Frontier Warfare in the Argentine Pampas From An Archaeological Perspective: Late XIXth Century Military Sites in Carlos Casares County, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

LEONI, JUAN BAUTISTA; TAMBURINI, DIANA; ACEDO, TERESA; SCARAFÍA, GRACIELA

Mashantucket, Connecticut

Congreso; 10th Biennial International Conference Fields of Conflict; 2018

Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center

Throughout the XIXth century, Argentina underwent a process of territorial expansion aimed at incorporating extensive tracts of land -favorable for cattle herding and agriculture- in the region known as the Pampas. This process was fiercely contested by indigenous societies, transforming the frontier areas into a locus of a complex interethnic dynamic in which peace and conflict alternated. In this paper we discuss a temporally and spatially localized part of this process, the territory of what is now Carlos Casares County (Buenos Aires Province) between 1869 and 1877. The local landscape was then marked by the presence of the military frontier line, which included both small forward outposts and a larger fort. We focus our discussion on two specific military frontier facilities, Fort General Paz and Fortín Algarrobos, which have been archaeologically investigated in recent years. Their architectural characteristics and artifact assemblages are presented, pointing out the low degree of standardization shown by the heterogeneous military materials, as well as discussing logistical and supply issues through the analysis of glass containers, ceramic wares, and faunal remains. The picture emerging from the archaeological record is then contrasted with contemporary and later folk and historical narratives about life and warfare in the frontier.