Hunter-Gatherer Home Ranges in the Southern Hemisphere: A Comparative Exploration

R. BARBERENA; L. BORRERO

Washington (EEUU)

Congreso; Fifth World Archaeological Congress; 2003

The World Archaeological Congress

A comparative study of achaeologically and ethnographically recorded hunter-gatherer´s home ranges and measures of the incidence of aquatic resources is presented, on the basis of a Patagonian archaeological case study. The archaeology of the southern continental extreme of South America, near the Strait of Magellan, will be presented and compared with Tierra del Fuego and the southwestern archipelagos. The distribution of aquatic items and stable isotopes studies in coastal as well as in hinterland locations is emphasized as a mehodology useful to explore these issues. Archaeology and ethnography provide independent research lines in order to explore and discuss the hunter-gatherers use of coastal spaces. The Patagonian case will be compared with similar cases in Australia and South Africa. Important differences are observed within each continent, including degree of insularity, importance of the availabe aquatic resources and human demography. This study should provide a basis on which to compare with further settings in the southern hemisphere.