This book highlights the knowledge about landscapes and characteristics of the earliest hunter-gatherer lifeway in Southern Patagonia. It presents an analysis of the archaeological investigations carried out during three decades by an interdisciplinary team that involved archaeologists, anthropologists, paleontologists, geologists and specialists in pollen and diatoms. The database yielded was recovered from systematic survey and excavations from the Pleistocene and Holocene stratigraphic layers of the rockshelter known as AEP-1, Piedra Museo Locality, situated in the central plateau of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Piedra Museo is a unique place in the world of high academic interest with some of the earliest archaeological remains in the Americas.
Researchers defined two strata and several Stratigraphic units in the site based on the sedimentological and pedological characteristics. The depositional zones contain archaeological remains that are interpreted as hunting events corresponding to two main different occasions in the human colonization of the region, and a third human occupation during the Middle Holocene. Last one occurred then of the massive rockshelter roof colapse. The faunal remains led to a new approach to the palaeoenvironmental evolution of this enclosed basin. This volume describes the management of lithic raw materials and social networks from first human occupation of the Patagonian region to territorial consolidation of hunter-gatherer societies.
Author(s): Laura Miotti, Monica Salemme, Darío Hermo
Series: The Latin American Studies Book Series
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 552
City: Cham
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Reviewers
Contents
Contributors
1 Piedra Museo, A Place and a History of the Peopling of Patagonia
1 The Bases of Archaeological Research in the Landscapes of the Peopling of Patagonia
2 Pleistocene Evidence of Human Occupations in the Central Plateau and Adjacent Areas
3 Piedra Museo Locality
4 Research History in the Locality
4.1 The First Visit to Piedra Museo
5 The Most Outstanding Results Achieved so Far
References
Part I Palaeoenvironments and Paleoecology
2 Last Glacial Maximum, Late Glacial and Holocene of Patagonia
1 Introduction
1.1 The Patagonian Region
1.2 The Patagonian Glaciations
1.3 The Glacial Landscape and Paleoclimates
2 The Changes in the Earth’s Climate
3 Andean Glaciations Occurred Northwest of Piedra Museo
4 The Southern Patagonian Palaeo Ice-Lobes Occurring Southwest of Piedra Museo
5 Environmental Changes in Southern South America During the Glaciations
6 Final Remarks
References
3 Geoarchaeology of Piedra Museo Locality
1 Introduction
2 Methodology
3 Geological and Environmental Setting
4 Geology of the Archaeological Sites
5 Stratigraphy of the AEP-1 Site
5.1 Local Stratigraphy
6 Stratigraphic Context and Site Formation Processes
7 Chronology
8 Human Occupation and Site Formation Processes
Appendix
References
4 Radiocarbon Chronology at the AEP-1 Rockshelter in Piedra Museo Locality: An Update and Discussion of the Datings
1 Introduction
2 Radiocarbon Dating
3 Discussion
4 Final Remarks
References
5 Quaternary Fossil Vertebrates of Tierra del Fuego and Southernmost Patagonia
1 Introduction
2 Materials and Methods
3 Climatic Conditions During the Late Pleistocene and Holocene
4 Paleontological and Archaeological Records During the Late Pleistocene-Middle Holocene
5 Discussion
References
6 Late Pleistocene and Holocene Palaeovegetational Changes at Alero El Puesto (AEP-1) Archaeological Site in the Northern Deseado Massif. Regional Palaeoenvironmental Implications and Early Human Occupation
1 Introduction
2 Deseado Massif Region
2.1 Modern Climate and Vegetation
3 Alero El Puesto (AEP-1) Archaeological Site
3.1 Pollen Analysis
4 Regional Palaeoclimatic Inferences
4.1 Late Pleistocene–early Holocene Transition (Ca. 16,000 to 11,500 cal yr BP)
4.2 Early Holocene (11,500–8000 cal yr BP)
4.3 Middle Holocene (8000–4000 cal yr BP)
4.4 Late Holocene (4000 cal yr BP to Present)
5 Conclusions
References
7 Diatom Analysis of Piedra Museo Paleolake, Santa Cruz, Argentina
1 Introduction
1.1 Piedra Museo Archaeological Locality, AEP-1 Site
2 Methods
3 Taphonomic Aspects
4 Results
4.1 PL-I (100–65 cm, Lower Level)
4.2 PL-II (65–15 cm)
4.3 PL-III (15–0 cm)
5 Discussion
6 Conclusion
References
Part II Archaeofaunas, Lithic Materials and Rock Art
8 The Archaeofaunas of Piedra Museo. Zooarchaeological and Taphonomic Study of the AEP-1 Site (Argentine Patagonia)
1 Introduction
2 Piedra Museo Locality
3 Methodology
4 Results
4.1 Stratigraphic Unit 6
4.2 Stratigraphic Unit 4/5
4.3 Stratigraphic Unit 2
5 Discussion
5.1 Preservation and Archaeological Integrity of the Assemblages
5.2 Distribution and Density of the Zooarchaeological Record. Implications in the Use of the Site Over Time
5.3 Strategies for the Exploitation and Use of Fauna Resources Over Time
6 Conclusions
References
9 The Rheids as Palaeoenvironmental and Consumption Indicators During the Latest Pleistocene and the Middle Holocene
1 Introduction
2 Previous Hypotheses
3 Ethnohistorical and Ethnographic Information
4 The Archaeological Record
4.1 The Case of Piedra Museo Locality
4.2 The Rheids in the AEP-1 Site
5 Taphonomic Processes
6 Discussion
7 Final Remarks
References
10 An Isotopic Perspective of the Alero El Puesto 1 Zooarchaeology: Environmental Changes, Extinct Fauna and the First Human Occupations of Southern Patagonia
1 Introduction
2 AEP-1 Piedra Museo and Paleoenvironmental Context
3 Materials and Methods
4 Results
5 Discussion
6 Final Remarks
References
11 About Humans and Rocks at the End of the Southern Cone. A Lithic Technology Overview at Piedra Museo Locality
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Aspects and Analytical Methods
2.1 Tools
2.2 Flaking Events and Mode of Production: A Non-typological and Minimum Nodules Analysis Approach
2.3 Cores
3 Results
3.1 Sources of Procurement of Lithic Material
4 Final Remarks
References
12 Stone Tools Production and Use in Aep-1 Site of Piedra Museo Locality, Patagonia
1 Introduction
2 Materials and Methods
2.1 Archaeological Sample
2.2 The Experimental Program
2.3 Observations and Register of Use-Traces
2.4 Post-Depositional Alteration
2.5 Statistical Analysis
3 The Analysis of the AEP-1's Lithic Technology
3.1 Unit 2: Lower Component
3.2 Stratigraphic Unit 4/5 (SU 4/5)
4 Stratigraphic Unit 2, Upper Component
4.1 Micro-wear Analysis
5 Lithostratigraphic Unit 1
5.1 Micro-wear Analysis
6 General Remarks
6.1 Stratigraphic Unit 2 (SU 6 and 4/5)
6.2 Stratigraphic Unit 1
References
13 The Retouched Tools of the Lower Component of AEP-1 (Piedra Museo, Argentina) from a Perspective of Design
1 Introduction
2 Technology and Operational Chains
3 Methodology
4 A Brief Regional Contextualization
5 The AEP-1 Tools Under the Lens of Operational Chains Perspective
5.1 Blank Procurement
5.2 Manufacture
5.3 Discard
5.4 About Fishtail Points
6 Discussion
7 Final Remarks
References
14 Back to a Time Perspective: New Insights for the Study of Piedra Museo’s Ancient Rock Art, Patagonia, Argentina
1 Introduction
2 Materials and Methods: Criteria and Techniques for the Restudy of Piedra Museo’s Rock Art
3 The Analysis of Pictographs
4 The Analysis of Petroglyphs
5 Discussion
6 Conclusions
References
Part III Piedra Museo in the XXI Century
15 Challenges for the Twenty-First Century: The Patrimonialization of Piedra Museo
1 Introduction
2 Historical Occupations and the Beginning of Archaeological Studies
3 Patrimonialization: The Process of Social Construction of Values Around Piedra Museo
3.1 Valuation as Hunting Place
3.2 Valuation for Its Scientific Relevance to Know the Past
3.3 Valuation as Recreational and Tourist Place
4 Conservation and Legal Actions
5 Inclusion of Different Voices in Dialogue
6 Final Remarks
References
16 To the End of the World: Southern Patagonia in Models of the Initial Peopling of the Western Hemisphere
1 To the End of the World
2 The Entrance to South America
References
17 Opposites Attract: Why a Bi-Polar, Hemispheric Perspective to the Peopling of the Americas is Needed
1 Introduction
2 North American Great Basin and Argentine Patagonia: The Complementary Records of Bonneville Estates Rockshelter and Piedra Museo
2.1 Theoretical Perspectives
2.2 Environment and Human Ecology
2.3 Paleoecology of the Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene
2.4 Formation of the Paleoindian Archaeological Record
2.5 Chronology of Human Occupation
2.6 Technological Activities and Organization
2.7 Subsistence Organization
2.8 Settlement Organization
2.9 Symbology
2.10 2.9. Summary and Discussion
3 General Research Issues and Themes
3.1 Site Formation
3.2 Timing of Dispersal
3.3 Origins and Dispersal of First Peoples
3.4 Routes of Dispersal
3.5 Hard Environments, Failed Migrations, and Dead Ends
3.6 Paleogeographic and Paleoenvironmental Changes and Their Effects on Early Humans
3.7 Effects of First Peoples on Environments
4 Conclusions
References
18 Concluding Remarks and a New Agenda
1 Piedra Museo at the Local Scale
1.1 The Paleoenvironments Identified at Piedra Museo
1.2 The Technology in the Occupations of Piedra Museo
1.3 Technological Implications of the Cultural Material in the Earlier Occupations
1.4 The Relationships Between Humans and Fauna
1.5 The Rock Art in Piedra Museo and the Content of the Message
2 Piedra Museo at the Regional Scale
3 Piedra Museo in the Continental Scale
References
