INCUAPA   23990
INVESTIGACIONES ARQUEOLOGICAS Y PALEONTOLOGICAS DEL CUATERNARIO PAMPEANO
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Patterns of bone accumulations and modifications by small carnivores in the Pampean region (Argentina): Integrating actualistic and archaeological information
Autor/es:
ÁLVAREZ, M. C.; GONZÁLEZ, M.E.; SCHEIFLER, N.; KAUFMANN, C. A.; GUTIERREZ, M. A.; MASSIGOGE, A.; RAFUSE, D. J.
Lugar:
San Rafael
Reunión:
Congreso; 12th. International Conference of Archaeozoology; 2014
Institución organizadora:
International Council for Archaeozoology/Museo de Historia Natural de San Rafael
Resumen:
Using the same space and resources by humans and carnivores often leads to the formation of complex faunal assemblages, in which the anatomical and taxonomic composition responds to the combined action of both agents. The aim of this paper is to present the results of actualistic research on the action of carnivores from the Argentina Pampean region and their implications for the regional archaeological record. These investigations involve naturalistic studies, developed in different environments (hills, lakes, coast, plains, and river valleys) and controlled experiments with captive predators. In this opportunity we will focus on the naturalistic information. In the Pampas, small carnivores (under 25 kg.) predominate, such as the pampas fox, geoffrey´s cat, lesser grison, and domestic dog. The naturalistic record consists of isolated bones, bone concentrations, carcasses and feces deposited by carnivores, with the predominant prey being small mammals and birds. The high percentage of marks registered in the hill environment (ca. 44%) suggests that in this sector of the landscape, carnivores played an important role in the depositation of bones. As for the other environments, the frequencies of marks are significantly lower (between 10 and 15%). The archaeological record from corresponding environments in the region show evidence of carnivore modification, indicating their contribution in the accumulation of faunal material, although the tooth marks frequencies are lower, as expected in assemblages mainly generated by humans.