Abstract
ObjectiveProvide a frame of reference for the recognition and interpretation of bezoars recovered from archeological and paleontological sites. Materials49 bezoars from extant guanaco (Lama guanicoe) were analyzed and compared with five objects previously identified as bezoars, recovered from Holocene archeological sites of the Argentine Pampas. MethodsSize, shape, weight, external and internal features, and mineralogical composition were evaluated in both modern and archeological bezoars using nondestructive and destructive methods. ResultsModern and archeological bezoars are formed by calcium phosphate and display great morphological variability linked to ante-mortem processes, taphonomic alterations, and anthropic activity. ConclusionsMorphometry, along with external and internal features and mineral composition, are useful tools for the identification and interpretation of bezoars in the fossil record. SignificanceThis study offers new information on the etiology, mechanisms of formation, and means of interpreting the presence of bezoars, a common pathology in South American camelids, in the fossil record. LimitationsThe features of fossil bezoars do not provide accurate identification of the animal that produced them. Suggestions for Further ResearchFurther analyses on modern bezoars belonging to other species of mammals are needed in order to enhance the interpretation of bezoars in the fossil record.
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