Archaeofaunal analyses carried out in the northern coast of the San Matías Gulf (Río Negro, Argentina) have detected the presence of immature individuals of otariids in several sites. Due to the postcranial osteological similarities between the two recognized species (Otaria flavescens and Arctocephalus australis), we developed an osteometrical study on modern materials with known age and sex, in order to distinguish between them. The generated database was compared with measurements obtained on immature elements from northern Patagonia archaeological coastal sites (Argentina). The results show that this method has a high potential for discriminate species and discussing strategies of sea lions hunting in the past.
Borella, F., & L’Heureux, G. L. (2015). Determining preys: first results of osteometric identification of otariids from northern patagonia shellmiddens (Rio Negro, Argentina). Revista Chilena De Antropología, (30). Retrieved from https://revistadeantropologia.uchile.cl/index.php/RCA/article/view/36266
