La localidad arqueológica Los Cangrejales Sur: evidencias de ocupaciones humanas y de variaciones en la línea de costa durante el Holoceno Tardío

JULIETA GÓMEZ OTERO; NILDA WEILER; EDUARDO MORENO

Usuahia

Jornada; VII Jornadas de Arqueología de la Patagonia.; 2008

Los Cangrejales Sur site is located on the Patagonian Atlantic coast, seven kilometers to the south of the Chubut river estuary, 43° 23´59´´ S/ 65° 03´07´´ W. The landscape is characterized by active cliffs carved in Tertiary sediments and two slopes of marine terraces: one 10 m above sea level, probably shaped during Late Pleistocene, and one Holocene terrace 5 m above sea level. The beach is composed by a wave abrasion platform partially covered by Holocene gravel beach ridges. At the front of the Holocene terrace there were registered several archaeological layers, alternating with marine deposits composed by pebbles, sand and few shell. The archaeological layers, that stand 3 to 5 meters above the maximum tide level, contained pieces of charcoal, lithic artifacts and archaeofaunal remains: shell, bones of fish (predominantly), and less frequently bones of birds and terrestrial and marine mammals. Nine radiocarbonic ages ranging between circa 2100 BP and 600 BP were obtained from these cultural strata. The geological and archaeological evidences suggest that Late Holocene sea-level remains still higher than the present sea-level, and during that time this coastal zone was frequently -but briefly- occupied by hunter-gatherers groups in order to profit marine resources, especially fish and mollusks.