Technological organization in hunting and butchering sites of megammamals in the pampean grassland (Argentina)

PABLO G. MESSINEO

The peopling of the Americas: a Hundred Years after the Ameghino-Hrdlicka Debate

Center for the Study of the First Americans

Lugar: Texas; Año: 2012;

The main objective of this research is to infer the technological organization employed by the hunter-gatherers during the hunting and butchering of megammamal species, both on an areal and regional scale. Before discussing the effects of lithic raw-material availability on lithic technology and mobility I will briefly review the regional structure of lithic resources, the main characteristics of prehistoric settlement (location, chronology, functionality, etc.) and the techno-morphological analysis on the lithic assemblages found in these type of sites (i.e., raw material, artifact procurement, stages of the manufacturing process, tool-production, maintenance, and discard). Additionally, the information obtained in sites localized in different environments will be used in order to discuss the strategies applied in the lithic resource utilization and the human’s mobility in the pampean grasslands during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene.