Bone awls and basketry: complementarity between ethnography and experimentation

MANSUR M. ESTELA; DE ANGELIS, HERNAN; FRANCH, ANNA; ALVAREZ SONCINI, M. C.; PARMIGIANI, VANESA

Buenos Aires

Simposio; 11 International Symposium on Knappable Materials; 2017

IMHICIHU-CONICET

This work is focused on the study of bone tools potentially related to basketry processes. Specifically, we will concentrate in characterization of these processes in the hunter-gatherer groups of Tierra del Fuego. The research is developed through various approaches like experimentation, use-wear analysis and ethnography. Many ethnographers and travellers have described the hunter-gatherer societies of Tierra del Fuego. These accounts provide detailed information on some of the activities of the hunter-gatherer groups (Selk´nam and Yámana), among which is the basketry. As for bone awls, this tools are frequent in the archaeological contexts in this area. Reports indicate that they could have been used as tools in basketry processes. This study uses a technofunctional approach which combines morphological and techno functional analysis of archaeological and ethnographic tools with an experimental research program. It seeks to characterize the production and use processes of tools and baskets, to observe similarities and differences between the experimental and ethnographic elements and to characterize microwear traces. In this manner, the experimental program allows us to replicate the actions and verify the effectiveness of the awls in basketry making, comparing to those used in traditional basketry practises of hunter-gatherer societies of Tierra del Fuego.