Analysis of production sequences and use practices in two lithic assemblages of the Middle holocene: Laguna de los Pampas and Cabeza de Buey 2 archaeological sites (Central Pampean dunefields, Argentina)

Abstract

The Central Pampean Dunefield (Pampa grasslands, Argentina) is a landscape lacking lithic raw materials. The main aim of this presentation is to describe and compare several technological decisions involved in the production sequences and use strategies of lithic artifacts recovered in two archaeological sites: Laguna de los Pampas and Laguna Cabeza de Buey 2, both located in the Middle Holocene. The holistic study of technology involves the analysis of the production strategies and the context of use, since they are indissoluble elements of technological practices. In both sites the lithic assemblages are formed mainly by non-local orthoquartzite and chert from the Tandilia Range System, followed by other exotic lithic raw materials in low frequencies (silicified dolomite, siliceous chert, silex, obsidian, sandstone, granite, metaquartzite, chalcedony, ryolite, micaceous schist, etc.), which came from diverse sectors of the Pampa grasslands and neighboring areas. Different sorts of reduction sequences and chipping techniques were recognized for these stones during the Middle Holocene. The use-wear analysis shows that most of the lithic tools were used to work on a single type of material (e.g., bone, wood or hide) but some tools worked as multifunctional devices. In addition, we found some coincidences between certain techno-morphological features and modes of use, mainly those tools used to work hide. The results of techno-morphological and functional analyses allow us to identify recurrent practices on methods of production and use of stone tools. We propose that hunter-gatherer societies that inhabited Central Pampean Dunefield during the Middle Holocene shared common technological knowledge with other groups of the Pampa grasslands as the result of interaction in a regional scale.