Uruguay

The first findings of human remains within an archaeological context date to the end of the 19th century. Among these first brief and superficial studies undertaken by people with nonanthropological backgrounds, it is important to highlight the work performed by Figueira (1892). He described the appearance of human remains found in the burial mounds of the Department of Rocha, eastern Uruguay, as robust and of mid-size, and he also provided information on the cranial capacity and other cranial indices. These remains were later studied by the Argentine Luis María Torres (1911). During the first half of the 20th century various studies that included brief and anecdotal descriptions of human remains were published, the majority performed by amateur archaeologists. A milestone was marked by Muñoa (1954), a student of medicine, who provided a detailed description of the remains found by Figueira, within a diffusionist framework that predominated in the region. This study, performed by a self-taught person within this field, can be considered the first proper physical anthropology study because of its approach and characteristics. The first Bachelor degree in Anthropological Sciences was created in Uruguay in 1976 at the

Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias, Universidad de la República (Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, University of the Republic) in Montevideo, which included a course in physical anthropology. At the beginning, because of the lack of professionals in the country, this course was run by a palaeontologist, a geneticist and an ethologist. Since 1985, the present author (M.S.) has been responsible for this course. In 1991, the Faculty was divided into two, one for Sciences and the other for Humanities, with Anthropological Sciences included within the second group. The following year, the section of Biological Anthropology was created, and in 2006 it was converted into a Department, with M.S. as the director of both. In 2000, the Laboratory of Biological Anthropology was set up, supported by the Department, which has three areas of research: ancient DNA, modern DNA and osteology. After the consolidation of formal studies in anthropological sciences in the country, several

bioarchaeological studies were carried out. These resulted from the interaction of physical anthropology and archaeology. Most of them were published in annals or compilations edited in the country. Among these it is important to highlight the work of Guidon et al. (1987),

Ministerio de Educación y Cultura (1994), López and Sans (1999), Durán Coirolo and Bracco (2000), Asociación Uruguaya de Arqueología (2001), and Beovide et al. (2004). An initial revision of the osteological remains present in collections was carried out in the 1980s by Sans (1988).

Since its creation, the degree in Anthropological Sciences has had two branches: archaeology and social anthropology. Those interested in Physical or Biological Anthropology have to opt for one of these two branches and complement it with optional lectures that can be taken in other Faculties such as Human Evolution, Palaeontology and Genetics, all of them run in the Facultad de Ciencias (Faculty of Sciences). In addition, the Bachelor degree in Human Biology was created in 2004, supported by several faculties of the Universidad de la República with a flexible curriculum that allows a better selection of courses. This, in turn, constitutes a good option for those who wish to become involved in Biological Anthropology. It is necessary to say that the Universidad de la República is the only university in the whole country that provides diplomas in Anthropology or Biology. Today those who dedicate themselves to Physical Anthropology have, therefore, a mixed

background, in general with degrees in Archaeology, postgraduate degrees in Biology and specific courses from different parts of the world.