Bolas, projectile points and hunting technologies in Southern Patagonia (Santa Cruz, Argentina) during the Late Holocene

FLORES CONI J.; AGNOLIN, A.; CASSIODORO G.; GOÑI R.

Simposio; 13th International Symposium on Knappable Materials; 2021

The Late Holocene in the central-western area of Santa Cruz province (Argentina)was a period where climatic and environmental changes occurred, specifically causedby a drop in regional humidity levels (Stine & Stine 1990). Towards 900 years BP agreat drought is registered that coincides with the worldwide phenomenon knownas the Medieval Climatic Anomaly. Archaeological investigations in the area have establisheda relation between these changes and modifications in the organization ofhunter-gatherers who inhabited the region. Thus, a new configuration of the peoplingprocess would have emerged as the diverse ecological sectors in the area where occupieddifferently. In this way areas with low altitude and less severe environmentalconditions would have been occupied more permanently with year-round occupationsand a residential use, while areas with higher altitudes would have been visited seasonallyand used logistically, mainly with the specific aim of resources procurement(Goñi et al. 2000-2002, 2006, among others).In this context of climatic and environmental fluctuations and the resulting impact on thesocial organization of human groups, this work seeks to deepen the available knowledgeregarding the specific characteristics of the strategies hunter-gatherers implementedrelated to technology and hunting. We aim to evaluate to what degree the environmentalchanges could have influenced the diverse modalities and alternatives of resourcesprocurement. Therefore, we present a study based on the distribution, frequency andgeneral characteristics of two technologies: projectile points, related to spears, dartsand bow and arrow, and lithic bolas, used in boleadoras. Previous works were basedon a smaller scale and sample. In this case, the area under study has an approximatearea of 7500 km2 and includes varied environmental sectors. Chronologies range from2190+50 years BP to the XXth century. Hence, the aim is to identify the characteristics ofmanufacture, transport, use and discard of these type of instruments in order to discussthe use of each of this technologies in a broad temporal and spatial scale.As for chronology, available dates for different sites with archaeological evidencecorrespond to periods before and after 900 years BP, and thus, will allow for a moreprecise discussion on the strategies hunter-gatherers implemented in moments ofgreater environmental severity.