Deconstructing a Complex Obsidian "Source-scape": a Geoarchaeological and Geochemical Approach in Northwestern Patagonia

BARBERENA, RAMIRO; FERNÁNDEZ, MARÍA VICTORIA; RUGHINI, AGUSTINA; BORRAZZO, KAREN; GARVEY, RAVEN; LUCERO, GUSTAVO; DELLA NEGRA, CLAUDIA; ROMERO VILLANUEVA, GUADALUPE; DURÁN, VICTOR; CORTEGOSO, VALERIA; GIESSO, MARTÍN; KLESNER, CATHERINE; MACDONALD, BRANDI LEE; GLASCOCK, MICHAEL D.

GEOARCHAEOLOGY-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL

JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2018

0883-6353

Northwestern Patagonia is located in a tectonically active part of the southernAndes (Argentina), which has facilitated the formation of obsidian, includingpyroclastic deposits that have been affected by geomorphic processes, resulting in acomplex obsidian landscape. To date, the geomorphic relocation of obsidian in thelandscape has not been a focus of systematic research, and this hampers ourunderstanding of prehistoric human mobility. We present an updated assessment ofthe regional availability of different obsidian types based on results from ourresearch program, which combines geoarchaeological survey and geochemicalcharacterization to understand the properties and distribution of obsidian. Thisrobust ?source‐scape? provides the foundation for reconstructing patterns of lithicprovisioning and discard. Our results suggest that interpretations of obsidianavailability across the landscape should be more nuanced than is typicallyacknowledged. Based on our improved ?source‐scape,? we discuss the patternsobserved in an archaeological X‐ray fluorescence database. When compared withthe geoarchaeological reconstruction of obsidian availability, the archaeologicalrecord conforms to a distance‐decay pattern. Contrary to previous interpretations,we suggest that the distribution of obsidian types is not isomorphic with humanGeoarchaeology. 2018;1?12. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/gea © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. | 1home ranges. This geoarchaeological research program provides a basis forintegrating the archaeological record of different Andean regions.