Circulación de información y bienes en Patagonia meridional durante el Holoceno tardío: Distribución de representaciones rupestres y materias primas líticas

RE, A.; CASSIODORO, G.; FLORES CONI, J.; GUICHÓN, F.

Congreso; 4th Southern Deserts Conference; 2014

Relative to previous moments, the Late Holocene (last 2500 years) in Patagonia appears as a less humid environmental period. Thus, a desertification has been proposed which would have differentially affected environments with diverse characteristics. Archaeological investigations in Central - Southern Patagonia have posed important changes in hunter-gatherers mobility and land use patterns during this period. Specifically, a model has been proposed which involves a reduction of residential mobility, a concentration of settlements in low sectors and a logistical and seasonal use of high lands. The aim of this presentation is to deepen the understanding of how these changes would have affected the circulation of information, goods and/or people in a broad spatial scale, which includes the macro-region limited by the Chubut river in the north (44º S) and the Santa Cruz river to the south (51º S).This issue will be considered through the integrated analysis of two lines of evidence: rock art and raw lithic materials. In order to do this, the distribution of techniques and motif types assigned to the Late Holocene will be contrasted with the distribution of raw lithic materials with a known source of origin, basically obsidian from Pampa del Asador. In general terms, during the Late Holocene rock art shows an extensive use of the engraving technique as well as motifs designs common to a large region. Meanwhile, in lithic technology a broader use of obsidian is observed. These lines of inquiry provide an insight into the strategies hunter-gatherers populations carried out given the characteristics of the environment. The development of this research allows us to consider the relationship between the circulation of information and goods in a broad spatial scale and dry environmental conditions.The main contribution of this presentation refers to the integration of two lines of evidence that permits a further understanding of hunter-gatherers populations dynamics in Central-Southern Patagonia during the Late Holocene