Pottery Technology and Human Mobility in Hunter-Gatherer Context

FERNANDO FRANCHETTI; SUGRAÑES NURIA

Lake Tahoe

Conferencia; Great Basin Anthropological conference; 2012

Great Basin Anthropological conference

The aim of this work is to improve the understanding of human mobility in southern Mendoza, exploring aspects related to ceramic technology. The sensitivity of different technological variables is evaluated by monitoring variation in mobility strategies. Using the data from quantitative submacroscopic analysis of the ceramic material, patterns and trends are searched. Many researchers that worked in the Great Basin, used pottery as indicator of residential mobility patterns between hunters and gatherers (Simms et al 1997; Bright et al 2005; Eerkens 2008). They suggest that the labor and inversion cost during the manufacturing process is one of the most important factors related to this topic. In southern Mendoza Neme (2007) supports that ceramic technology was of great importance for the seasonal occupation in high altitude environments. To investigate this hypothesis, an index for each site was made, showing the relationship between potsherds and lithics plus determined bones, and how it co vary with the altitude.