Some remarks about the distribution of dental decorations in Latin America

Abstract

Introduction: a descriptive analysis of the data obtained in the postdoctoral project “Construction of a Database on Dental Mutilations in Latin America: search, registration, feeding and reporting of new cases” is presented. Methods: information was searched on the Internet using a conventional Google Chrome browser, and a conventional statistical description was carried out using Jamovi 2.3 and R. Results: the variables of a set of 20 American countries are listed and described. Ambiguity is found in the information of some categories; a database is obtained that allows chronological and spatial comparisons. Conclusions: the comparative importance of the variables for archeology is discussed and some methodological and theoretical drawbacks encountered during the process are described. The practice of dental decoration originates in Mesoamerica and spreads to other places on the continent.