Shell Middens and Coastal Archaeology in Southern South America

ZANGRANDO, A.F.

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology

Springer Nature Switzerland

Lugar: Nueva York; Año: 2018; p. 1 - 15

Shell middens appear in many coastal environments of southern South America. They are normally called concheros or conchales, in Argentine and Chilean coasts, and sambaquis, in southeastern part of Brazil. These cultural accumulations are shell-bearing middens which can vary in size from a few centimeters to approximately 30 m high and where shell is the major constituent of the sediment matrix. Proportions of sediments, shell, and cultural inclusions and features vary. Different kinds of activities are represented in those archaeological contexts. Features of dwellings, distributions of artifacts, and animal remains indicate domestic activities. Other shell-bearing middens have been represented as campsites or processing stations. These deposits also served as mortuary contexts all around the coasts of southern South America.