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Cetaceans were an important food and raw material resource for the South American hunter-gatherer-fisher (HGF) communities of Tierra del Fuego. Historic ethnographic evidence suggests that relatively mobile HGF groups came together in large numbers to exploit carcasses from individual cetacean stranding events. Substantial accumulations of whale bones within shell middens in the Lanashuaia locality of the Beagle Channel suggests that these social aggregation events may also have occurred in pre-historic periods. The difficulty in assigning taxonomic identifications to the fragmentary whale remains, however, made it difficult to explicitly test this hypothesis. Here, we applied two different biomolecular techniques, collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS) and ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis to 42 archeological bone fragments from the Lanashuaia locality to provide accurate species identifications. There was a clear correspondence between ZooMS and DNA results, identifying five different cetacean species (Southern bottlenose, blue, humpback, right, and sei whale) as well as human and sea lion remains. The biomolecular results were not conclusively consistent with HGF social aggregation, revealing an unexpectedly diverse range of cetaceans within the Lanashuaia middens. However, the results could not fully refute the hypothesis that cetacean remains can be used as anthropic markers of aggregation events, as the observed species and haplotypes revealed potential shared exploitation of some whale resources between midden sites. Fil: Evans, Sally. Cardiff University; Reino Unido Fil: Briz Godino, Ivan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina Fil: Alvarez, Myrian Rosa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina Fil: Rowsell, Keri. University Of York; Reino Unido Fil: Collier, Phoebe. University Of York; Reino Unido Fil: Prosser Goodall, Rae Natalie. Museo Acatushún de Mamíferos y Aves Australes; Argentina Fil: Mulville, Jacqui. Cardiff University; Reino Unido Fil: Lacrouts, Adriana. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras; Argentina Fil: Collins, Matthew J.. University Of York; Reino Unido Fil: Speller, Camilla. University Of York; Reino Unido

This paper explores the dynamics and history of human occupation during the Holocene along the valleys forming a corridor between lake Carrera-Buenos Aires and the Columna-Ghio lakes in N.W. Santa Cruz. The analysis was based on the study of persistent places, those repeatedly used locations as indicated by radiocarbon dates. The intensity of occupation was measured by the abundance (density) of lithic and animal bone discard and the variety of lithic reduction activities. Dated occupations were organized in two chronological periods: a more recent one from 760-1280 cal BP, and an earlier one from 2060-2350 cal BP. The northern Jeinemeni-Zeballos river valley may have been a transit route with relatively short-term stops at strategic places that were recurrently occupied for brief periods. In contrast, the southern Ghio-Columna river valley showed longer-term occupations. This would suggest a different role in mobility with marked differences in the use patterns of places and lithic resources. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo

This paper explores the dynamics and history of human occupation during the Holocene along the valleys forming a corridor between lake Carrera-Buenos Aires and the Columna-Ghio lakes in N.W. Santa Cruz. The analysis was based on the study of persistent places, those repeatedly used locations as indicated by radiocarbon dates. The intensity of occupation was measured by the abundance (density) of lithic and animal bone discard and the variety of lithic reduction activities. Dated occupations were organized in two chronological periods: a more recent one from 760-1280 cal BP, and an earlier one from 2060-2350 cal BP. The northern Jeinemeni-Zeballos river valley may have been a transit route with relatively short-term stops at strategic places that were recurrently occupied for brief periods. In contrast, the southern Ghio-Columna river valley showed longer-term occupations. This would suggest a different role in mobility with marked differences in the use patterns of places and lithic resources., Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo

Resumen de la tesis

El propósito de este trabajo es analizar los procesos de producción de artefactos líticos de tres sitios localizados en el sudoeste de Río Negro. Los resultados obtenidos han permitido establecer un aprovechamiento selectivo de las sílices para la confección de instrumentos cuya manufactura se realizó a partir de cinco cadenas operativas diferentes. Asimismo se constató una continuidad en la tecnología lítica que abarca, en los sitios estudiados, momentos acerámicos y alfareros., The purpose of this paper is to analyse the manufacture processes of lithic artefacts from three sites located in southwestern Rio Negro. The results have allowed to establish that flints used for instruments were selectively procured and manufactured by five different CADENAS OPERATIVAS. A continuity in the lithic technology ranging from pre-ceramic to ceramic times nos also established by this study., Sociedad Argentina de Antropología