El aporte de las colecciones osteológicas documentadas: líneas de investigación en la Colección “Prof. Dr. Rómulo Lambre” (La Plata, Argentina)

• Published in: Jangwa pana : revista del Programa de Antropología de la Universidad del Magdalena 2020, Vol.19 (1)
• Main Authors: Petrone, Selene, Plischuk, Marcos, Salceda, Susana Alicia, Inda, Ana María, Desántolo, Bárbara, García Mancuso, Rocío, Garizoaín, Gonzalo
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Subjects: bioantropología; biological profile; caracterización biológica; colección osteológica; esqueletos; osteological collection; physical anthropology; skeletons
• ISSN: 2389-7872; 1657-4923

Documented osteological collections contribute to solving bioanthropological problems that can only be clarified using a combination of skeletal features and documental information. The characteristics of these kind of samples allows the development of standardized methods for the biological characterization of individuals and at the same time allow the analysis of anatomical, histological and pathological features from a population osteological perspective, considering the sociohistorical context of the analyzed sample. In 2005, in response to the necessity of having a local documented collection, the constitution of the “Prof. Dr. Rómulo Lambre” Osteological Collection began at the Faculty of Medical Sciences (National University of La Plata), from skeletal remains donated by the Local Cemetery of La Plata (CMLP). These remains come from unclaimed bodies, destined to ossuaries or cremation and exhumed by cemetery staff. Currently, the collection is composed by 435 individuals with documented information, being 58.16% males and 41.84 % females, from fetal to 101 years, with the dates of death ranging from 1900 to 2003. The present work aims to describe in a summarized way the different research lines developed in the “Prof. Dr. Rómulo Lambre” (FCM-UNLP) collection since its conformation and the main results. For this, the tasks performed in relation to the biological characterization of subadult individuals from their skeleton are detailed, the histological analyzes in bone and tooth, mainly focused on the methods for the estimation of death age are detailed also; the studies conducted in dental anthropology are commented, and finally, osteopathological analyses are described. Three specific contributions from the study of the Lambre collection towards bioanthropology stand out. First, the academic contribution in the generation of knowledge about the histomorphological variation of the skeleton during ontogeny. Second, the training of human resources; working in the collection allowed the consolidation of an interdisciplinary team that was trained as educator of trainers in scientific research, teaching and extension. Finally, and mainly during the last years, the notorious increase in the transfer of results to governmental and non-governmental organizations that require forensic osteology Las colecciones osteológicas documentadas contribuyen a resolver problemas en la bioantropología desde su particular aporte a partir de la combinación de rasgos esque