The human occupation in the Central Pampean Dunefields of Argentina during the Holocene

MESSINEO, PABLO G.; SCHEIFLER, NAHUEL A.; ÁLVAREZ, MARÍA C.; GONZÁLEZ, MARIELA E.; PAL, NÉLIDA; BARROS, PAULA; POLITIS, GUSTAVO

Paris

Congreso; Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques; 2018

In the last decades, archaeological investigations were c arried out on most areas of the Pampa grasslands of Argentina. These research generated several regional mo dels related to divers e topics of pre historic hunter-gatherers. However, the West area, rece ntly formally defined as the Central Pamp ean Dunefields, largely devoid of systematic rese arch, with very discontinuous field work and scarce analysis and 14C dates, did not significantly contributedin the generation of such mo dels. This situation changed after 2010, when new sys tematic and continuous research started in this area. In this prese ntation different lines of archaeological and paleo ecological evidences are integrated in order to generate a mo del of human o ccupation for the Central Pamp ean Dunefields. To build this mo del, the results of faunal, bioarchaeological, techno-morphological, and chronological analys es obtained in several archaeological sites are presents and discussed. The main landform of the Central Pamp ean Dunefields are linear dunes, 100?130 km long and 2?3 km wide, with a general N?NE trend, asso ciated with parab olic dunes with temp oraries shallow lakes and low frequency of p ermanent water sources during dry p erio ds. One critical characteristic of this area is the absence of lithic raw materials; all the stone outcrops are lo cated b etween 120 and > 500 km away from the sites. The early traces of humans in the Central Pampean Dunefields date back to ca. 10,000 years cal BP (Burial 1 from Laguna de los Pampas). For later period, the archaeological contexts indicate that guanaco (Lama guanicoe) was the main faunal resource in this area, followed by the pampean deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus), the greater rhea (Rhea americana), armadillos, and other small species. This subsistence pattern is also supported by isotopic values obtained from human remains dated to the middle/late Holocene. The lithic assemblages mainly consist of artifacts made on orthoquartzite and chert from the Tandilia hill range and,in lower frequencies, other raw materials coming from diverse vectors of prove nie nc e (s outh, west, southeast, and northwe st). Different typ es of reduction sequences, chipping techniques, and uses of the to ols were identified in different moments of the Holo c ene. The chronology of the human o ccupation in the Central Pamp ean Dunefields shows a strong signal along the Holocene with some gaps. More research is still necessary in order to know if these hiatus are related to change s in human mobility and settlement patterns or it is a s ampling bias derived from the limited numb er of radio carb on dates available.