Quaternary International xxx (xxxx) xxx Please cite this article as: Sergio Andrés Castro Méndez, Quaternary International, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2020.08.023 Available online 29 August 2020 1040-6182/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. Teeth osteometry as tool for studying social complexity: Evaluating white-tailed deer hunting sustainability at Nueva Esperanza, Colombia Sergio Andr´ es Castro M´ endez a, * , María Fernanda Martínez-Polanco b , Francisco Romano G´ omez c , Leonardo Lizcano Serna d a Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales-UNCPBA, Av. Del Valle 5737- BJ7400JWIZi, Olavarría / Bs. As., Argentina b Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), ` Area de Prehist` oria, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain. Mus´ eum National d’histoire Naturelle, Homme et Environnement, CNRS-UMR7194 HNHP, 1 Rue Ren´ e Panhard, 75013 Paris, France,.Institut Catal` a de Paleoecologia Humana i Evoluci´ o Social (IPHES), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifci W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain c Museo Nacional de Colombia Carrera 7 N. 28-66. Bogot´ a, Colombia d Universidad de los Andes Colombia A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Teeth osteometry Odocoileus virginianus Zooarchaeology Sabana de bogot´ a- muisca-social complexity ABSTRACT Examining archaeological remains of animals may aid in understanding complex social interactions among pre- Hispanic societies and their access to protein sources. We study the agro-pottery groups that inhabited Sabana de Bogot´ a in Colombia during the Herrera (400 BC–200 AD), Early Muisca (200 AD–1000 AD) and Late Muisca (1000 AD–1600 AD) periods. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; Zimmerman, 1780) was the most com- mon protein in the diet of these communities. The relative abundance of white-tailed deer remains can be used as an index for the economies of pre-Hispanic societies. This study analyzes changes in prey proportion by age group to evaluate consumption sustainability. An osteometric analysis is used to determine the age of the deer. As entire jaws are infrequent in the archaeological record, this investigation proposes a methodology using mea- sures of the height of the dental pieces that are more likely to be found in archaeological sites. We analyze 512 O. virginianus dental pieces obtained from the Nueva Esperanza site, and we present evidence of the three periods and a reference table that matches the height of each dental piece to the individual’s age group. The osteometric analysis reveals that height measurements are a good indicator to establish the age class of each individual, which was assigned to one of four categories: infantile, young, adult, and old adult. The results suggest that deer hunting intensifed as the population grew during the Early Muisca period; however, this did not entail resource scarcity. 1. Introduction 1.1. Archaeological context of Sabana de bogot´ a Sabana de Bogot´ a is located in the eastern highlands of the Colombia Andes in northwestern South America. It has an area of 1400 km 2 and an average altitude of 2600 m. a.s.l. The Magdalena River Valley runs along its western portion, and the slopes of the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes Mountains descend to the Eastern Plains (Llanos Orientales). The area is well known from an archaeological point of view, because it contains documented human occupations from ca. 12,000 BP (Hurt et al., 1976; Correal and van der Hammen, 1977; Correal, 1979; Correal and Pinto, 1983; Ardila, 1984; Groot, 1992; Pinto, 2003). Excavations in several archaeological sites in Sabana de Bogot´ a has served to infer that human groups settled, grew, and multiplied over the centuries, eventually becoming great political units known as chiefdoms (Broadbent, 1964; Boada, 2007). According to the records, Sabana de Bogot´ a was one of the areas that was the most heavily populated by the Spaniards. According to some historical descriptions, the existence of two great chiefdoms in Tunja (Zaque) and in Bogot´ a (Zipa) constituted the centers of power (Gamboa, 2010). The regional political units were led by a chieftain, who held power over subordinate chieftains (Broad- bent, 1974; Boada, 2013). Many studies have investigated the control, management, and * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: sergioandrescastro91@gmail.com (S.A. Castro M´ endez), mfmartinezp@gmail.com (M.F. Martínez-Polanco), frr1033@gmail.com (F.R. G´ omez), leonardolizcanos@gmail.com (L.L. Serna). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2020.08.023 Received 15 December 2019; Received in revised form 7 August 2020; Accepted 20 August 2020