Nora Viviana Franco

Early Patagonian Hunter-Gatherers: Subsistence and Technology

The process of the initial human exploration and colonization of Fuego-Patagonia was probably one of a slow filling in of empty spaces. The available information, coming mostly from caves and rockshelters, is sufficient to initiate a discussion on the subsistence and technology of the early Patagonian hunter-gatherers. All the evidence points toward a generalized diet. Opportunistic use of Pleistocene mammals, together with a more systematic use of guanaco, is indicated. A redundant pattern of association of artifacts with ground sloth, horse, and guanaco is evident. Lithic artifacts were routinely and expediently made on rocks available in the immediate vicinity, with an emphasis on the transport of bifacial artifacts and/or preforms, adequate for situations of high mobility. Local raw material was used predominately. Human populations were living at low densities, and space, as well as other resources, was probably abundant in relation to human needs. Density-independent adaptations are thus indicated. Under these conditions, no major need for niche differentiation existed, and it is not necessary to postulate specialized use of parts of the ecosystem.

Early human occupations in Western Santa Cruz Province, Southernmost South America

Abstract This paper discusses basic tendencies in the characteristics of the early archaeological record corresponding to human occupation near the eastern flank of the Andean range, at the southern end of South America. Lithic artifacts are analyzed within an organization of technology perspective and are discussed according to Borreros ecological model of the peopling of Patagonia. The characteristics of the lithic artifacts along with raw material provenience at the oldest levels at sites Cerro Casa de Piedra 7 and Chorrillo Malo 2, match our expectations for an exploration or early colonization phase in the peopling of the space. In addition, the range of variation of tools is similar to that present at early sites located to the east of the area. Some differences at these sites are already evident. Among these are the higher tool deposition rates at sites located close to Pampa del Asador, a known source of black obsidian that was used by early inhabitants of Patagonia. This poses some new questions that should be addressed regionally, taking into account the regional availability of lithic resources.

LA IMPORTANCIA DE LAS VARIABLES MORFOLÓGICAS, MÉTRICAS Y DE MICRODESGASTE PARA EVALUAR LAS DIFERENCIAS EN DISEÑOS DE PUNTAS DE PROYECTIL BIFACIALES PEDUNCULADAS: UN EJEMPLO DEL SUR DE PATAGONIA CONTINENTAL

En este trabajo nos proponemos evaluar la existencia de variaciones en el diseno de puntas de proyectil bifaciales pedunculadas entre la cuenca del rio Santa Cruz y el estrecho de Magallanes. Con este objetivo se aplicaron analisis morfometricos, metricos y de microdesgaste en los pedunculos de estos instrumentos. Los mismos senalaron, por un lado, la existencia de semejanzas en su forma y por el otro, variaciones metricas y en el microdesgaste entre los conjuntos procedentes del norte y el sur del rio Santa Cruz. Se discute si las causas de estas variaciones pueden relacionarse con caracteristicas ambientales -como la disponibilidad de recursos liticos, faunisticos y vegetales- o con la existencia de diferentes poblaciones humanas.

On Cache Recognition

Abstract Caches are places where people store and hide artifacts, food, medicine bundles and/or equipment for their future recovery and utilization. In this paper, we discuss the existence of a cache in La Gruta area, north of Chico river, argentine Patagonia, being this an area with chronological data ranging from ca. 10,845 years to 1,450 uncalibrated years B.P. The position of the assemblage recovered at El Escondrijo site suggests that the artifacts were deposited together. The place where the artifacts were found can be easily seen and reached and, besides, it can be easily located too. Recovered artifacts differ from other assemblages of the area. The main macroscopic differences lie in the excellent quality of raw material used, which was not identified within natural sources in the surroundings, in its color and in the high frequency of bifaces in early stages of manufacture. The fragmentation index of this site is the lowest one identified in the area. Microwear analysis shows that these artifacts have very few microwear traces, which could be related to hide. These data suggest that El Escondrijo is probably a banking cache, which existence could be related to the lack of raw material of a similiar quality to the south of this area, outside the Deseado Massif.

Procesamiento y consumo de guanaco en el sitio Chorrillo Malo 2, provincia de Santa Cruz, Argentina

We present results of faunal studies conducted on the samples recovered in an area of Chorrillo Malo 2 site (Santa Cruz province, Argentina), with dates that range between ca. 6300 and 5500 years BP). The main goal of the paper is the analysis of guanaco (Lama guanicoe) human butchering and consumption. A study of the taphonomic processes that affected the samples, which provide the basis for the behavorial interpretations is developed. The results of these analyses show that there was a greater selection of anatomical units in terms of its medullar fat content in earlier deposits (ca. 6300 and 5500 years BP).

RELEVAMIENTO ARQUEOLÓGICO EN CAÑADÓN DE LOS MEJILLONES (SUR DE LA DESEMBOCADURA DEL RÍO SANTA CRUZ, ARGENTINA): PRIMEROS RESULTADOS

Resumen es: Se presentan aqui los primeros resultados obtenidos en la meseta al sur de la desembocadura del rio Santa Cruz, en la localidad conocida como Canadon de ...

VARIABILIDAD EN LA UTILIZACIÓN DE PIGMENTOS EN ENTIERROS HUMANOS DEL HOLOCENO TARDÍO EN LA CUENCA SUPERIOR DEL RÍO SANTA CRUZ (PATAGONIA ARGENTINA)

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la existencia de cambios en la forma de utilizacion de pigmentos en dos sitios en los que se han realizado entierros multiples en la cuenca superior del rio Santa Cruz, a comienzos y finales del Holoceno Tardio. Se efectuaron analisis macroscopicos, con microscopio binocular y de difraccion de rayos X. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren la existencia de un cambio en la forma de aplicacion de pigmentos entre ca. 3600 y 430 anos AP, lo que se suma a las evidencias ya existentes referidas a variaciones en la seleccion de espacios para realizar las inhumaciones y a la utilizacion de termoalteracion sobre los restos humanos.

Lagartijas (Iguania: Liolaemidae) procedentes del sitio arqueológico Bi Aike cueva 3 (Provincia de Santa Cruz, Argentina)

1 CONICET, Departamento de Biologia, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes 3250, 7600 Mar del Plata, Argentina. aalbino@mdp.edu.ar2 CONICET (IMHICIHU) y Universidad de Buenos Aires. Saavedra 15, 5to. Piso, Capital (C.P. 1084), Argentina, nvfran-co2008@gmail.comRecibido: Ago. 03, 2011 Aceptado: Oct. 21, 2011

Changes in the Technological Organization and Human Use of Space in Southern Patagonia (Argentina) During the Late Holocene

This paper documents technological and behavioral changes in the southern part of the Upper Santa Cruz River Basin during the Late Holocene and examines possible relationships with environmental changes. The findings suggest an important relationship between human use of space and long-term trends in precipitation. This relationship is emphasized by the inverse correlation between precipitation near the Andes and that in the steppe further east.

COMENTARIOS ACERCA DE LAS TECNOLOGÍAS LÍTICAS TEMPRANAS DE SUDAMÉRICA

* These comments were originally presented at the “Early Lithic Technologies: Beyond Regional Projectile Point Typologies” Symposium at the 77th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Memphis, Tennessee, April 2012. Guest editors Kurt Rademaker and Cesar Mendez coordinated the peer-review process following the journal’s editing policies.