An Ethnoarchaeological Study on Anthropic Markers from a Shell-midden in Tierra del Fuego (Southern Argentina): Lanashuaia II

DÉBORA ZURRO; NEGRE, J.; RUIZ, J.; ALVAREZ, MYRIAN.; BRIZ I GODINO, IVAN; JORGE CARO

Environmental Archaeology

Routledge. Taylor & Francis Group.

Lugar: London; Año: 2017

1461-4103

For many years the identification of activity areas has been carried out through the spatialdistribution of lithics, zooarchaeological remains and specific features such as fireplaces.However, these data are rarely combined and integrated with results from specific analyticaltechniques such as phytoliths, organic matter, carbonates and multielemental analysis. Thisresearch presents the first results of an intrasite spatial analysis on a layer from the siteLanashuaia II, a shell-midden located on the Beagle Channel coast (Tierra del Fuego,Argentina). Ethnoarchaeology is used as a methodological tool to give content to theconcept of anthropic markers by means of formulating archaeological hypothesis on thebasis of ethnological information. This paper presents the application of specific anthropicmarkers, which have been designed and applied to identify ashy remains and waste areasthrough different combinations of proxies. The results show how an approach that integratesdifferent techniques enhances data interpretation and allows to give visibility to activitiesthat may not leave visible evidences.