High Elevation Human Occupations of the Southern Andes

G. NEME

Lake Tahoe

Congreso; Great Basin Anthropological Conference; 2012

Sacramento State University

Several archaeological sites are located in the high central Andes of Argentina. Those are characterized by the presence of residential structures, high pottery density, and non-local goods and all occur within the last 2000 years. Some of these sites contain clusters of as many as 20 stone rings or house foundations, mostly in mountain meadows between 3000 and 3500 masl. The archaeological assemblages suggest that guanaco and birds hunting were common activities, while the presence of milling stones and wild and domesticated plants remains shows that plant resources were an important component of the diet. Interestingly, the timing of human occupation of these areas coincides with other important changes taking place in lower elevations from the same region.