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Prey ranking of animal resources is critical to the evaluation of decision-making of past foragers. Previous work in Central Western Argentina (CWA) has used a ranking of resources on the basis of size and weight alone. Here we present the first CWA resource ranking that incorporates handling costs. Our ranking puts the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) in first place, followed by Rheidae eggs and armadillos (Dasypodidae), and highlights the importance of certain resources commonly assumed to be low-ranking. Following the optimal foraging theory, we develop the diet-breath model (DBM) for two of the most representative environments of North Patagonia: the Monte and Patagonian deserts. The higher encounter rates with the first-ranked prey, guanaco, in the Patagonia desert, discourages the incorporation of lower-ranking resources into the diet. In contrast, lower guanaco encounter rates in the Monte desert favors a wider optimal diet model, including the incorporation of fish (i.e., Percichthys trucha). The DBM was used to (re)interpret temporal trends in human subsistence and to support the idea of an expansion of the diet during the Late Holocene in CWA. In general terms, the DBM expectations are confirmed with the regional zooarchaeological record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we assess the impact of the introduction of cultigens on human organization and the resultant degree of dependence on food production and domesticated plants in central western Argentina. The study compares three sites with human skeletal remains (Jaime Prats-1, Rincón del Atuel-1, Cañada Seca-1) separated by a maximum distance of 40 km and located in the southernmost region of Andean prehispanic agriculture. The sites have regional temporal occupation continuity dating back to 1900 (300 years after introduction of domesticated plants) to 1400 years BP. Data from stable isotopes (13C, 15N, 18O), and cranial, mandibular, and dental morphometry are compared, along with archaeological information. Jaime Prats-1 and Cañada Seca-1 exhibit isotopic and morphologic similarities, despite not being chronologically contemporaneous. At the same time, these two sites have differences with Rincón del Atuel-1, temporally placed among them. Our results point to a greater importance of maize (although its dietary contribution is less than 30%) and lower residential mobility in Rincón del Atuel-1. Human systems that occupied the agricultural frontier during the first 500 years since the introduction of domesticated plants show high variability in their organizations, with agriculture playing a minor role in sustenance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the archaeofaunal analysis from the archaeological site Agua de la Cueva (south sector), between ca. 11,000 and 5000 BP. The results show scant taxonomic diversity with a strong predominance of Lama guanicoe in every analyzed component. The main differences between the human occupations belonging to the Terminal Pleistocene-Early Holocene and those from the Mid Holocene are related to the significant diminution of the deposition rate of bone specimens trough lime and the absence of Vicugna vicugna from ca.9000 B.P. With respect to this last point, the morphometric analysis argues strongly against the possibility that the bone specimens belong to the extinct sub species Lama(Vicugna) gracilis. On the contrary, these specimens appear to correspond to the extant Vicugna vicugna, whose modern southern distribution is located about 600 km. north of the site under study, finally, the data presented allow us to discuss aspects of human subsistence in the west-central portion of the south American continent during the first stages of human occupation in the region and how humans reacted to the main environmental changes that occurred during the first half of the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En este estudio paleodemográfico contribuimos a la discusión sobre el impacto de la incorporación de recursos vegetales domesticados en poblaciones del sitio Jaime Prats-1, el área de entierros humanos con mayor número de individuos del centro occidente argentino. La ubicación espacial y temporal del sitio arqueológico se corresponde con el registro de cultígenos prehispánicos en la región, por lo que resulta relevante para entender la dinámica poblacional en un área de interacción entre grupos cazadores-recolectores y sociedades agricultoras. Los resultados del análisis de los perfiles de edades de muerte, el Índice de Juventud y la suma de probabilidades de los fechados radiocarbónicos disponibles, indican un pulso de crecimiento demográfico entre los 2000 y los 1500 años aP, correspondiente al período de uso del sitio. Tomando como referencia un conjunto de cazadores-recolectores contemporáneos y otro de agricultores tardíos, ambos procedentes de la región, Jaime Prats-1 ocupa una posición intermedia, de confluencia entre ambos sistemas de subsistencia. In this paleodemographic study, we contribute to the discussion about the impact of the incorporation of domesticated plants in the life of the human population of the Jaime Prats-1 site, the burial area with the highest number of individuals in central-western Argentina. The chronology and spatial location of the site correspond to the presence of macroremains of prehispanic cultigens. The results of age-at-death profiles, the Juvenile Index, and the radiocarbon summed probability distributions show a demographic growth pattern of around 2000–1500 years BP, corresponding to the period of use of the site. Comparing Jaime Prats-1 with hunter-gatherer and agriculturalist reference samples, both located in the same region, Jaime Prats-1 is placed in an intermediate position, suggesting the convergence of both subsistence strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to scholarship on continental fish exploitation in arid zones in South America by exploring fish consumption by humans in prehispanic times using available zooarchaeological evidence from two wetlands in central western Argentina: Llancanelo and Guanacache lagoons. Analyzing the exploitation of this resource lets us discuss the intensification process that has been proposed for this area. Ichthyoarchaeological and archaeofaunistic information is integrated and compared to reveal that the oldest incidence of fish exploitation (ca. 3000 years B.P.) is from the Llancanelo lagoon. Fish consumption seems to have been practiced since the first occupations in both the wetlands and may reflect an adaptation to the new environment. Contrary to our expectations, temporal trends in abundance and diversity indexes do not show differences between the areas in intensification processes. We conclude that fish represent a major resource for sustenance both in Guanacache and in Llancanelo lagoons, although its exploitation was complemented with consumption of other small animals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

El registro arqueológico de cazadores-recolectores localizado en ambientes de altura ha sido ampliamente debatido en la literatura mundial. Las discusiones se han centrado en su funcionalidad, cronología, complementariedad con ambientes bajos y significado en los procesos de poblamiento de distintas regiones. Los Andes meridionales cuentan con un amplio espacio cordillerano dentro del cual se emplazan una serie de sitios arqueológicos localizados a aproximadamente 3.000 m snm. Las duras condiciones climáticas de estos ambientes, así como la presencia de estructuras habitacionales, despertó el interés de los investigadores en relación con su funcionalidad, tiempo de permanencia y manejo de los recursos locales. En este trabajo se presenta la información zooarqueológica de cuatro sitios de altura localizados en un sector de los Andes meridionales, en el sur de la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina: El Indígeno, Los Peuquenes, Laguna del Diamante S-4 y Risco de los Indios. El material arqueofaunístico analizado es evaluado a la luz de las características ambientales, los costos de transporte y la funcionalidad de estas locaciones en relación con los circuitos de explotación anual. Los resultados muestran un uso de taxones restringido, con un fuerte énfasis en el guanaco, y un escaso transporte de fauna desde y hacia pisos ecológicos localizados a menor altitud. Todo esto sugiere el uso de los sitios de manera residencial y no como lugares de obtención de presas para su procesamiento y traslado hacia localizaciones más bajas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]