Engraved stone plaquettes from North-Patagonian area (Somuncurá plateau, Río Negro, Argentina) and the use of different microscopic techniques for their analysis.

LYNCH VIRGINIA; VARGAS GARIGLIO, JORGELINA; TERRANOVA ENRIQUE

World Archaeology

Taylor & Francis

Año: 2018 vol. 50 p. 1 - 22

0043-8243

The aim of this paper is to present the first record of engraved stone plaquettes recovered at the Laguna Azul site (LA-P3) located in the Somuncurá plateau (Río Negro, Argentina). The stone plaquettes record is wide and varied in Argentina and especially in the North-Patagonia region; however it mostly consists of surface finds. The four plaquettes from LA-P3 are associated with Late Holocene dates (ca. 1906-1756 years BP) and in this paper we describe their designs and motifs, as complementary studies using different microscopy techniques. LA-P3?s plaquettes displayed red residues which were analysed by SEM-EDX and allowed identification of iron and titanium on their surfaces. This study contributes to the stone plaquette register of North-Patagonia, and provides novel information related to their production techniques (mostly incision) and their motifs identified (non-figurative). The low frequency of similar motifs between the sets analyzed allows us to propose a certain regionalization of their production.