Human exploitation of Rheidae in North Patagonia,

MIGUEL ANGEL GIARDINA

Birds in Archaeology

Barkhuis

Lugar: Groningen; Año: 2010; p. 97 - 102

The importance of Ratites in human subsistence has been demonstrated for several huntergatherer groups in diff erent parts of the world; nevertheless, there are few studies that evaluate the dietary role of fl ightless birds in South America. South American ethno-historic and ethnographic chronicles show that rheids have been exploited by humans since the earliest Hispanic times until the present. They were hunted for meat, fat, eggs, feathers, and skin. Rheidae bone remains recovered from the Alero Puesto Carrasco Cave site in Mendoza province (northern Patagonia), are reported and analyzed in this paper. The objective is to evaluate the impact of rheids on Indian subsistence before the arrival of the Hispanics and the transformations in the exploitation of this resource as a consequence of this cultural contact. The relationship between rheids (Rhea americana and/or Pterocnemia pennata) and guanaco (Lama guanicoe) in human subsistence through time is explored with a particular interest in evaluating this relationship before and after the arrival of the Spanish. The relative abundance of rheid skeletal elements is quantifi ed. This data is, in turn, analyzed with the Modifi ed General Utility Index (MGUI) and the Bone Mineral Density (BMD). Preliminary results show an increase in the frequency of Rheidae bone remains over time. With regard to the relationship between rheids and guanaco, the proportion of rheids decreases from early to historic times as guanaco bécame more intensively exploited over time. The causes of this relationship are believed to be the result of improved hunting methods introduced during the historic period.