vertebral de cada segmento vertebral en 154 individuos adultos de cuatro sitios: Solcor 3, Coyo 3, Quitor 6 y Toconao Oriente. Se comprobó el carácter degenerativo de la osteofitosis vertebral, ya que el grado promedio de osteofitosis fue mayor en el rango etario más viejo. Se observaron diferencias significativas entre sitios sólo en este rango. No se encontraron diferencias en el grado de osteofitosis entre sexos. Los resultados indicaron que durante el período Intermedio Tardío, tanto hombres como mujeres, sufrieron un estrés físico sobre la espalda menor que las poblaciones que vivieron durante el período Medio, especialmente a finales de este período, posiblemente por cambios en los patrones de actividad, ya sea en la energía invertida en sus actividades y por consecuencia, en la intensidad de las actividades físicas desarrolladas, o en diferencias en el tipo de actividades desarrolladas.

Até meados da década de 1990, predominava na literatura especializada que o Novo Mundo teria sido colonizado por três levas distintas, todas com origem no nordeste asiático. Na segunda metade da década, dois modelos alternativos começaram a desfrutar de grande popularidade entre a comunidade acadêmica internacional. O primeiro deles, denominado "Modelo dos Dois Componentes Biológicos Principais", baseado na variabilidade craniométrica de populações nativas americanas extintas, sugere que a América teria sido colonizada por pelo menos duas populações morfologicamente distintas vindas do nordeste asiático. O segundo, gerado por pesquisas sobre a variabilidade do DNA mitocondrial e do cromossomo Y de populações indígenas atuais, defende que o continente americano teria sido colonizado por apenas uma migração, também de origem asiática. Alguns especialistas acreditam que a compatibilização desses dois modelos é simples: as duas morfologias que se sucederam no tempo no Novo Mundo são resultado de um processo microevolutivo local, independente daquele que ocorreu, em paralelo, na Ásia. Uma outra maneira de compatibilizar os dois cenários é assumir que morfologia craniana e linhagens de DNA são entidades evolutivamente independentes, com histórias, modos, tempos e tendências próprias. Este trabalho apresenta novas evidências de que dois padrões morfológicos cranianos de fato se sucederam no Novo Mundo. Um relacionado às populações mais antigas (paleoíndias) e um relacionado a populações arcaicas e agrocerâmicas. Esses resultados são analisados à luz da discussão acima caracterizada.

Until mid 1990s the prevailing model to explain the early colonization of the Americas rested on the assumption that three different migrations were involved in the process. The first migration would have given rise to most of the modern Native Americans, and is known as "Amerind"; the second migration would have given rise only to the Na-Dene Indians of the northern pacific; while the third would have given rise to the Eskimos and Aleuts. Known as the Three Migrations Model, the model was said to rest on convergent evidences coming from dental morphology, linguistics and the gene pool of living Native Americans. By the time the model was formulated, genetic diversity of living humans was studied by means of gene products, like serum proteins, and not by means of DNA itself. From mid 1990s on, two other models to explain the origin of Native Americans started competing with the Three Migration Model. They are known today as The Two Main Biological Components Model, and The Single Migration Model. The first one rests on the analysis of the cranial morphology of extinct and extant Native Americans along time, while the second has emerged from the study of DNA polymorphisms of living populations, mainly from mitochondrial and Y chromosome DNA sequencing. In other words, evidence coming from cranial morphology and its variation along time sustains that two Northern Asian populations entered the continent: the first one exhibiting a more generalized cranial pattern, and a second one exhibiting a more specialized architecture. On the other hand, the distribution of DNA haplogroups in modern Native American populations is easily explained by the entrance of only one mother population from Northern Asia. In this study we present new evidence that two very distinct cranial morphologies are indeed found among extinct Native Americans along time: a more generalized cranial pattern typifying the first newcomers, known in the literature as Paleoindians (12 to 8 thousand years ago), and a more specialized pattern typifying latter groups, since the Archaic period (<8 thousand years). Although exceptions to this temporal logic have already been found, the chronology proposed seems to work in the vast majority of the American continent. The results obtained are discussed under the light of those generated by Molecular Biology of extant Native Americans.

Desde sua primeira descoberta entre 1842 e 1843, pelo naturalista dinamarquês Peter W. Lund, os remanescentes ósseos humanos de Lagoa Santa, Brasil Central, estavam destinados a impactar de forma indelével os estudos sobre as origens dos primeiros americanos. Entre sua primeira descoberta e a década de 1970, a palavra homogeneidade biológica foi sempre aplicada a esses remanescentes como sinônimo de identidade biológica populacional. Mello e Alvim (1977; ver também Mello e Alvim et al., 1983-1984) associou a esse termo um novo significado: o de que tal população apresentava uma diversidade biológica extremamente reduzida, quando comparada a outras populações humanas, tendo sugerido, a partir daí, que a população antiga de Lagoa Santa teria sido formada originalmente por poucos indivíduos e vivido de forma isolada de outras populações contemporâneas. Essa sugestão teve grande impacto na comunidade arqueológica brasileira, levando alguns arqueólogos a tentar compreender certos aspectos da cultura material e da organização social desses primeiros americanos da perspectiva do isolamento. Neste trabalho demonstramos, com a ajuda de cálculos simples sobre quantificação em antropologia, disponíveis na literatura há pelo menos um século, que a proposta de Mello e Alvim (1977) não resiste nem mesmo a uma análise superficial dos dados disponíveis sobre a variabilidade craniométrica desses primeiros americanos. Contrariamente à proposta daquela autora, a população paleoíndia tardia de Lagoa Santa está entre as populações humanas mundiais mais diversas biologicamente.

Since their first discovery in 1842-1843, by Peter Lund, the human skeletal remains from Lagoa Santa, Brazil, were destined to influence, substantially, the discussion about the settlement of the Americas, from a biological perspective. Until 1970 several authors have refered to these remains as a homogenous collection, implying that these individuals represented just one biological population or "race". Mello e Alvim (1977; see also Mello e Alvim et al., 1983-1984) was the first to use explicitly the term "homogeneity" as implying a very low intra-population diversity among these late paleoindians. For her, the extremely low diversity among the Lagoa Santa specimens could be explained only by a narrow bottle neck occuring during the occupation of the region, followed by geographic isolation from other contemporary groups. The idea of a extremely low diverse population in ancient Lagoa Santa led some brazilian archeologists to elaborate on the "isolation hypothesis", and to use it to explain local characteristics of material culture and social organization. In this paper we show that even very simple quantification techniques is able to demonstrate that the Lagoa Santa early inhabitants are among the most diverse populations in the planet, as it is normally the case with Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene hunter-gatherers.

Diversos estudos sobre afinidades morfológicas extra-continentais de esqueletos paleoíndios, executados independentemente na América do Sul e do Norte, têm indicado uma ocupação inicial do continente americano por não-mongolóides. Os primeiros sul-americanos demonstram uma clara semelhança com populações sul-pacíficas e africanas, enquanto os primeiros norte-americanos parecem encontrar-se em uma posição indefinida entre sul-pacíficos e europeus. Em nenhuma destas análises os primeiros americanos demonstraram qualquer similaridade com populações modernas do nordeste asiático ou com índios americanos atuais. Até então, estes estudos haviam incluído esqueletos datados de 8,000 a 10,000 anos atrás. Neste trabalho, as afinidades extra-continentais de um esqueleto paleoíndio bem contextualizado entre 11,000 e 11,500 anos atrás (Lapa Vermelha IV Hominídeo 1, ou Luzia) são investigadas, usando como amostras de referência as séries mundiais de Howells (1989) e a coleção de fósseis de hominídeos do Pleistoceno tardio de HabGood (1985). A comparação entre Lapa Vermelha IV Hominídeo 1 e as séries de Howells baseou-se em análises de variáveis canônicas incluindo 45 variáveis craniométricas corrigidas quanto ao tamanho, enquanto a comparação com hominídeos fósseis foi baseada em análise de componentes principais incluindo 16 variáveis também corrigidas. No primeiro caso, Lapa Vermelha IV Hominídeo 1 exibiu afinidade morfológica indiscutível, primariamente com africanos e, em seguida, com populações sul-pacíficas. Na segunda comparação, o mais antigo esqueleto americano conhecido apresentou maior similaridade com os primeiros australianos, Zhoukoudian UC103 e Taforalt 18. Os resultados obtidos confirmam claramente a idéia de que o continente americano foi inicialmente colonizado por uma população de Homo sapiens generalizados que habitaram o leste asiático no final do Pleistoceno, antes da definição da morfologia mongolóide clássica.

Several studies concerning the extra-continental morphological affinities of Paleo-Indian skeletons, carried out independently in South and North America, have indicated that the Americas were first occupied by non-Mongoloids that made their way to the New World through the Bering Strait in ancient times. The first South Americans show a clear resemblance to modern South Pacific and African populations, while the first North Americans seem to be at an unresolved morphological position between modern South Pacific and Europeans. In none of these analyses the first Americans show any resemblance to either northeast Asians or modern native Americans. So far, these studies have included affirmed and putative early skeletons thought to date between 8,000 and 10,000 years B.P. In this work the extra-continental morphological affinities of a Paleo-Indian skeleton well dated between 11,000 and 11,500 years B.P. (Lapa Vermelha IV Hominid 1, or "Luzia") is investigated, using as comparative samples Howells' (1989) world-wide modern series and Habgood's (1985) Old World Late Pleistocene fossil hominids. The comparison between Lapa Vermelha IV Hominid 1 and Howells' series was based on canonical variate analysis, including 45 size-corrected craniometric variables, while the comparison with fossil hominids was based on principal component analysis, including 16 size-corrected variables. In the first case, Lapa Vermelha IV Hominid 1 exhibited an undisputed morphological affinity firstly with Africans and secondly with South Pacific populations. In the second comparison, the earliest known American skeleton had its closest similarities with early Australians, Zhoukoudian Upper Cave 103, and Taforalt 18. The results obtained clearly confirm the idea that the Americas were first colonized by a generalized Homo sapiens population which inhabited East Asia in the Late Pleistocene, before the definition of the classic Mongoloid morphology.