A pre-Hispanic canoe or Wampo burial in Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina.

The burial of Individual 3 at the Newen Antug site, a young adult woman, with a pottery grave offering characteristic of the Late Pottery period and dated to 880 years BP, is an indirect burial in a wooden structure. The form and design comprise a wooden wampo or small canoe, or a symbolic representation of one, a metaphor in current and historical Mapuche society for the voyage to the final abode of the dead, located beyond a water body which must be crossed in a boat. This is the first find of a burial in a canoe structure in Argentinian Patagonia, and the most southern example on the whole continent. It is also the earliest record in Argentina of pottery of the Red on White Bichrome tradition used as a grave offering, extending the repertoire of characteristics shared between the two slopes of the Andes mountains during the pottery periods, including ritual as well as material aspects.

¹5³Sm-HM for arthritic knee pain. Estimated dosimetry.

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthropathy and after cardiovascular diseases is the most disabling disease in developing countries. The dosimetry for the clinical application of 153-samarium-hydroxymacroaggregates (¹5³Sm-HM) for radiation synovectomy (RSV) and palliative treatment for arthritic pain, as far as we know, has not been reported. The aim of this research was to estimate the radiation dose necessary for synovial ablation and pain palliation with minimum risk to the patient. ¹5³Sm-HM (370 MBq) was administered intra-articularly in a patient with severe knee pain and hindered motility. Regions of interest drawn on sequential, conjugated, anterior and posterior scintigraphy images were used to obtain the respective activity. The data was entered into a knee joint histological-geometric model designed with micrometric dimensions to represent the synovial cell layers. The Monte Carlo code was used to calculate the absorbed dose in each of the 12 model-cells representing the distance from the synovial liquid to the cartilage or bone. The absorbed dose in the synovial cavity was 114 Gy which is sufficient energy for RSV. The treated patient referred little pain and higher motility with no adverse reactions. ¹5³Sm-HM is a potentially valid radiopharmaceutical for RSV, which effectively palliates knee pain.