Scale of human mobility in northwestern Patagonia: An approach based on regional geology and strontium isotopes in human remains

FERNÁNDEZ, M. VICTORIA; GORDÓN, FLORENCIA; LE ROUX, PETRUS J.; WINOCUR, DIEGO; LUCERO, GUSTAVO; BENÍTEZ, ANAHÍ; RINDEL, DIEGO; DELLA NEGRA, CLAUDIA; BERNAL, VALERIA; BARBERENA, RAMIRO

GEOARCHAEOLOGY-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL

JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Año: 2022 vol. 37 p. 227 - 241

0883-6353

Strontium isotopes facilitate the study of human paleogeography and have widened the scope of archaeological enquiries on mobility. We present an approach based on strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) to study the mobility of hunter–gatherer societies from northwestern Patagonia (Neuquén, Argentina). The analysis is developed on the basis of a macro-regional geological framework that guides the sampling and interpretation of results. We also present results for fauna to begin building a landscape of bioavailable strontium to be utilized in the interpretation of results from human samples. These first results conform to general expectations and show the most radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr values for the oldest geological provinces, while low values are recorded for recent substrates. Additionally, we provide results for human samples from archaeological sites spanning the last 4000 years, a period during which a number of important socio-demographic changes occurred. The results in human samples indicate overall isotopic fidelity to the values recorded in the local geology, suggesting a relatively restricted spatial scale of mobility during the late Holocene. This discussion is situated in a biogeographic research framework assessing topographic variation and landscape seasonality, and contributes toward understanding the movements of people, flow of material objects, and circulation of information in the Patagonian Andes.