Use of marine fauna and tool stones in the south of Buenos Aires Province (Argentina) during the Middle and Late Holocene

Abstract

The exploitation of coastal and marine resources by hunter-gatherers in the south of Buenos Aires Province (Argentina) during the Mid-Late Holocene was examined through the analysis of faunal and lithic evidence in the following archaeological sites: El Americano II and Barrio Las Dunas (Mid-Late Holocene), both located in coastal sand dunes, Puente de Fierro (Late Holocene), located in a wetland distant 7 km from the seashore, Paso Vanoli, located 13 km from the seashore, and Paso Mayor YI S1 (Mid-Late Holocene), located in a fluvial environment 41 km from the seashore. The evidence suggests that, during the Mid-Holocene, in the coastal sites, hunter-gatherers used several marine vertebrates (e.g. pinnipeds and fishes—Pogonias cromis-), whereas in the inland sites, they only transported mollusks and coastal pebbles. In the Late Holocene, in the sites located a few kilometers from the coast, hunter-gatherers carried only selected parts of pinnipeds as well as mollusks and coastal pebbles. Pinnipeds represented a low proportion of the faunal remains. In contrast, in sites far away from the Atlantic coast, hunter-gatherers carried only stones and mollusks. We propose that although the Atlantic coast in the study area was regularly visited by hunter-gatherers all along the Holocene, the importance of marine food decreased during the Late Holocene, whereas the importance of coastal tool stones and mollusks continued.