Stones, bones and reeds. Operating chains in the manufacture and use of artifacts for the production of basketry in the societies of Tierra del Fuego

PARMIGIANI VANESA; FRANCH ANNA; ALVAREZ SONCINI MARIA CELINA; DE ANGELIS HERNAN; MANSUR MARÍA ESTELA

Beyond use wear traces: Tools and People

CNRS

Lugar: Niza; Año: 2020; p. 1 - 12

Many ethnographers and travellers have described the hunter-gatherer societies of Tierra del Fuego. In these records there are references to different types of stone and bone tools, as well as to different products made with reeds and skin. Although not preserved in the archaeological record, the techno-functional analysis of lithic and bone materials has provided information about the technology and use of these perishable materials. Basketry is an activity which leaves no direct evidence in the archaeological record in our region. For this reason, we undertook this work in order to develop an experimental program concerning production and use of lithic and bone instruments involved in the different operating chains interlinked in the process of reeds weaving. Our study uses an analytical approach that combines morphological and techno-functional analysis, ethnographic recording and experimental research. We believe that this work can help to understand how are interlinked the different operating chains involved in manufacture and use of instruments for the production of other goods, especially when dealing with perishable materials that only have indirect evidence in the archaeological record.