CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Over the last decade, we have conducted an actualistic taphonomic research program in the HumidPampas of Argentina, in order to build a corpus of information about the taphonomic agents and processescharacterizing this sub-region. In this paper, we present a summary of our results after ten years ofactualistic taphonomic studies in the Pampas. Our program includes both naturalistic and experimentalresearch. Some of the controlled experiments consist of studies with different-aged guanaco bones,including sub-aerial weathering in a controlled environment, and water transport with disarticulatedbones. Other studies were conducted at a local zoo, where we offered different types of prey to nativesmall-sized carnivores (canids, felids, mustelids, and mephitids). Our naturalistic observations includethe development of taphonomic transects in different environments. Through this method, we were ableto study different topics among which some of the more significant are the movement of bones by smallsizedcarnivores and the distribution of beached Magellanic penguin specimens along the coast.Particular studies included the analyses of the content of dens occupied by small carnivores, the effects ofa grassland fire in a vertebrate assemblage, the modifications produced by a local rodent -vizcacha- in thelandscape, and the damage generated by pumas in guanaco carcasses. After ten years of systematicresearch we contributed to identify the potential mixture between modern bones and the archaeologicalrecord in relation to the environment; to determine bone preservation biases according to the propertiesof the record; to recognize agents responsible of bone accumulation and alteration; and to establishdiagnostic criteria in order to differentiate cultural from natural patterns.

enviar mensaje