INVESTIGADORES
RIVERO Diego Eduardo
artículos
Título:
Burning damage and small-mammal human consumption in Quebrada del Real 1
Autor/es:
MEDINA, MATÍAS; TETA, PABLO; RIVERO, DIEGO EDUARDO
Revista:
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Editorial:
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Referencias:
Año: 2011 p. 737 - 743
ISSN:
0305-4403
Resumen:
The zooarchaeological study of small-vertebrate consumption requires a
taphonomical approach to differentiate animal bones that were incidentally incorporated
from those that were intentionally exploited in the past human subsistence. In order to
make this distinction, the relationship between archaeological small-rodent burned
bones and prehistoric human behavior was explored using an experimental cooking
study as a modern analogue. During the cooking experiment the entire carcasses of three
guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) and two yellow-toothed cavies (Galea leucoblephara)
were placed in the coals of an open fire that simulate a real campfire, rotating their
positions until the meat was completely cooked. Subsequently, the intensity of burning
damage and the loss of skeletal elements were analyzed at macroscopical levels. The
data was used to identify cooking evidence in the Ctenomyidae and Caviidae rodent
bones recovered from Quebrada del Real 1 (ca. 6000-300 BP, Córdoba, Argentina).
Remarkable similarities between the archaeological and analogical records were found,
including the distinctive burning pattern on the distal extremities of the unmeaty long
bones (e.g, radii and tibiae), the high frequency of broken incisor teeth and the loss of
autopodium elements. Based on these comparative results, it is suggested that the smallrodent
assemblages of QR1 were primary accumulated by humans though butchery,
cooking and consumption related activities. Extending this study to other archaeological
sites in South America may help to identify the prehistoric bone collectors of these
small-animals.
were placed in the coals of an open fire that simulate a real campfire, rotating their
positions until the meat was completely cooked. Subsequently, the intensity of burning
damage and the loss of skeletal elements were analyzed at macroscopical levels. The
data was used to identify cooking evidence in the Ctenomyidae and Caviidae rodent
bones recovered from Quebrada del Real 1 (ca. 6000-300 BP, Córdoba, Argentina).
Remarkable similarities between the archaeological and analogical records were found,
including the distinctive burning pattern on the distal extremities of the unmeaty long
bones (e.g, radii and tibiae), the high frequency of broken incisor teeth and the loss of
autopodium elements. Based on these comparative results, it is suggested that the smallrodent
assemblages of QR1 were primary accumulated by humans though butchery,
cooking and consumption related activities. Extending this study to other archaeological
sites in South America may help to identify the prehistoric bone collectors of these
small-animals.