Channels, islands and faunal variability. A zooarchaeological perspective of the human use of seascapes in the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego

ZANGRANDO, ATILIO FRANCISCO J.; TIVOLI, ANGÉLICA MONTSERRAT

Trondheim

Simposio; Marine Ventures International Symposium: Diversity and Dynamics in the Human-Sea Relation; 2013

Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Museum of Natural History and Archaeology (NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet)

On the Southern tip of South America, as many similar archipelagos in high latitudes of the world, archaeological and ethnographical records reflect one of the most extreme human marine adaptations. High or exclusive dependence on marine resources is often seen as the most conspicuous factor to define a marine adaptation. In this paper, we assume that such argument is often decoupled from specific ecological contexts, and human adaptation to the sea is not isomorphic. Much of the variability in faunal assemblages can be explained by the spatial distribution of animal resources. We adopt a biogeographical approach to examining the archaeological expressions of hunting and fishing practices in different settings of the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego. First, we analyze the current distribution and diversity of animal resources which were potentially used by hunter-gatherer strategies to identify spatial units with different conditions to human subsistence. Then we explore subsistence patterns grouping and comparing zooarchaeological assemblages among the different spatial units. Although technological assemblages inform similar hunting and fishing capabilities between the explored areas, the zooarchaeological analysis shows that there was a wide variation in subsistence patterns between offshore islands, channels and open coasts of main islands. The former are characterized by an exclusive use of marine resources, and especially of low-ranked prey, while the human subsistence in other seascapes involves the fluent use of marine vertebrates but also a considerable exploitation of terrestrial mammals. Finally, this study also suggests that site distribution at a regional scale is highly informative about subsistence patterns and foraging activities in seascapes, yet under conditions of no conservation of organic remains.