CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

For more than 15 years, archaeological investigations have continued at the Paso Oterolocality of the southeastern Pampas of Argentina. Evidence from four archaeologicalsites buried in the ancient floodplain of the Middle Río Quequén Grande have led to thedevelopment of a high resolution stratigraphic and chronological framework for asegment of the valley for the Holocene (ca. 9000-2700 radiocarbon years BP). Sitesdating to the Middle Holocene have been difficult to detect throughout the southeasternPampas. However, in early 2008, excavations at the Paso Otero 4 site have begun todemonstrate that Middle Holocene sites do exist as the site is located within a regionallydefined Middle Holocene geological deposit. As a rare archaeological site for thisregion, geoarchaeological investigations carefully examined this site in order to definethe local site stratigraphy, site formation processes, and regional correlation.Disagreement exists regarding the extent of regional soil formation within this MiddleHolocene deposit since structural development and pedogenic features are not clearlyevident at the macro-scale of field analysis. Some believe that this unit is composed ofmultiple soil horizons and others define it as a cumulic soil with localized expressionsof pond or eolian deposition that can not be regionally correlated beyond the scale of thegeological unit. Therefore, in addition to detailed stratigraphic recording, particle-sizeanalysis and micromorphology were conducted in order to define the deposit withgreater detail and evaluate the extent of pedogenesis. It is necessary to define the natureof pedogenesis within the unit because different soil formation processes have variouseffects on the preservation of the archaeological record. This paper presents newevidence on the extent of soil formation within the Middle Holocene deposit and itsimpact on the archaeological record at the Paso Otero 4 site.

enviar mensaje