Technical Systems and Settlement Patterns of the First Occupations in the Jujuy Puna, Argentina: The Hornillos 2 Case

Abstract

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.