Differential faunal resources management in ritual spaces and domestic spaces in the selk'nam society (Argentina, Tierra del Fuego)

CAMAROS EDGARD; PARMIGIANI VANESA; VERDÚN ESTER

Archeological Invisibility and Knowledge

Hadrian Books

Lugar: Oxford; Año: 2010; p. 192 - 201

The aim of this paper is to present the results of the archaeozoological analyses from the sites Ewan I and Ewan II (Tierradel Fuego, Argentina). Ethnoarchaeological investigation at these sites demonstrated that Ewan I is a ritual context, and Ewan II is a domestic context. The archaeozoological analysis was undertaken in order to distinguish between ritual and domestic social contexts, something that is normally invisible in prehistory. The comparison between faunal remains was based on the relative presence of different taxa, anatomical parts and distribution of the bone assemblages at both sites. This study demonstrates that management of faunal resources differs between these sites. Consequently, this suggests that faunal remains may be used as a tool to identify differences between domestic and ritual contexts.