Is the environment good to eat or good to paint?: Faunal consumption and avoidance among hunter-gatherer-fishers in the Beagle Channel Region (Tierra del Fuego, Southern South America)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the analysis of some social conceptions about maritime faunal resources and their consequences on their differential uses by hunter-gatherer-fishers from the Beagle Channel region (Tierra del Fuego, Southern South America). Particular uses of birds and fish in terms of diet, technology and ceremonial body painting are investigated. To this end, we analyse data from archaeological contexts and ethnographic sources ranging from the XVI to the XIX centuries. We argue that not every species was exploited according to optimality principles, therefore indicating the importance of social factors in their consumption and/or avoidance.