Hunter gatherer archaeobotany of a mortuary context in Patagonia (Cueva Galpón, Argentina): artefactual, carpological, anthracological and other plant macroremains from ca. 3300 BP

CAPPARELLI, AYLÉN; MANGE, EMILIANO; CIAMPAGNA, MARÍA LAURA; PRATES, LUCIANO

París

Congreso; 17th Conference of the International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany; 2016

International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany

This paper is aimed to examine the extraordinary archaeobotanical record from CuevaGalpón site (Northeast Patagonia, Argentina) and discuss the main trends of the use ofplants in Southernmost South America. The studied sample was strongly associatedwith a mortuary context dated at ca. 3200 years B.P. and shows a high diversity bothtaxonomical and anatomical. Fibrous and woody specimens were used as raw andprocessed material for preparing the mortuary assemblage; edible fruits and medicinalplants may have been either consumed during the mortuary ritual or left as funeraryoffering along with human corps. Though most of the plants used on the site may havebeen locally available, the presence of Chusquea sp. (coming from the Andean forest)and seaweed (coming from the Atlantic Ocean) suggests a high mobility range of thehunter gatherer of the area. Regarding that plant mats from Cueva Galpón are theearliest basketry remains recovered in all Patagonia so far, the paper examines theirimplications at a regional scale.