Un acercamiento a las condiciones de salud y nutrición de un segmento poblacional del sitio arqueológico Los Limones, Colima.

The excavations at Los Limones archaeological site, located in Colima state, Mexico, allowed to find 29 individuals of Armeria phase (600-1100 A.D.). Since human skeleton represent the closer biological evidence to past populations, it was possible to obtain general information about health and nutritional conditions of these individuals of Colima.  The health and nutrition of these individuals were analyzed through the identification of lesions in bones and teeth following the model for interpretation of stress indicators. In addition, the funerary contexts were studied using the mortuary archaeology theory to determine social differences. The results demonstrated a high frequency of dental pathologies, for example: caries, abscess and ante-mortem tooth loss. Meanwhile, the periosteal reactions were the bone stress indicator more frequent. On the other hand, the funerary context study allowed the identification of two social ranks: high and low. These social ranks did not present a clear distribution of stress indicators, but it was possible to note that individuals of both ranks were affected for dental pathologies. Following the biocultural approach in this research it was possible to evaluate how health and nutrition of Colima’s ancient inhabitants were influenced by environmental and social factors. The results indicate that the general conditions of health and nutrition of these individuals coincide with the health decline that was attributed to the transition from hunter-gather’s lifestyle to the adoption of agriculture. Key words: human bones, stress indicators, health and nutrition.