Archaeological research contributions to the study of early human occupations in the Pampean region of Argentina: progress and new directions

GUTIERREZ, M. A.; MARTINEZ, G.

Austin, Texas

Congreso; 79th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology; 2014

Society for American Archaeology.

The Pampean region of Argentina has been a key area for the debate of early peopling of South America since the XIX Century. Nevertheless, systematic investigations started at the beginning of the 1980s. Since then, several sites have been excavated leading to the discussion of different issues that are part of the current research agenda of the peopling of the Americas. The aim of this presentation is to analyze how the archaeology of early hunter-gatherers of the region contributed to the following topics: a) paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstructions; b) timing and mode of the peopling process, c) lithic raw material procurement, technological strategies and the development of social networks, d) subsistence patterns, extinctions and survival of Pleistocene faunas in the Early Holocene, e) early human remains, chronology and diet , f) hunter-gatherer strategies developed for dealing with periods of stress of critical resources (e.g., water), g) landscapes modifications induced by human activities during the late Pleistocene-Early Holocene. Undoubtedly, abundant information was generated from the archaeological projects conducted in the Pampean region during the last 15 years, which positively impacted the advance of the knowledge ofthe early human occupations of the Southern Cone of South America.