Obsidian sources from the southern Andean highlands (Laguna del Diamante, Argentina and Chile): geochemical insights on geological complexity and human biogeography

CORTEGOSO, VALERIA; YEBRA, LUCÍA; DURÁN, VÍCTOR; BARBERENA, RAMIRO; LUCERO, GUSTAVO; CORNEJO, LUIS; GIESSO, MARTIN; MACDONALD, BRANDI L.; GLASCOCK, MICHAEL D.

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences

Springer

Año: 2020 vol. 12

1866-9557

New geochemical results for two obsidian types, Laguna del Diamante and Arroyo Paramillos, naturally available in the Lagunadel Diamante locality, a seasonally accessible highland wetland emplaced in the current border between Argentina and Chile at3300 masl (34°S), are presented. A total of 1219 archeological artifacts from 41 sites located on both sides of the Andes have beenassigned to these sources. The artifacts were analyzed by non-destructive, energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF).Archeological distributions of these obsidian types are assessed through GIS spatial analysis. Results show a great asymmetry inthe distribution of these sources toward the two Andean slopes: the Laguna de Diamante chemical type shows a fairly local usepattern, being concentrated almost entirely in Cordillera sites, but the Paramillos shows a less homogeneous distribution andtends to be more concentrated in the sites that are in the western natural corridor. Although these lands were accessed andoccupied from diverse demographic nodes in lower-altitude settings, the spatial analysis of obsidian artifacts reinforces theargument of dominant geographic vectors of access connecting with the western valleys and lowlands of Chile.