Armas líticas, técnicas y estrategias de caza de pinnípedos en la desembocadura del Río Santa Cruz, Patagonia Meridional

Abstract

El objetivo de este trabajo es discutir las técnicas y estrategias de caza empleadas para la captura de pinnípedos en la desembocadura del Río Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, Patagonia), particularmente en la localidad arqueológica Punta Entrada. Ésta se caracteriza por poseer amplias concentraciones de material arqueológico a cielo abierto en las cuales los restos de pinnípedos de las especies Otaria flavescens y Arctocephalus australis dominan los conjuntos zooarqueológicos, evidenciando que estos animales fueron una presa principal de los cazadores-recolectores durante los últimos 2.000 años aP. Los estudios del registro artefactual lítico sugieren el uso de diversos sistemas de armas combinados, entre los cuales se incluyen aquellos de circulación regional y uso general (lanzas) y otros netamente costeros y de uso específico, como son los rompecráneos, informando así la existencia de estrategias de caza particulares para estos animales y de artefactos destinados a tal fin.

Pinnipeds have been an important prey for human beings in Patagonia from the Middle Holocene to historical times, but little is known about the weapons implied in their capture. The aim of this article is to discuss hunting techniques and strategies used in this activity at the Santa Cruz River mouth, specifically at the archaeological locality named Punta Entrada (Santa Cruz, Patagonia, Argentina). This locality is characterized by having large-surface, open-sky archaeological material concentrations in which remains of Otaria flavescens and Arctocephalus australis are the most important in the zooarchaeological record and evidence that these animals were the main prey of the hunter-gatherers dwelling the area during the last 2,000 years BP. Results suggest the use of various combined weapons systems, including those of regional circulation and general use (spears) and others of purely coastal and specific use, such as skull-breakers. They were made mainly of local lithic raw materials. Results provide information about the existence of specific hunting strategies for pinnipeds and also of artifacts intended for this purpose.