The chinchorro people of Northern Chile 5000 BC-500 BC,a review of their culture and relationships

The earliest human occupation of the South American Pacific Coast at latitudes of around 18° South appears to have been by hunters and gatherers in the process of adapting to a maritime setting. One of their most distinctive features are their ritual treatment of their dead by a form of mummification. These mummies are the earliest yet described. The bodies were eviscerated, treated internally and externally, refilled with a variety of materials, modelled externally with clay and the skin replaced over the modelled shape. A number of variation in technique have been noted. Radiocarbon dates (uncorrected) range from 7810±180 B.P. to 2480±100 B.P. It is hypothesised that this early occupation was the result of population movements from a tropical forest environment because of population pressure. This hypothesis has been tested using evidence derived from biological distance studies based on craniometrical data, blood groups and enzymes, on material cultural remains and on ecological comparisons.     

Pathogenicity and specificity of Neozygites tanajoae and Neozygites floridana (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales) isolates pathogenic to the cassava green mite

The cassava green mite (CGM), Mononychellus tanajoa, a native of South America was accidentally introduced into Africa where it causes serious crop losses. The possibility of introducing classical biological agents from the native home of CGM into Africa was investigated. Thus, we conducted a series of laboratory assays of the native fungal pathogens, Neozygites tanajoae from Brazil and Neozygites floridana from Colombia and Brazil, and compared them with N. tanajoae isolates from Benin. Infectivity of both fungal species, was assayed against the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, and against the red mite, Oligonychus gossypii. Pathogenicity against CGM and host range studies were conducted by transferring adult females of each mite species to leaf discs containing sporulated cadavers with a halo of conidia of each fungal isolate. All isolates caused some degree of infectivity to CGM. None of the isolates of N. floridana and N. tanajoae tested were pathogenic to O. gossypii, and only two isolates infected T. urticae. Most isolates from Brazil were highly virulent and infected only CGM. Sixteen N. tanajoae isolates caused more than 89% mortality and more than 62% of the CGM became mummified. A mummified CGM is characteristically a swollen, brown fungus-killed mite that has great potential to produce conidia. However, high mortality was not always associated with high mummification. The median mummification time ranged from 4.4 to 6.7 days. Five Brazilian isolates caused >75% mummification with a median mummification time <5 days. Isolates that cause high mummification in a short period of time would be more likely to cause epizootics and to establish in the new environment. Therefore, these isolates would be the best candidates for introduction to Africa.     

Seven Chinchorro mummies and the prehistory of northern Chile

The mummification methods of an ancient maritime population on the northern coast of Chile are reviewed and the findings in an additional seven individuals are reported. Members of this cultural group, Chinchorro, practiced a selective, elaborate form of artificial mummification which persisted more than 4,000 years. Its complexity diminished with time, gradually disappearing after 2,000 B. C. One of the seven individuals herein reported is a rather poorly but spontaneously (“naturally”) preserved body that may represent the oldest mummy reported to date–about 9,000 years old. Chemical reconstruction of their diet demonstrates that the principal component was derived from marine resources with only minor supplementation from terrestrial hunting as well as food gathering from river mouth vegetal sources, confirming the marine dependence of their adaptational strategy. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.