An early Hispanic-Indigenous contact event at Los Viscos archaeological site in the South-Central Andes: A zooarchaeological perspective

MARÍA FLORENCIA ARIAS; MARÍA ALEJANDRA KORSTANJE; MARIANA MONDINI

Newcastle

Conferencia; Zooarchaeology of the Modern Era Working Group. Online Conference; 2020

Zooarchaeology of the Modern Era Working Group (ZMEWG) from the International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ)

Los Viscos is a large, complex multicomponent site located in a rockshelter at 2440 m.a.s.l. in El Bolsón valley, a high altitude valley in NWArgentina, in the South-Central Andes. It has well-preserved archaeological occupations spanning 1220±40AP to 400±40AP. The latter date corresponds to Layer 1a, a component restricted to a small area inside a stone-walled structure that has been attributed to a brief event in the Hispanic-Indigenous period. The 400 AP date (1454-1627 cal AD) attests to a very early contact of European and local populations in the region. The archaeological record of this component is consistent with this and includes cereal remains of European origin as well as a bone projectile point, which is a common technology of the period. The zooarchaeological record includes a variety of faunal remains, including bones, hair and feathers. Here we present the analisis of the osteofaunal remains, aimed at investigating the animal resources used and the intensity with which they were processed. Results indicate that while European taxa would have been available, autochthonous camelids were the main resource used, with a focus in processing their meat and marrow. This denotes some continuity with the previous Late prehispanic occupation, although meat delayed consumption through drying is not evident in the Contact period occupation.