Osteoarthrosis (OA), a condition caused, among many other factors, by repeated physical activity, is the most commonly found pathological bone modification in human skeletal remains. Accordingly, it has been frequently studied from a bioarchaeological perspective, in order to identify the patterns of activity of populations that preceded us. This study aims to analyze the bone modifications in the spine and the appendicular joints of 14 adult individuals of both sexes from the Late Holocene found in the Salitroso Lake basin (Santa Cruz, Argentina). The objectives are (a) to evaluate the paleoepidemiology patterns and its relationship with other arthropathies (e.g. Schmorl’s nodes); and (b) to explore the connection between OA variation patterns and aspects such as sex and age. This information will contribute to the knowledge of human behavior regarding body use and performed activities within the context of the climatic shifts and organizational changes that affected this population during the late Holocene. The data reveal that, with few differences between sexes, all the individuals exhibit OA and that the prevalence of OA is higher in older individuals and in those whose chronology is between ca. 800 and 350 years BP.

As several studies have shown, the processes that developed in the Andean area towards the end of the colonial period weakened the cacique figure in several localities. In the highlands of Arica, the ecclesiastical documentation of the Doctrine of Belén shows that the loss of the cacique’s authority contrasted with a strengthening of the indigenous chapter, the members of which fulfilled not only political roles, but also religious functions. This article highlights the high number of local authorities that succeeded one another in the Doctrine of Belén between 1782 and 1813, and outlines the various social, religious, and economic aspects that surrounded the authorities of the towns of Belén, head of the doctrine, and Socoroma, so as to understand the origin and scope of their prestige, as well as their peculiarities with respect to other indigenous leaders of the colonial period. Finally, we make an alternative proposal to the concept of cultural mediators by regarding them as ethnic authorities acting as relational subjects.