HUNTER GATHERER ARCHAEOBOTANY OF A MORTUARY CONTEXT IN PATAGONIA (CUEVA GALPÓN, ARGENTINA): ARTEFACTUAL, CARPOLOGICAL, ANTHRACOLOGICAL AND OTHER PLANT MACROREMAINS FROM CA. 3300 BP

CAPPARELLI AYLEN; MANGE EMILIANO; CIAMPAGNA MARIA LAURA; PRATES LUCIANO

París

Conferencia; 17th Conference of International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany; 2016

Muséum National DHistoire Naturelle

This paper analyzes the archaeobotanical record (macroremains and manufactured items) of Cueva Galpón, a hunter gatherer site located in the Paileman hills (Río Negro Province, Argentina). The deposit is located in a cave of 50 m wide and 8 m average depth, in which three explorative transects were carried out and two sectors of 3m2 each were excavated in artificial levels of 5 cm to 50 cm deep. The archaeological materials (mainly faunal and botanical) were recovered both manually and by fine sieving, and at least two mortuary contexts were identified. The first one presented charred human remains associated to materials chronologically near to the Spanish conquest of the territory. The second one give an age of 3314±51 and 3264±38 14C years BP. Results show that the latter was covered at the top by two layers of a mat whose warp was made from stems of Piptochaetium sp. (flechilla negra) and the weft from stems of Cyperaceae/Juncaceae. These structures were tied to sticks of Larrea cuneifolia (jarilla) by braids of leather or animal sinew. Numerous dispersed tufts of at least two grass species were also found which probably representing a kind of ?bed" structure. Associated with this context a partially carbonized artifact made on Chusquea sp. (colihue cane), possibly an arrow shaft, was found. Nine fragments of different types of plant strings (lax and compact) were also recovered, together with a total of 1925 macroremains, both dry and charred. The assemblage shows a high diversity both taxonomical and anatomical (woody stems of different diameters, leaves, bark, fruits, inflorescences, rhizomes). The most abundant correspond to dry endocarps of Condalia sp. (piquillín) and Prosopis sp. (algarrobo), and aff. Grindelia sp. flowers, which suggest a spring/summer seasonal occupation. These materials represent at least three different anthropogenic sources: grass beds, fuel and food consumption, and except for Chusquea sp. of Andean-Patagonian origin, the genera identified correspond with the Monte province and to a lesser extent, to the Patagonian province, and are available near the site. The finding of a seaweed specimen links population that inhabited the site with the sea coast, distant 50 km. The analysis of archaeobotanical remains of Cueva Galpón do not only allowed to a better understanding ot a kind of mortuary practices poorly known in Patagonia, but also defines the high mobility range of the hunter gatherer of the area, from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean.