Human cranium of candonga cave site and its implications for the initial peopling of South America

The aim of this paper is to analyze the morphology of a skull from Candonga Cave (central Argentina), dating to the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, and to discuss its implications for the early peopling of South-America by Palaeoamerican and Amerindian populations. Although this cranium is fragmented, impeding the standard morphometric analysis, an alternative methodology ad hoc was implemented in order to obtain relevant information about the South American people origins. Results of measurements provide new information to reinforce the hypothesis that Paleoamerican crania possess similar morphological traits to those of current Fueguian populations, as previous studies have claimed, and to suggest that the cranium of Candonga has strong morphological affinities with Early Holocene specimens from Lagoa Santa (Brazil) and Late Holocene of Beagle Channel (Argentina), both belonging to Paleoamerican morphology.Fil: Rivero, Diego Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Estudios Históricos. Centro de Estudios Históricos "Prof. Carlos S. A. Segreti"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Escuela de Historia; ArgentinaFil: Cornero, Silvia Elena. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura. Museo "Florentino y Carlos Ameghino"; ArgentinaFil: Truyol, Gabriela Analía. Centro de Estudios Históricos "Profesor Carlos S. A. Segreti"; ArgentinaFil: Neves, Walter. Universidad de Sao Paulo. Laboratorio de Estudios Evolutivos Humanos; Brasi