An early Hispanic-Indigenous contact event at the Los Viscos archaeological site in the South-Central Andes: a zooarchaeological perspective

KORSTANJE, M. A.; ARIAS, M. F.; M. MONDINI

International Journal of Historical Archaeology

Springer

Año: 2021

Los Viscos is a multicomponent rockshelter located in El Bolsón, a high-altitude valley in the South-Central Andes. It contains occupations spanning the last 1200 years and includes an episode dated to the early Hispanic-Indigenous contact period (c. 400 BP, 1450-1630 cal AD), when European fauna was already present in the region but Hispanic political control was not yet established. A zooarchaeological analysis of the archaeofaunal assemblage corresponding to this occupation event is presented (NSP=230; NISP=80). Camelids were the main exploited resource, with a focus in their primary resources, and minor wild taxa were also processed marginally. This implies major continuity with the previous, late prehispanic occupations, although some discontinuities are noted, including the lack of the exploitation of camelid secondary products and of meat delayed consumption in this latest occupation. A multiproxy approach to the record of human-animal interactions allows to deeply understand these tiny but highly significant deposits. The one presented here is unique in that these earliest interactions between indigenous and global populations are rarely documented.