Abstract

The goal of this study is to describe and assess evidence of trauma in the osteological remains of three individuals that were fortuitously found in southernmost Fuego-Patagonia (52°–56°S). The cases correspond to individuals AH4354 (Laguna Verde), 29751 (Posesión Olympia-2), and 96074 (Caleta Lennox) located in continental Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and the Fuegian Archipelago, respectively. Age and sex estimations were conducted based on established anthroposcopic methods. Taphonomic changes and traumatic lesions were examined and characterized. Antemortem trauma was identified in the postcranium of AH4354 and the cranium of 96074. All individuals show perimortem traumatic lesions in the skull. In AH4354 the cranial lesion was likely caused by a bola. In 29751 and 96074 the cranial wounds were caused by sharp weapons (spears or sharpened sticks). In all three individuals, the perimortem cranial lesions were likely lethal given their severity and the absence of healing. But, while AH4354 was injured at a distance, individuals 29751 and 96074 were wounded at proximity. Although the lesions in 29751 and 96074 could be interpreted in various ways, their location and characteristics lead us to interpret them as resulting from intentional and performative executions that carried specific cultural meanings. All individuals were interred in the same manner as others, suggesting that they were either members of the group, or that notions of equality and social legitimacy prevailed among those who interred them. This study offers an interpretation of the role of lethal violence among hunter-gatherers in extreme environments.