In this work, reports of traumas in human remains from Southern Patagonia are reviewed and analyzed. Also, bioarchaeological implications and the future steps of trauma investigations are discussed. Considering a total sample of 126 skeletons, fifteen (11.9%) adult individuals, mainly male individuals. were identified with reports of traumas. All lesions were recorded in individuals of the late Holocene, although some were recorded in remains that lacked chronological information. Depressions in the skulls, fractures in long and short bones as well as vertebrae, and inclusions of projectile points in coxal bones and skulls were observed. Most lesions are antemortem, associated with accidents and violence, followed in frequency by perimortem lesions that were always linked to interpersonal violence events. The subregions of Santa Cruz / Magallanes and North of Tierra del Fuego have the highest frequencies of trauma and cases related to interpersonal violence, in comparison with the South of Tierra del Fuego, but without statistically significant differences. This could indicate variations in exposure to accidents and social conflicts as well as differences in the intensity of the investigations. The percentages and types of injuries are similar to those traumas reported for other regions from Southern Patagonia. Finally, there is no evidence of increased social tension that accompanies the process of demographic increase identified during the late Holocene in Southern Patagonia.

In 1685 one of the most important acts of uprooting in the colonial history of Chile took place: the forced exile from Mocha Island of more than 500 people to the outskirts of Concepción, coming under the tutelage of the Jesuits in the San José de la Mocha Mission, which, over the years, also housed those considered outcasts in colonial society, until its disappearance in the 19th century. More than 300 years after this act, we were able to recover skeletal remains of the former inhabitants of the Mission, at the site Quinta Junge, in the area of Pedro de Valdivia, Concepción. In this paper we present the main bioarchaeological aspects of the findings of 127 individuals distributed in 26 primary burials and 50 secondary burials from a demographic perspective, focusing on their demographic structure, burial patterns, paleopathological conditions and diet reconstruction. Finally, we reflect on the social role of the discipline in relation to indigenous communities and their claims.

Comparative skeletal and dental data from periods spanning pre- and post-contact Ecuador reveal trends in the health of populations through time and across geographic regions. This paper presents new data from the Late Guangala site of Torre Marina near La Libertad on the Ecuadorean coast. The sample is comprised of 79 individuals, of all ages, from 57 rasgos (features). Although fragmentary, the recovered remains provide information about the demographic composition of this coastal population as well as the prevalence of trauma and disease. The new data are presented for comparison alongside previously reported statistics from early Ecuador.

This paper presents the results obtained from the analysis of the assemblage of plant microremains recovered from profiles in agricultural terraces in the archaeological site of Yasyamayo (Santa María Valley, Tucumán, Argentina) and which correspond to the Regional Developments Period (ca. 1000-600 BP). The phytoliths were extracted by physical and chemical processing of the samples. The results showed that the phytolith assemblages in the anthropogenic profiles are characterized by having morphotypes of mainly graminoid origin (prismatic, truncated, sharp, flabellum, and bilobed cones) and by the presence of Maideas on the human occupation levels. The presence of panicoid elements and the evidence of higher humidity levels (such as the diatoms) on these levels of occupation would account for the management strategies used by the human groups of this area in the past. This paper constitutes the first approach to the phytolith study in the area. On the other hand, the differential concentration of diatoms enables the estimation of irrigation techniques by the human groups that inhabited this site.