Weaving traditions based on activity patterns in a pre-Columbian Diaguita community (AD 900 – 1536) of the semi-arid region of Chile

Abstract

Objective

This study aims to analyze patterns of entheseal changes to infer activity patterns in a sample (n = 112) of adult individuals from the El Olivar cemetery, Coquimbo Region, Chile.

Methods

The degree of muscular development was evaluated at 32 entheses for both the right and left sides of the appendicular skeleton. In cases where entheses were absent, univariate imputations were performed using ordinal logistic regressions. The entheses were grouped according to their primary movements. Muscle groups were standardized and analyzed independently by sex to control for sexual dimorphism. Age-related effects were addressed using ordinary regression models, and individuals with spondyloarthropathies (n = 10) were removed from the sample. Factor analysis was conducted for both non-imputed and imputed variables, and the results were compared and interpreted to infer movements and activity patterns among the analyzed individuals. Inferred activities were compared with available archaeological and ethnographic data.

Results

Males exhibited greater robustness in certain movements and on the right side, while females displayed lower robustness with no side differences. Distinct movement distributions along the first and second factors were observed between the sexes. Females concentrated thigh and upper limb movements as primary contributions to the first factor, whereas leg and foot movements contributed significantly to the second factor. Males showed a more scattered distribution of movements, with most upper limb movements primarily located on the right side of the plot, indicating a substantial contribution to the first factor. The right and left upper limbs among males demonstrated different movement distributions.

Discussion

After controlling for confounding factors, movements displayed an unequal distribution between males and females, suggesting that other factors may be related, such as the performance of different activities associated with workload and daily tasks. The concentration of upper limb and thigh movements in higher values of the first factor among females indicates activities primarily involving these body parts, while the lower limb remained fixed, as in kneeling or squatting positions. The second factor suggests activities like walking or running, which primarily engage the lower limb, with less involvement of the upper limb. Male movements appear to exhibit greater variability compared to female movements. Factor analyses indicate that shoulder movements and elbow flexion suggest engagement in activities requiring a wide range of upper limb movements. Furthermore, side associations imply that males engaged in certain activities that preferentially utilized one upper limb over the other. Grave goods from this site suggest deliberate ritual practices that intertwined the identities of certain individuals with specific activities, such as textile production among females and hunting/combat-related artifacts among males. Additional skeletal evidence, such as a higher prevalence of auditory exostoses among males, further supports the notion of a sexual division of labor. Ethnoarchaeological evidence also reinforces the association of textile production with female individuals. This research emphasizes the importance of defining and studying sex and gender to understand patterns of activity and social dynamics in the past. Integrating bioarchaeological data with archaeological and ethnoarchaeological evidence sheds light on gendered divisions of labor and associated inequalities.