Diversidad tecnológica en el extremo sur de Patagonia: tendencias y continuidades en el diseño y uso de materiales líticos

Abstract

This paper argues for the central role of technology and use-wear analysis to archaeological interpretation. The purpose is to discuss the theoretical and methodological importance of this line of research to understand social change and cultural continuity. To accomplish this aim the conceptual frame of practice theories is developed as well as the misunderstandings built around use-wear method. A case study of technological practices and the context of use of lithic instruments is provided by archaeological sites the Beagle Channel region (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina). These include a large series of stone assemblages from different time-frames produced by hunter-gatherers and fishing societies who populated the uttermost part of South America since the sixth millennia before present.