Frontier Warfare In e 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

roughout the XIXth century, Argentina underwent a processof territorial expansion aimed at incorporating extensive tracts ofland -favorable for cattle herding and agriculture- in the regionknown as the Pampas. is process was ercely contested byindigenous societies, transforming the frontier areas into a locusof a complex interethnic dynamic in which peace and conictalternated. In this paper we discuss a temporally and spatiallylocalized part of this process, the territory of what is now CarlosCasares County (Buenos Aires Province) between 1869 and1877. e local landscape was then marked by the presence ofthe military frontier line, which included both small forwardoutposts and a larger fort. We focus our discussion on twospecic military frontier facilities, Fort General Paz and FortínAlgarrobos, which have been archaeologically investigated inrecent years. eir architectural characteristics and artifactassemblages are presented, pointing out the low degree ofstandardization shown by the heterogeneous military materials,as well as discussing logistical and supply issues through theanalysis of glass containers, ceramic wares, and faunal remains.e picture emerging from the archaeological record is thencontrasted with contemporary and later folk and historicalnarratives about life and warfare in the frontier.