New evidences of human corpse manipulation among hunter-gatherers societies in North-eastern Patagonia (Argentina).

MARTÍNEZ GUSTAVO; FLENSBORG GUSTAVO

San Francisco

Congreso; 80th Annual Meeting Society for American Archaeology; 2015

Society for American Archaeology

A salient feature of Northeastern Patagonia during the late Holocene is the abundant record of burials with evidences of a strong handling of human bodies. In the lower basin of the Colorado River, burials are usually found in contexts such as formal disposal areas and domestic sites. In this work the bioarchaeological characteristics and the chronology of the Zoko Andi 1 site are presented. The earliest evidence of human corpse manipulation (ca. 1400 years BP) for Northeastern Patagonia was registered at this site. In addition, for the first time at least two distinct forms of mortuary treatment are simultaneously represented in the same context: simple secondary burials and the socalled "disposiciones." A deliberate intention to select certain portions of the body in order to locate them in a patterned arrangement into the funerary bundles was recorded. Also, a notable feature is the contemporaneity between funerary and domestic activities in a base camp repeatedly occupied during the late Holocene. Mortuary patterns recorded on the site will be finally compared in a regional scale.