Salomón Hocsman

Arqueología de las ocupaciones cazadoras-recolectoras de fines del Holoceno Medio de Antofagasta de la Sierra (Puna Meridional Argentina)

Resumen es: Se presenta una caracterizacion de las ocupaciones cazadoras-recolectoras del lapso ca. 5.500-3.000 anos a.p. en Antofagasta de la Sierra (Puna Meridiona...

ANÁLISIS TECNO-TIPOLÓGICO DE INSTRUMENTOS LÍTICOS DEL SITIO ARCAICO TEMPRANO IPILLA 2 EN LOS ANDES DE ARICA, CHILE

El estudio de la tecnologia litica en los Andes se inicio con la identificacion tipologica de puntas de proyectil para definir secuencias cronologico-culturales de sociedades de cazadores recolectores. Analisis tecno-tipologicos como el que se presenta en este trabajo, tratan de mostrar que las morfologias de instrumentos liticos no son estaticas pues varian de acuerdo a su uso, mantenimiento y reciclaje. En este estudio, exploramos y caracterizamos la variabilidad morfologica del instrumental litico del sitio Ipilla 2, un campamento abierto del Arcaico Temprano (9.670-9.541 cal. a.p.), ubicado en los Andes de Arica (3.400 msm), norte de Chile. Los resultados sugieren que los instrumentos fueron intensamente mantenidos para extender su vida util, lo que altero los disenos originales. Otro proceso tecnologico incluyo la manufactura secuencial de distintos filos en un mismo instrumento. Estos resultados aportan a la comprension de los modos de vida de las sociedades de cazadores recolectores andinos y muestran que, metodologicamente, las formas tipologicas deben considerarse desde una perspectiva dinamica para convertirse en una herramienta analitica mas eficaz.

Paleohydrological Changes in Highland Desert Rivers and Human Occupation, 7000‐3000 Cal. Yr B.P., South‐Central Andes, Argentina

This article focuses on local paleohydrological changes experienced by the Las Pitas and Miriguaca Rivers in the south‐central Andes of Argentina and their impacts on hunter‐gatherers as they transitioned to food‐producing communities 7000–3000 cal. yr B.P. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on geomorphology, alluvial sedimentology, and diatom evidence indicates a dry phase of reduced streamflow between ca. 6700 and 4800 cal. yr B.P. for the Las Pitas River, and 6600 and 3000 cal. yr B.P. for the Miriguaca River. A phase of more humid environmental conditions commenced after ca. 4900 cal. yr B.P. along the Las Pitas River, and after 3000 cal. yr B.P. along the Miriguaca River. Differences in the chronology and magnitude of hydrological changes along both rivers are related to topographic and hydrological characteristics of their respective watersheds. Higher catchment elevation and enhanced orographic precipitation favored greater sensitivity for the Las Pitas River to short humid events during the middle‐to‐late Holocene. The archaeological evidence suggests that the paleohydrological changes within these catchments played a significant role in human occupational dynamics such that the Las Pitas River offered better environmental conditions for human occupation relative to the Miriguaca River as foragers increasingly relied on plant and animal domestication.

PROCESOS DE FORMACIÓN EN UN SITIO A CIELO ABIERTO: CAMPO BLANCO (DEPTO. TAFÍ DEL VALLE, PROVINCIA DE TUCUMÁN)

En este trabajo se analizan los procesos de formacion de sitios, naturales y culturales, que han incidido en la fisonomia de las distribuciones artefactuales superficiales y subsuperficiales de Campo Blanco, ubicado en el departamento Tafi del Valle, Tucum an, Argentina. La informacion obtenida a partir de la implementacion de diversas tecnicas de prospeccion superficial y subsuperfici al permitio evaluar la dinamica de distintos procesos naturales y culturales que afectaron el registro arqueologico de Campo Blanc o, entre los que se destacan la accion de agentes como el viento y el agua y la actividad antropica. Consideramos que este tipo de analisis es fundamental para comprender la naturaleza de los conjuntos artefactuales presentes en sitios cantera-taller de supe rficie. Palabras claves: Procesos de formacion de sitio, sitio a cielo abierto, tecnologia litica, Noroeste Argentino, ocupaciones multiples. This work analyses the natural and cultural site formation that have impacted in the physiognomy of the surface and subsurface artefactual arrangements of Campo Blanco site, located in Tafi del Valle, Tucuman, Argentina. The information obtained from superficial and subsuperficial survey techniques allowed us to evaluate the dynamics of different natural and cultural processe s that affected the archaeological records of Campo Blanco. The standing out are the agents the wind and water, and the human action. We consider that this kind of analysis is fundamental to understand the nature of artefactual assemblages present in su rface base camp and tertiary source.

La gestión de recursos leñosos por cazadores-recolectores transicionales en los sectores intermedios de Antofagasta de la Sierra (Catamarca, Argentina): el caso de alero sin cabeza

This paper presents the results of the analysis of charcoal record corresponding to transitional hunter-gathereroccupations of the Alero Sin Cabeza site, dated ca.3500 years BP. We are interested in ancient management practicesof plant resources and, particularly, the supply of woody raw materials. The results indicate the use of different woodfuel local species, predominating taxa Adesmia sp. a firewood with good fuel properties. We propose the use of Tolarand Campo as main woody procurement areas, as well as the articulation with more remote areas, such as Pajonal.It is proposed that during hunter-gatherer transitional occupations of this site, forage for woody materials prioritizednear-site areas, complemented with firewood collections conducted in more distant areas. This is consistent with theoccurrence of reduced residential mobility around 3500 years BP.

Discontinuities in quinoa biodiversity in the dry Andes: an 18-century perspective based on allelic genotyping

History and environment shape crop biodiversity, particularly in areas with vulnerable human communities and ecosystems. Tracing crop biodiversity over time helps understand how rural societies cope with anthropogenic or climatic changes. Exceptionally well preserved ancient DNA of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) from the cold and arid Andes of Argentina has allowed us to track changes and continuities in quinoa diversity over 18 centuries, by coupling genotyping of 157 ancient and modern seeds by 24 SSR markers with cluster and coalescence analyses. Cluster analyses revealed clear population patterns separating modern and ancient quinoas. Coalescence-based analyses revealed that genetic drift within a single population cannot explain genetic differentiation among ancient and modern quinoas. The hypothesis of a genetic bottleneck related to the Spanish Conquest also does not seem to apply at a local scale. Instead, the most likely scenario is the replacement of preexisting quinoa gene pools with new ones of lower genetic diversity. This process occurred at least twice in the last 18 centuries: first, between the 6th and 12th centuries—a time of agricultural intensification well before the Inka and Spanish conquests—and then between the 13th century and today—a period marked by farming marginalization in the late 19th century likely due to a severe multidecadal drought. While these processes of local gene pool replacement do not imply losses of genetic diversity at the metapopulation scale, they support the view that gene pool replacement linked to social and environmental changes can result from opposite agricultural trajectories.

Prácticas mortuorias de cazadores-recolectores tardíos de los desiertos de altura del noroeste argentino: el fardo funerario de Quebrada Seca 3

In this paper we present the bioarchaeological analysis and characterization of a funerary bundle found at Quebrada Seca 3 rock shelter (Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca, Argentina) that corresponds to the transition from hunting and gathering to food production, ca. 4900 and 4400 years BP. The goals of this paper are to address the bioarchaeological characteristics of this individual, to describe the bundle and its contents, and to identify the type of funeral deposit. The bundle is described and represented by means of pictures and drawings, and taphonomic observations are included. The human remains in the funerary bundle are analyzed to establish the minimum number of individuals (MNI), the taxonomic and relative abundance of skeletal remains, age estimate and possible cause of death. In order to define the type of funerary deposit, both the field data and the characteristics of the bundle were assessed following specialized bibliography. The funerary bundle consists of two camelid hides, one of them used as an outer covering, and the other as a wrapper for the human skeletal remains. Both leather pieces form a “package” tied with two pieces of cord and covered with grass bundles. The human remains found inside the bundle showed a MNI equal to 1, a skeletal integrity of less than 65% of bone representation, and an estimated age of about 28 weeks of gestation. The possible cause of death of the fetus would have been its unlikelihood to survive due to its premature birth. The funeral deposit is of a secondary type, with anthropic manipulation referring only to the disarticulation of the skeleton when placed in the bundle.