Advances in the study of the lithic contexts of Quebrada Seca Zona de Aprovisionamiento y Cantera and its role in local lithic production systems (Antofagasta de la Sierra, Puna de Catamarca, Argentina)

Abstract

Quebrada Seca Zona de Aprovisionamiento y Cantera (QSZAC) is a quarry with a wide availability of volcanic rocks suitable for knapping tools. These raw materials were intensively exploited for millennia by different groups from Quebrada Seca (Antofagasta de la Sierra, Puna de Catamarca, Argentina). The aim of this work was to study lithic contexts of QSZAC in order to provide information about provisioning methods and tool production. For this purpose, systematic surveys, sampling and on-site recording of workshop were carried out. A technical-typological analysis of a complete lithic workshop assemblage form QSZAC was also performed. These analysis examine the exploitation of volcanic rocks, raw material transport from the quarry, knapping of quarry-blanks by bifacial thinning techniques and tool production by marginal retouch. Such toolkits would have been transported as a part of production system to residential sites, workshops or special purpose sites to be employed in hunting or processing activities.