Microscopic analysis of feathers in archaeological contexts of the Puna (500–1000 BP, Antofagasta de la Sierra-Argentina)

Abstract

Microscopic analysis of feathers allows taxonomic identification by consulting reference collections. In this study, we analyze microscopically the feathers found at the archaeological site Punta de la Peña 4 (Antofagasta de la Sierra, Argentina). The variables recorded were: Barbule length; Pigmentation pattern; Villi; Node shape, Number of nodes per barbule; Internodal distance; Average internodal distance, Node thickness, and Average node thickness. Afterward, they were compared to the feathers identified macroscopically in a previous paper. Our purpose was to compare the results obtained with the two methodologies. The results demonstrate that the taxonomic determination is reinforced using both the macroscopic and microscopic analyses of the feathers as complementary. This leads to a better interpretation of the relationships between birds and humans in the past.