Preliminary analysis of dental cementum of Lama guanicoe for the estimation of age and season at death: Studies of modern specimens and further archaeological applications

Cementum increment analysis has been applied with success in mammals since several decades for both current wildlife studies and studies of fauna from archaeological sites. This method provides estimations about the age and the season at death of ungulates recovered at archaeological sites and can be used to explore important issues such as hunting or herding strategies, settlement patterns and mobility. Over the past 30 years cementum studies have expanded the range of mammalian species for which the method can be applied in archaeology. However, very few data are today available about the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) which was the dominant large ungulate in South America in prehistoric and historical times. The purpose of our project is to develop and improve the cementum increment analysis for this species using modern reference data sets before its application to archaeological assemblages. The present paper presents the preliminary results obtained from the study of canines and incisors of modern specimens and will discuss the potentiality and limitations of the technique. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.