Sociocultural Interaction and Symbolism in Prehistoric South America: Quartz Crystal Manuports from Tierra del Fuego

MANSUR MARÍA ESTELA; DE ANGELIS, HERNÁN; PARMIGIANI, VANESA; ALVAREZ SONCINI, M. CELINA; FRANCH, ANNA

Pleistocene Archaeology - Migration, Technology, and Adaptation

IntechOpen

Año: 2021; p. 173 - 191

The use of mineral elements with special characteristics, such as quartz crystals,in ornamental or ceremonial contexts, is not uncommon in archaeology. Theirappearance in different archaeological sites is the basis to discuss their significancefor past societies. However, while these objects are loaded with symbolic value, itis difficult to identify them in hunter-gatherer sites. In this chapter, we discuss thissubject from the case of a series of crystals discovered in the central area of the BigIsland of Tierra del Fuego, and we outline their interpretation based on technofunctionalanalysis confronted with the ethnographic information for the region.Tierra del Fuego is located at the southern tip of South America. It was inhabited byhunter-gatherer societies since the end of last glaciation until the beginning of thetwentieth century. In historical times, the central-northern sector of the Big Islandwas occupied by the Selknam society, in which there is an extensive ethnographicand ethnohistorical bibliography. Archaeological research in the central area ofTierra del Fuego has revealed a continuous occupation of hunter-gatherer societies.The analysis of provenience of raw materials lets us to propose hypothesis aboutmobility and interaction networks that can be confronted with the ethnographicinformation.