A Biogeographic Approach to Hunter-Gatherer Dispersion Constraints in Northern Patagonia

Abstract

The Northwest Patagonia late Holocene human occupation was almost a ?barrier? against farmer dispersion, at least during the last 1500 years BP. The causes for this remain unclear and are still debated, but environment, human demography, and resource stress are among the most accepted explanations. In this presentation, we use a biogeographic approach to discuss different ideas about how demography, environment, human subsistence, mobility, and procurement strategies could explain the persistence of hunter-gatherer strategies in northwest Patagonia. We use different lines of evidence that include zooarchaeology, stable isotope on human bone, radiocarbon trends, obsidian provenience, and pottery from the Monte and Patagonia deserts. Contrary to our expectations, significant differences in the record show a discrete range that do not clearly overlap human occupation in both deserts.