YOWEN KO – AMALIA 6 ZOOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AND SPACE RE-OCUPATION IN FUEGIAN STEPPE YOWEN KO – AMALIA 6 ANÁLISIS ZOOARQUEOLÓGICO Y REOCUPACIÓN DEL ESPACIO EN LA ESTEPA FUEGUINA

ORÍA, JIMENA; VÁZQUEZ, MARTÍN M.

Magallania

Universidad de Magallanes

Lugar: Punta Arenas; Año: 2023 vol. 51

0718-0209

In the inland of the northern Fueguian steppe, the archaeological stratigraphic evidence is scarce, being the presence of surface contexts with variable densities of lithic artifacts, occasionally associated with bone remains, among the most ubiquitous characteristics of the record. These contexts are exposed to erosive processes and natural additions of bones, causing low resolution and integrity and therefore hindering the construction of a chronological scheme as well as the discussion on the different patterns of faunal exploitation. The archaeological signal shows a greater intensity of occupations during the late Holocene, with little evidence for earlier times. Within this framework, our study results of the assemblages from the Yowen Ko and Amalia 6 sites are presented and discussed, the first one in stratigraphy and the second one on the surface, both with a marked prevalence of their faunal component. The zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyzes carried out on these assemblages, in combination with other studies and experiments from a geoarchaeological perspective, allows us to assess the degree of integrity and the processes involved in the formation of both sites. Moreover, the chronology and composition of these contexts, in particular the Yowen Ko ones, represent a significant contribution to the discussion on the use of space in the area of brackish shallow lakes within the steppe landscape since late middle Holocene, a period from which there is not much information, and the use of fauna by human groups in the brackish shallow lakes area in the Fuegian inland.