A. Sebastián Muñoz

UN ARTEFACTO EN ASTA DE HUEMUL (HIPPOCAMELUS BISULCUS) EN DEPÓSITOS ARQUEOLÓGICOS DE LA COSTA ATLÁNTICA: IMPLICACIONES PARA LA MOVILIDAD HUMANA Y LA DISTRIBUCIÓN DE LA ESPECIE.

This paper discusses the past distribution of the huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), an endemic cervid in Subantarctic Patagonian forests, as well as its utilization by human populations. Based on a huemul specimen found on the Atlantic coast (Punta Entrada, Santa Cruz, Argentina), its implications are assessed regarding distributional estimations generated from historical information as well as regarding human mobility in southern Patagonia throughout the last 1500 years. Previously, the recovery context

Pinniped Zooarchaeological Studies in Southern Patagonia: Current Issues and Future Research Agenda

Sea lions have been one of the main resources used by Holocene hunter–gatherers in Southern Patagonia, but many aspects of their exploitation still remain to be studied if we are to understand the variability involved in human-pinniped relationships since the human peopling of the region at the end of the Pleistocene. In this chapter, Southern Patagonia is defined as the southern tip of South America, from Santa Cruz river (50°S) to Cape Horn (55°S). The main pinniped species in this region are the Southern sea lion (Otaria flavescens) and the South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis). The former weighs 300 kg (males) and 150 kg (females), and the latter, 140 kg (males) and 50 kg (females). Besides their body size, these two species differ in the loci they use for mating and pupping, as well as in the waters where they feed (King 1983; Jefferson et al. 1993; Bastida and Rodriguez 2003).

Osteometrics of South-Central Andean Wild Camelids: New Standards

The osteometry of Neotropical camelids has drawn increasing attention over the last years given its potential to segregate species. Here we present two new osteometric standards for appendicular bones of wild camelids from the South-Central Andes (>3500 m.a.s.l.): a vicuna (Vicugna vicugna) and a guanaco (Lama guanicoe). The vicuna is from Antofagasta de la Sierra, near the margins of its present southern range. The Andean guanaco is from Sierra del Aconquija, also in NW Argentina, where this species is poorly documented. These new standards are generally consistent with other available ones. While vicunas and guanacos do not generally overlap in size, they do with their domestic counterparts: alpacas and llamas, respectively. The new measured guanaco individual is among the smallest known ones, and compares to other specimens from NW Argentina. The measured vicuna and guanaco front first phalanx, one of the most diagnostic elements, varies mainly in the breadth dimension of the articular surface and not so much in its width. The forelimb first phalanges of both camelids are about the same length, as are the rear ones and the second phalanges, unlike other studies have reported. Yet, the guanaco first phalanges are much more robust in their diaphysis. Thus, bone gracility, and not just gross maximum linear size, may be a distinctive trait in some cases. Some measures are more powerful than others to discriminate taxonomy, as has often been emphasized, although this should be used with caution until size and shape variation is further recognized. Variation recognition in wild camelid osteometry is crucial to help understand its whole range and to link it to specific conditions.

LA EXPLOTACIÓN DEL HUEMUL (HIPPOCAMELUS BISULCUS, MOLINA 1782) EN LA PATAGONIA A LO LARGO DEL HOLOCENO

El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar la explotacion del huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) por parte de las poblaciones cazadoras en cuatro contextos ambientales patagonicos: el bosque andino, el ecotono bosque-estepa, el bosque asociado al litoral marino y la estepa. Especificamente, buscamos establecer si existieron diferencias en el lugar que ocupo este cervido respecto de las otras especies utilizadas por estos cazadores, asi como tambien las formas en que fue aprovechado a lo largo del Holoceno en cada uno de estos contextos. Utilizamos una base de datos de 73 sitios arqueologicos de Argentina y Chile que comprenden 112 registros con restos de la especie en sus secuencias estratigraficas. Los resultados muestran que la importancia del huemul en la subsistencia dependio de la estructura de recursos de cada ambiente y, por lo tanto, consideramos que el papel del huemul estuvo ligado a la historia de uso de los diferentes ambientes patagonicos durante el Holoceno.

Zooarchaeology in the Neotropics: An Introduction

This book brings together a collection of works on the archaeology of human-animal interactions through time in the Neotropical Biogeographic Region. This huge area, ranging from Central Mexico to Southern Patagonia, is characterized by an outstandingly rich biodiversity distributed across an amazing array of contrasting environments. Understanding the zooarchaeological imprint of human insertion in the rich and singular Americas is, thus, an opportunity for improving our knowledge of the many ways modern humans have dealt with the global colonization of our planet and of the diversity of subsequent organization forms within such diverse settings.

Taphonomy of Surface Archaeological Bone Assemblages in Coastal Patagonia: A Case Study

Surface archaeological bone assemblages are a key source of information for understanding the regional properties of the zooarchaeological record in Patagonian coastal landscapes. The number of archaeological deposits that are exposed every year as a consequence of erosion is noticeable, and by applying different research tools, they may help improve our knowledge of the formation processes of these assemblages. In this paper we analyze archaeological site P 37 in order to understand bone modification patterns displayed in three bone samples exposed on surface and recovered successively (in 2008, 2010 and 2011) and one stratigraphic sample. P 37 is located in Southern Patagonia, Argentina, close to the high tide line of Santa Cruz estuary. Bones (mainly pinnipeds) and stone artifacts were lying on a sandy substrate along with few mollusk shells. Weathering profiles, bone fragment size and bone modification data have been considered to discuss the taphonomic history of the bone materials recovered. Results show that P 37 displays signs of past stability and is currently in a transitional situation towards a completely eroded condition. Weathering profiles are a relatively more sensitive line of evidence to differentiate surface and stratigraphic samples recovered at different time intervals. The general picture of P 37 is in agreement with that of a time exposure longer than the 16/20 month observations that we have registered in this study. Nevertheless we could identify some taphonomic properties which could be informative of the transition between burial and exposure conditions in shorter time intervals than those displayed by the general weathering picture of the assemblage.