Exploitation of faunal resources by hunter-gatherers in the center of the Pampa grasslands during the Holocene: The archaeofauna of the Laguna Cabeza de Buey 2 site (San Carlos de Bolivar, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

NAHUEL SCHEIFLER; PABLO G. MESSINEO

QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016 vol. 391 p. 61 - 73

1040-6182

The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed zooarchaeological study conducted on the boneassemblage from the Laguna Cabeza de Buey 2 site, located on the margins of a small shallow lake in thecenter of the Pampa grasslands (province of Buenos Aires, Argentina). Taxonomic structure, taphonomicinformation, site formation processes, and subsistence strategies for different occupation events aredescribed and discussed. At least three events of pre-Hispanic occupation (two in the Middle Holocene[6800 and 4150 14C years BP] and one in the Late Holocene) and one in Historical moments wereidentified. Human occupations are developed in relation to a shallow lake under a climate more aridduring the Middle Holocene, which decreased up to the current environmental conditions; humidtemperate. The camelid Lama guanicoe (guanaco) was always the most important economic resourceduring the three events of human occupation in the Holocene, followed by Ozotoceros bezoarticus(pampean deer) and, to a lesser extent, by three species of small armadillos (Chaetophractus sp., Zaedyuspichiy, and Tolypeutes matacus). In Historical times, modern domestic faunal remains (Equus caballus andBos taurus) were exploited. A subsistence strategy focused on artiodactyls, mainly guanaco, allowssuggesting certain specialization through time in the exploitation of animal resources by hunter-gatherergroups in the center of the Pampa grasslands, strategy that contrasts with what is recorded in other areasof the Pampean region.