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Understanding foraging radius and mobility in a high desert

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Abstract

We examine botanical and lithic assemblages from two rock-shelters in a high elevation desert in NW Argentina in order to understand the relationship between the size of foraging radii, territorial ranges and habitat quality during the Early and Middle Holocene (ca. 8300–6200 BP). We find an increase in foraging radii associated with declining habitat quality and propose a shift from complete radius leapfrog to a point-to-point mobility pattern. The use of nonlocal plants and obsidian suggest large territorial ranges, as well as wide interaction networks between the Puna and neighboring lowlands to the east.

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... Los estudios arqueológicos y etnográficos acerca de grupos cazadores-recolectores indican que éstos eligen puntos centrales dentro de sus sistemas de asentamiento desde donde organizan partidas de caza y recolección para explotar los recursos y maximizar el rendimiento del forrajeo. Los análisis acerca del uso de recursos vegetales, sobre la base de la procedencia de las materias primas utilizadas en varios sitios de Antofagasta de la Sierra, sugieren que el radio de forrajeo era aproximadamente de 2-3 km alrededor de las bases residenciales durante el Holoceno Temprano mientras que estos radios alcanzan 6-7 km durante el Holoceno Medio (Grove, 2009(Grove, , 2010Kelly, 2013;Pintar & Rodríguez, 2015;Apóstolo et al., 2019). ...
... Es importante destacar que en el año 2015 se había comenzado a profundizar acerca de la confección de tecnofacturas en relación con las especies vegetales utilizadas para elaborarlas en el sitio CS1 (Pintar & Rodríguez, 2015). Este trabajo continúa y amplía esta línea de investigación marcando tanto continuidades como cambios al respecto. ...
... Sobre la base de la procedencia de los taxones identificados en la elaboración de tecnofacturas, se intenta discutir acá, la mayor o menor presencia de taxones locales y no locales así como también el uso reiterado de determinadas especies para fines específicos. Ambas líneas permiten evaluar las cualidades de las especies que crecen en el área de estudio y/o en zonas más o menos distantes, así como también brindar apoyo a las propuestas que se refieren a un cierto grado de especialización debido al uso reiterado de determinadas especies para ciertos fines, tal como se planteó en trabajos previos (Rodríguez & Pintar, 2013;Pintar & Rodríguez, 2015). ...
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Esta investigación contribuye a la reconstrucción del conocimiento y la dinámica del uso de espacios con recursos vegetales, a escala regional, entre 8100 y 4500 años AP en la Puna sur de la Argentina, teniendo en cuenta que durante este período, que corresponde al Holoceno Medio, hubo cambios climáticos que afectaron la distribución y la densidad de parches de recursos y de áreas óptimas/no óptimas o marginales. El Holoceno se caracteriza en la Puna por una marcada aridez que se profundiza en el mencionado lapso, de ahí que se hayan producido cambios vinculados con la distribución de los recursos vegetales. Enmarcado en esta perspectiva, este trabajo se centra en el sitio Cueva Salamanca 1 ubicado en el curso medio-inferior del Río Las Pitas, microrregión de Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca. El objetivo general es continuar el análisis de la confección de tecnofacturas en dicho sitio haciendo hincapié en las áreas de captación y la procedencia de los recursos empleados como materia prima. El conocimiento de las especies utilizadas y su procedencia determinaron los pasos a seguir desde el punto de vista metodológico: prospecciones en torno al sitio arqueológico, colección e identificación de las especies vegetales que se desarrollan en el área, identificación de las especies arqueológicas mediante estudios de anatomía comparada en relación con los taxones actuales presentes en el área, recurriendo al Herbario SI para la determinación de especies no locales.
... These risk-averse strategies involved making changes to their plant diets by relying on carbohydrate rich resources from the vega wetlands and tolar shrublands, such as roots and tubers, as well as low-ranked seeds, stems, leaves and fruits, and introducing non-local plants (and eventually cultigens) into their subsistence by strengthening ties and forming safety nets with groups living in different ecozones that were not subject to the same resource fluctuations. Other risk-reducing strategies that were used in conjunction were the relocation of residential bases to areas close to gathering patches, increasing foraging radii while reducing residential mobility (Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015); risk pooling by sharing in cooperative hunting (Aschero and Martínez, 2001), as well as relying on protected herds of camelids (Mondini and Elkin, 2014;Reigadas, 2014;Yacobaccio et al., 2013). In essence, hunter-gatherers hedged their bets on multiple plant resources by developing a series of independent strategies that were unlikely to fail together, and thus avoided the risk of going hungry. ...
... Specifically, plants with edible roots and tubers made up four local taxa during the Early Holocene (100%), 7 of 11 local taxa (64%) during the early Middle Holocene, 7 of 9 (78%) local taxa in the late Middle Holocene, and 5 of 6 (83%) local taxa during the transitional period leading up to the Late-Holocene (Table 3; Figure 2). This record proposes the importance of edible terrestrial tubers in the diet of hunter-gatherers as a reliable food source -that can also be stored, thus providing economic security to the group-found within the reconstructed foraging radii of the Early and Mid-Holocene groups, 3 and 7 km respectively (Morgan, 2008;Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015;Ramsey et al., 2016). ...
... The diversity of plants consumed over time in the South Puna reflects the relevance of different plant communities as well: vega wetlands in the Early Holocene, and vega wetlands plus tolar shrublands in the Middle Holocene, with the tolar having provided terrestrial tubers like Hoffmannseggia eremophila ("papa cuchi") and a wider variety of lower-ranked plant taxa such as edible stems, leaves, fruits, and seeds that require higher search and processing costs (Figure 3). This risk-averting strategy was enabled by relocating residential bases from the pajonal grasslands where high elevation vegas would have been exploited, to the lower elevation tolar shrublands with lower elevation vegas being targeted during the arid phase of the Middle Holocene, and by reducing residential mobility while expanding foraging radii through logistical mobility, which would have reduced transportation and mobility costs for gatherers (Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015). ...
Article
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The archeology of the Puna, a high elevation desert in South America, gives us a long-term perspective on the role of wild plants in people’s diets during the Holocene. We explore the impact of aridification on the use of edible wild plants among desert people through the study of macrobotanical remains. Our goal is to examine the variation in plant dependency and risk management strategies used over time, in particular during the drought of the Middle Holocene (ca. 8700–4500 BP). The macrobotanical record suggests the use of risk-averse strategies in order to cope with unpredictable resource productivity. Hunter-gatherers relied on carbohydrate rich resources from the vega wetlands and tolar shrublands, such as roots and tubers, as well as low-ranked seeds, stems, leaves, and fruits. They also obtained non-local edible plants by strengthening ties and forming safety nets with groups living in different ecozones that were not subject to the same resource fluctuation. Social interaction with areas lying beyond the ecological boundaries of the Puna has a longstanding tradition in this area beginning in the Early Holocene, and was likely a means of providing food security to populations whose subsistence depended mainly on camelid hunting, and eventually camelid pastoralism. A notable increase in that interaction began during the Late-Holocene, which was a period of lesser aridity, with the introduction of corn and quinoa.
... The Quebrada Seca 3 site (henceforth, QS3. Fig. 1b.) is one of them, and was used as a residential site during the Early Holocene and as a logistic site during the Middle Holocene (Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015). Camelid coprolites were recovered from different archaeological levels of QS3 dating to the Holocene which suggest that after animals were hunted, their carcasses were transported to the site (Elkin, 1996;Mondini, 2013;Mondini and Elkin, 2014;Urquiza and Aschero, 2014). ...
... Below 3800 m asl, the tolar develops characterized by shrub steppes and low vegetation cover (Aguirre, 2012;Rodríguez, 2013a;Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015). It is dominated by shrub species as Parastrephia lucida, Aloysia desertícola, Neosparton ephedroides, Senecio viridis and Atriplex sp., accompanied by species of Lycium and Baccharis genera and herbaceous plants that grow in the shade of them (Rodríguez, 2008;Cuello, 2006;Rodríguez, 2013a;Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015). ...
... Below 3800 m asl, the tolar develops characterized by shrub steppes and low vegetation cover (Aguirre, 2012;Rodríguez, 2013a;Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015). It is dominated by shrub species as Parastrephia lucida, Aloysia desertícola, Neosparton ephedroides, Senecio viridis and Atriplex sp., accompanied by species of Lycium and Baccharis genera and herbaceous plants that grow in the shade of them (Rodríguez, 2008;Cuello, 2006;Rodríguez, 2013a;Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015). Above 3800 m asl, the High Andean steppe or pajonal, is characterized by the dominance of grass species of Festuca and Pappostipa that grow in sandy soils, along with annual herbs of the Malvaceae family and shrubby species of Adesmia, Baccharis, Senecio and Fabiana (Cuello, 2006;Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015). ...
Article
Paleoenvironmental records in the eastern Andes (16–26° S), broadly indicate a gradual trend towards aridity from the Early to the Middle Holocene with certain chronological discrepancies. Even under this adverse climatic scenario, the archaeological record suggests the presence of hunter-gatherers in the southern Argentinian Puna associated with the availability of resources for their subsistence, even during drier than present periods. Herbivore coprolites contain multiple proxies that provide independent records of paleovegetation and paleoenvironments. Among them, plant tissue fragments and pollen grains, offer a powerful and complementary insight on past vegetation changes and their relationship with climatic conditions during the Holocene, particularly in the southern Argentine Puna. Thus, in this work camelid coprolites recovered from the archaeological site Quebrada Seca 3 (QS3) were analyzed using microhistological and palynological techniques to reconstruct the diet of these herbivores but also to infer vegetation and environmental changes from the Early to Middle Holocene (ca. 9600–6100 cal yrs BP) in the southern Argentine Puna (26°S). Results of both records show similar patterns in the percentages and species richness (especially those growing in wetlands) within and between coprolites dating to the Early Holocene (9600-8000 cal yrs BP) which suggest an environmental stability during this period. Around 8000 cal yrs BP, an increased variability in the richness of grasses, shrubs, dwarf shrubs, annual herbs and sedges species shows the gradual establishment of dry conditions, peaking around 6100 cal yrs BP. By this time, variability in the plant content of coprolites reflects seasonality in the assemblages due to the presence/absence of annual herbs either in the pollen or microfragment records. Therefore, it is likely that coprolites were from different animals that were hunted at different times of the year, supporting the evidence that QS3 has been occupied for short intervals of time after 7200 cal yrs BP when environmental conditions were extremely arid. The complementary analysis of the microfragments and pollen records preserved in coprolites provide valuable, complementary and alternative archive for herbivorous diet and for vegetation and environmental reconstructions, reinforcing that multiproxy approaches are necessary to obtain maximum information from coprolite studies.
... The first Puna settlements date to ca. 11,000 14 C yr BP, with the highlands being colonized after the lowlands (Aldenderfer 1999;Osorio et al. 2017;Yacobaccio 2017;. Current research suggests that these early occupations were characterized by small groups of highly mobile foragers (Aschero 1994;López 2009;Pintar et al. 2016;Pintar and Rodríguez 2015;Restifo 2012;Yacobaccio 1994; among others), without excluding the role of logistic mobility (Osorio et al. 2017). In general, multiproxy paleoenvironmental analyses (ice cores, diatoms, pollen, among others) support the existence of a colder and more humid climate at the end of the Pleistocene and early Holocene than at present. ...
... A theme which has been the focus of research over the last few years is whether these first inhabitants were settled in the Puna and moved exclusively within this ecozone (Yacobaccio et al. 2008), or whether they moved between ecozones during their displacements (Martínez 2012;Mondini et al. 2013;Núñez and Dillehay 1979;Pintar and Rodríguez 2015). In a first instance, it is important to highlight that we would have to assume populations genetically adapted to the environment. ...
... This knowledge later expanded, given that by the end of the early Holocene and the beginning of the mid-Holocene these sources started to be exploited systematically (Hoguin and Oxman 2015;Oxman and Hoguin 2018;Pintar et al. 2016), although in some areas the selection of fuel resources exhibits reliable knowledge about their environment (Joly et al. 2017). Equally, the sites start displaying signs of more frequent and/or longer occupation (Pintar and Rodríguez 2015). This can be broadly observed at Hornillos 2 with its areas of discard distribution and rate of deposition. ...
Article
This article considers the initial peopling of the South-central Andean highlands, focusing on the site of Hornillos 2, located in the Puna of Jujuy, Argentina. We suggest that, in an area where risk was high, technological decisions prioritized trial-and-error learning in search of results that emphasized diversity in a context of dispersed and mobile populations. Here we present the lithic discard rate and lithic analysis from Hornillos 2. After a regional and local synthesis of lithic technology and chaînes opératoires, we statistically analyze diversity (together with dominance and homogeneity), having previously evaluated problems related to sample size through the use of correlation tests and rarefaction curves. Our results indicate an initial phase of spaced-out and/or brief occupations, using a flexible tool-kit which, in turn, served as the origin for the later development of a multidirectional technological complex. The analysis suggests the existence of sleeping technologies during the peopling of the Puna.
... Gran cantidad de espigas Salada (sitios Peñas de la Cruz 1, Cueva Salamanca 1 y Quebrada Seca 3, provincia de Catamarca), entre ca. 10600-4080 AP (Aschero, 2010;Mondini et al., 2013;Pintar y Rodríguez, 2015;Rodríguez y Martínez, 2001). Con esta caña también se manufacturaron agujas pulidas y perforadas en Inca Cueva, cueva 4 (4080±80 AP). ...
... Entre los morfotipos correspondientes a células cortas, se aprecia la presencia de tres formas incluidas en la nómina conservanda ICPN (Madella et al., 2005) Aschero & Hocsman, 2011, (2) Aschero, 2010, (3) Pérez de Micou & Ancíbor, 1994 (4) Pintar y Rodríguez, 2015, (5) López Campeny, 2006-2007 Rodríguez et al., 2003, (7) Rodríguez & Rúgolo de Agrasar, 1999, (8) Gonzalez Baroni et al., 2017, (9) Rodríguez et al., 2006, (10) Rodríguez, 2013b, (11) López Campeny et al., 2014 Rodríguez, 1999, (13) Rodríguez, 2008, (14) Aguirre, 2005 Babot et al., 2012, (16) Babot, 2009, (17) Babot, 2011, (18) Babot, 2016, (19) Escola et al., 2013, (20) Babot et al., 2013, (21) Gonzalez Baroni & Babot, 2013, (22) Pérez de Micou, López Campeny & Lessa Costa, 2016, (23) Martínez, 2013, (24) Rodríguez & Martínez, 2001, (25) Mondini et al., 2013 Aschero & Hocsman, 2011, (2) Aschero, 2010, (3) Pérez de Micou & Ancíbor, 1994 (4) Pintar y Rodríguez, 2015, (5) López Campeny, 2006-2007 Rodríguez et al., 2003, (7) Rodríguez & Rúgolo de Agrasar, 1999, (8) Gonzalez Baroni et al., 2017, (9) Rodríguez et al., 2006, (10) Rodríguez, 2013b, (11) López Campeny et al., 2014 Rodríguez, 1999, (13) Rodríguez, 2008, (14) Aguirre, 2005 Babot et al., 2012, (16) Babot, 2009, (17) Babot, 2011, (18) Babot, 2016, (19) Escola et al., 2013, (20) Babot et al., 2013, (21) Gonzalez Baroni & Babot, 2013, (22) Pérez de Micou, López Campeny & Lessa Costa, 2016, (23) Martínez, 2013, (24) Rodríguez & Martínez, 2001, (25) Mondini et al., 2013 subfamilia Chloridoideae (Tabla 4 y Figura 1). Asimismo, se registran fitolitos de la clase elongate long cell (elongados), dominantemente y como forma principal en especies de Pooideae, y con buena representación en las subfamilias Chloridoideae, Panicoideae y Danthonioideae. ...
... Entre los morfotipos correspondientes a células cortas, se aprecia la presencia de tres formas incluidas en la nómina conservanda ICPN (Madella et al., 2005) Aschero & Hocsman, 2011, (2) Aschero, 2010, (3) Pérez de Micou & Ancíbor, 1994 (4) Pintar y Rodríguez, 2015, (5) López Campeny, 2006-2007 Rodríguez et al., 2003, (7) Rodríguez & Rúgolo de Agrasar, 1999, (8) Gonzalez Baroni et al., 2017, (9) Rodríguez et al., 2006, (10) Rodríguez, 2013b, (11) López Campeny et al., 2014 Rodríguez, 1999, (13) Rodríguez, 2008, (14) Aguirre, 2005 Babot et al., 2012, (16) Babot, 2009, (17) Babot, 2011, (18) Babot, 2016, (19) Escola et al., 2013, (20) Babot et al., 2013, (21) Gonzalez Baroni & Babot, 2013, (22) Pérez de Micou, López Campeny & Lessa Costa, 2016, (23) Martínez, 2013, (24) Rodríguez & Martínez, 2001, (25) Mondini et al., 2013 Aschero & Hocsman, 2011, (2) Aschero, 2010, (3) Pérez de Micou & Ancíbor, 1994 (4) Pintar y Rodríguez, 2015, (5) López Campeny, 2006-2007 Rodríguez et al., 2003, (7) Rodríguez & Rúgolo de Agrasar, 1999, (8) Gonzalez Baroni et al., 2017, (9) Rodríguez et al., 2006, (10) Rodríguez, 2013b, (11) López Campeny et al., 2014 Rodríguez, 1999, (13) Rodríguez, 2008, (14) Aguirre, 2005 Babot et al., 2012, (16) Babot, 2009, (17) Babot, 2011, (18) Babot, 2016, (19) Escola et al., 2013, (20) Babot et al., 2013, (21) Gonzalez Baroni & Babot, 2013, (22) Pérez de Micou, López Campeny & Lessa Costa, 2016, (23) Martínez, 2013, (24) Rodríguez & Martínez, 2001, (25) Mondini et al., 2013 subfamilia Chloridoideae (Tabla 4 y Figura 1). Asimismo, se registran fitolitos de la clase elongate long cell (elongados), dominantemente y como forma principal en especies de Pooideae, y con buena representación en las subfamilias Chloridoideae, Panicoideae y Danthonioideae. ...
Article
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En este trabajo se analiza el estado del arte del conocimiento sobre los usos pasados y presentes de las gramíneas en el desierto de altura puneño. A partir de ello se establece la pertinencia de explorar la utilización de estas plantas mediante el estudio de microfósiles. Se presentan los primeros resultados obtenidos en relación a la caracterización fitolítica de inflorescencias e infrutescencias de especies silvestres de Poaceae de esta área y sobre esta base, se introduce una discusión sobre aspectos metodológicos y conceptuales que afectan la interpretación del registro de microindicadores modernos y fósiles, tales como continuo morfológico y conjuntos fitolíticos redundantes. The state of the art of knowledge about the past and present uses of grasses in the Punean high desert, is analyzed. Then, the relevance of exploring the use of these plants through the study of microfossils is established. The first results obtained on the phytolithic characterization of inflorescences and infrutescences of wild Poaceae species in this area are presented. On this basis, a discussion is introduced on some methodological and conceptual aspects that affect the interpretation of the modern and fossil micro indicators’ record, such as morphological continuum and redundant phytolith assemblages.
... Diversos estudios, arqueológicos y etnográficos, acerca de grupos cazadores-recolectores indican que éstos eligen puntos centrales dentro de sus sistemas de asentamiento desde donde organizan partidas de caza y recolección para explotar los recursos y maximizar el rendimiento del forrajeo. Los análisis acerca del uso de recursos líticos y vegetales, sobre la base de la procedencia de las materias primas utilizadas en varios sitios de ANS, sugieren que el radio de forrajeo era aproximadamente de 2-3 km alrededor de las bases residenciales durante el Holoceno Temprano mientras que estos radios se expandieron a 6-7 km durante el Holoceno Medio (Grove, 2009(Grove, , 2010Kelly, 2013;Pintar & Rodríguez, 2015). ...
... La segunda se desarrolla en la Pre-Puna entre 2.500-3.000 m s. m. a ca. 100 km del sitio (Pintar & Rodríguez, 2015). ...
... Es importante destacar que en otros estudios se determinó el uso de especies vegetales no-locales, mencionadas más arriba, y locales para confeccionar tecnofacturas, ya que se hallaron nudos elaborados con Cortaderia speciosa y Deyeuxia sp. (Pintar & Rodríguez, 2015). ...
Article
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p> Introducción y objetivos: El sitio arqueológico Cueva Salamanca 1 (CS1), Antofagasta de la Sierra (Catamarca, Argentina), está relacionado a las asociaciones vegetales pajonal, tolar y vega y fue habitado por grupos cazadores-recolectores (ca. 10.000 - 6.000 años AP). Se estudian los restos vegetales recuperados del sitio CS1, con el fin de determinar las condiciones paleoambientales que se sucedieron durante el Holoceno, las cuales determinaron el uso y la explotación específica de diferentes asociaciones vegetales por parte de grupos humanos que lo habitaban. M&M: Los macrorrestos vegetales recuperados fueron analizados con microscopía y mediante comparaciones morfológicas con las especies de la flora actual circundante al sitio. Resultados: De las 60 especies vegetales que crecen en el ambiente actual relacionado al sitio CS1, 44 % están representadas en los macrorrestos recuperados, tanto herbáceos como leñosos no carbonizados y carbonizados, pertenecientes a las familias Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Cactaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Ephedraceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Poaceae, Solanaceae y Verbenaceae. Se observa un mayor uso del tolar, seguido por el pajonal y la vega durante toda la secuencia, considerando las especies que crecen en un radio de 30 km a partir del sitio. Conclusiones: Los grupos humanos que habitaron CS1, durante el Holoceno Medio temprano, Medio tardío y Tardío, han efectuado una ocupación efectiva y conocían e identificaban las distintas especies vegetales para ser explotadas como combustible, confección de tecnofacturas y camadas de descanso. Las adaptaciones morfológicas y anatómicas observadas en las especies halladas reflejan las condiciones del paleoambiente durante el Holoceno.</p
... Further, during the extremely arid periods, we expect an interruption in the process of colonization in areas that became less optimal, particularly the western areas of the Salt Puna that have fewer springs and wetlands. We also expect less leapfrog mobility and more point-to-point residential mobility between areas with greater humidity during the extremely arid periods (Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015). ...
... It provides evidence for human habitation ca. 8100e3500 BP (Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015), with two occupational hiatuses ( Table 2). The abundant lithic, faunal and botanical assemblages suggest that CS1 mostly functioned as a residential camp where multiple activities were carried out: a) manufacture and maintenance of hunting weapons; b) hunting camelids, predominantly guanacos and vicuñas, although rodent, bird, fox and cervid bones are also present (Mondini et al., 2013(Mondini et al., , 2015Mondini and Elkin, 2014); c) cooking and grinding food; d) hidework, basketry making, sewing and cord/rope making, and e) storage. ...
... Instead, the majority of tools were made of vulcanite, a toolstone found in ample supply at numerous quarries and outcrops within 10 km of QS3, CS1 and PCz1 sites. Obsidian, however, was selected for making projectile points, although less than 30% of all projectile points were made of this raw material (Aschero et al., 2002e2004;Pintar, 2014b;Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015). ...
Article
Full-text available
We discuss the use of obsidian as a tool to understand the mobility range of hunter-gatherers living in a high-elevation desert in the Salt Puna, specifically in the area of Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca, between ca. 9000 and 6000 BP. XRF analyses of a vertical sample of obsidian artifacts pertaining to Early and Middle Holocene contexts from three archaeological sites show the use of various sources within a range of 40–95 km respectively from the study area. Our analyses suggest that mobility patterns during the early colonization phase (Early Holocene) of this high elevation region included two sources located in the eastern and northwestern areas of the Salt Puna and reveal a process of landscape learning. By contrast, during the phase of effective occupation (Middle Holocene) —a period coinciding with climatic fluctuations and decreasing rainfall—a greater number of obsidian sources were used suggesting increased knowledge of the landscape as well as a pattern of territorial range shifting.
... Interpretations of group mobility are central to reconstructions of prehistoric lifeways, including subsistence strategies (Allen, 2012;Mondini et al., 2013), raw material procurement (Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015), technological developments (Stojanowski and Knudson, 2011), and social organisation (Cashdan, 2017;Maestri, 2018). The role of mobility in subsistence is particularly important when applying foraging theory to archaeological data to understand how people moved through the landscape. ...
... Forager mobility is also an integral aspect of central place foraging theory (CPF). In CPF models, it is assumed that groups select a centralplace location ('home base') from where they set out to exploit resources before returning for final processing, distribution, and consumption (Bettinger et al., 1997;Cannon, 2000;Nagaoka, 2002b;Orians and Pearson, 1979;Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015;Reeder-Myers, 2014;Smith, 1991). Central place models predict that, as transport costs increase due to increasing distance from home base to prey, foragers will become more selective about: (1) what is pursued and (2) what portions of those prey items are returned to the central place (Nagaoka, 2002b). ...
Article
Marine molluscs are highly diverse in size, anatomical structure, behaviour, and habitat and can provide information on human foraging, mobility, diet, and palaeoenvironments. Molluscs occupy a variety of substrates including rocky shores, coral reefs, mud flats, and sandy beaches and shell morphology reflects their habitat and mode of life (e.g., mobility, method of feeding, defence against predators). The north windward coast of west Moloka‘i, Hawaiian Islands, consists mostly of smooth basalt boulders, with sections of eolianite (limestone) shoreline. These contrasting littoral shores influence the composition of the rocky shore intertidal mollusc populations, but both support large numbers of the ubiquitous Hawaiian limpet (Cellana exarata, C. sandwicensis, C. talcosa). We investigated if limpet shell shape (i.e., form and dimensions) varied between shoreline types by multi-year sampling of modern mollusc populations on basalt and eolianite coastlines. Using multiple discriminant analysis, modern shell shape was compared to archaeological limpet assemblages from three late prehistoric habitation sites adjacent to basalt and eolianite shorelines. Our results demonstrate that archaeological shell shape correlates to modern limpet shell shape from nearby basalt or eolianite coastlines suggesting low forager mobility during late prehistory.
... Obsidian has also been appreciated as an exchange resource between the populations of Puna and the lowlands of the NOA (Yacobaccio et al., 2004). In these processes of macro-regional interaction, the inhabitants of the Puna exchanged resources such as obsidian, salt and other minerals for other scarce resources coming from the mesothermal valleys and yungas (eastern forests) (Nielsen, 2013;Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015). ...
... There would also have been movements to the east, in sectors of valleys and yungas (forests), from which they obtained plant food and wood to make hafts. This evidence is present in different sites of the Puna of Jujuy and Catamarca from the Early Holocene (Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015;Pintar et al., 2016), but so far they have not been recovered in this period in the Puna of Salta possibly due to differential conservation processes. The Puna had valuable resources to offer such as camelid meat, salt and obsidian to the lowlands groups. ...
Article
This paper presents new archaeological information to analyse and discuss the processes of macro-regional interaction that occurred along the Holocene in the highlands of the north-western Argentina, also known as Puna. Primarily, this research work is focused on the provenance of obsidian recovered in lithic assemblages of the Alero Cuevas, Abrigo Pozo Cavado, Abra de Minas and Cueva Inca Viejo sites, located in the Puna of Salta. These sites have radiocarbon dates between ca. 10000 BP and 500 BP. Specifically, the obsidian sources were determined through the analysis of samples by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF). As a result, the circulation of obsidian from diverse areas of the Puna allowed me to analyse human interaction on different spatial scales, which even covered distances of around 300 km. Likewise, a brief description of other archaeological indicators was made in order to study this topic, including morphological and technological changes in the lithic material, the presence of feathers, wood and seeds from the lowlands, and the caravans of camelids in the rock-art. Finally, the results presented are also important for understanding the transmission of cultural information within processes of interaction on broad spatial and chronological scales in the South-central Andes.
... Most research regarding the Archaic Period of the South Central Andes (10,000e3500 cal BP) has been carried out in southern Peru, northern Chile, and northwest Argentina (Aldenderfer, 1989(Aldenderfer, , 1998(Aldenderfer, , 2008De Souza, 2004;Dillehay, 2000Dillehay, , 2008Grosjean et al., 2005;Haas and Viviano Llave, 2015;Haas et al., 2017;M endez, 2013;Núñez et al., 2002;Osorio et al., 2011Osorio et al., , 2017bPintar and Rodríguez, 2015;Pintar et al., 2016;Politis et al., 2008;Rademaker et al., 2013Rademaker et al., , 2014Santoro and Núñez, 1987;Santoro et al., 2011;Yacobaccio et al., 2017). In the case of the Bolivian Central Altiplano, a number of aceramic sites have been reported and classified as "preceramic" and assumed to be considerably old, despite the fact that very few of them have been systematically dated or excavated (Capriles and Albarracin-Jordan, 2013;Lanata and Borrero, 1999;Paz et al., 2014). ...
... On the other hand, it is also likely that the cores themselves had numerous flaws that prevented the extraction of large flakes. Assuming that cherts were always brought back to the site, source mapping could provide an estimate for the foraging range, including estimates of regional migration (Pintar and Rodríguez, 2015;Pintar et al., 2016). The unique microscraperassemblage might indicate a technological solution to the specific environmental or resource constraints of this region (see Yi et al., 2013). ...
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... Las investigaciones arqueológicas en el Noroeste argentino, particularmente en la Puna, han evidenciado el acceso y la circulación de bienes y recursos foráneos desde los inicios del Holoceno temprano (González et al., 2017;López, 2020;Martínez, 2012;Pintar et al., 2016;Pintar y Rodríguez, 2015, entre otros). Estas redes de interacción se consolidaron y sistematizaron durante el Holoceno tardío a través de un tráfico caravanero llamero (Aschero, 2007;López et al., 2015;López et al., 2018;Martel et al., 2017;Nielsen, 1998;Yacobaccio, 2012, entre otros). ...
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... La Puna argentina presenta distintas áreas de interés para estudiar los paisajes arqueológicos producto de las ocupaciones de grupos cazadores (Aschero y Martínez, 2001;Hocsman, 2006;López, 2022;Martínez, 2003;Mondini et al., 2013;Moreno, 2009, Moreno et al., 2021Pintar, 2014;Pintar y Rodríguez, 2015;Ratto 2003, Restifo, 2013Yacobaccio 2001Yacobaccio , 2021. Las investigaciones realizadas en esta macrorregión permitieron caracterizar la diversidad arqueológica espacio/temporal relacionada con la caza como estrategia predominante. ...
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Se presenta nueva evidencia para caracterizar el paisaje arqueológico cinegético del sector de Pozo Cavado, cuenca de Pocitos, Puna de Salta, entre ca. 11000 y 3000 años AP. En particular, se analizan los conjuntos arquitectónicos y líticos. En las construcciones, se reconocen parapetos y muros extensos que podrían haber conformado un espacio de caza intensa de camélidos, mientras que entre el material lítico, se relevaron los artefactos tiempo-sensitivos, principalmente vinculados con tecnología extractiva. Específicamente, se recuperó una preforma de punta cola de pescado en un contexto superficial, cuyo hallazgo representa información relevante debido a la escasez de esta clase de artefactos en el Noroeste argentino. También se distinguieron puntas triangulares apedunculadas tempranas, aunque predominan distintas variantes lanceoladas. Estas últimas, en conjunto con el registro cronológico y arqueológico en capa del sitio Abrigo Pozo Cavado, indican una mayor intensidad de ocupación a lo largo del Holoceno medio y, en particular, hacia fines de este período. Más generalmente, el conjunto de los indicadores analizados parece señalar la construcción de un paisaje de caza perdurable en una escala cronológica de largo plazo.
... En el Holoceno medio inicial (8000 -6000/5500 AP), la señal antrópica disminuye fuertemente en distintos sectores de los Andes centro sur (Muscio y López, 2016;Núñez, 1992). De todas maneras, en los últimos años, se ha informado la presencia de sitios arqueológicos con fechados en esta cronología, incluyendo Alero Cuevas (López, 2008;Mondini et al., 2013;Pintar y Rodríguez, 2015;Yacobaccio et al., 2013). En general, se observan ciertos patrones comunes a nivel macrorregional, como la presencia de puntas bifaciales lanceoladas medianograndes y una alta representación de camélidos por sobre otros taxones en los restos arqueofaunísticos (Aschero y Martínez, 2001;Yacobaccio, 2001). ...
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Se presenta una síntesis actualizada de la evidencia arqueológica del sitio Alero Cuevas, Pastos Grandes, Puna de Salta, a lo largo de la secuencia estratigráfica datada en el Holoceno temprano, medio y tardío. La información arqueológica proveniente de este sitio se discute en el marco regional de la cuenca de Pastos Grandes y de la Puna argentina. Esta perspectiva regional es útil para abordar diversos procesos de cambio ocurridos durante el Holoceno. En particular, el registro de Alero Cuevas contribuye al estudio de las variaciones relacionadas con la intensificación y domesticación de camélidos, la movilidad y la interacción en escala amplia, y los cambios tecnológicos, entre otros aspectos. Los resultados de la investigación permitieron analizar estas problemáticas a partir de distintos indicadores arqueológicos, en especial arqueofaunísticos y líticos. Los cambios más notables ocurrieron a partir del Holoceno medio final y se profundizaron durante el Holoceno tardío. Asimismo, se han detectado continuidades en las estrategias de uso del sitio en escala cronológica de largo plazo.
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Citation: International Journal of South American Archaeology. Vol 2, pp. 47-55.
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The biogeographic model of Southern Andes is presented in order to understand some aspect of the archaeological record from the Southern Mendoza (Argentina). The theoretical concept of explorations, colonization and effective occupation are employed to explain the temporal and spatial difference showed for the archaeological record. The environmental heterogeneity of the area is considered in order to propose a ranking to human exploitation. The radiocarbon date show a differential chronology to the different regions while the obsidian show that some area not human occupied until Late Holocene was exploited at least in its raw lithic from the Middle Holocene. The model presents some perspective to future research and it has hard potential to empirical refutation. © 2009 Universidad de Tarapacá Facultad de Ciencias Sociales Administrativas y Económicas Departamento de Antropología.