Hunting and Butchering events at the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition in Piedra Museo: An example of adaptation strategies of the first colonizers of Patagonia

Abstract

This paper is an analysis of the archaeofaunal materials recovered from the Pleistocene and Holocene stratigraphic layers of the rockshelter known as the Alero El Puesto 1 site (AEP-1), Piedra Museo locality, situated in the central plateau of Santa Cruz province, Argentina, 47º53´42"S, 67º52´04"W. The faunal remains yielded information on the paleoenvironmental evolution of this enclosed basin, the taphonomy, the subsistence systems, and use of the Patagonian region by the earliest hunter-gatherer populations. Two strata in the site were defined. The upper one is an aeolian unit (U1); the lower is a paleosol containing five units (from top to bottom U2-U6) based on the sedimentological characteristics. Radiocarbon dating confirmed two occupational events. Unit 6, dated between 12,890 ± 90 RCYBP (AA-20125) and 10,925 ± 65 RCYBP (OXA-8528) , represents the initial Pleistocene occupation in southernmost Patagonia. Unit 4/5, dated between 10,400 ± 80 RCYBP (AA-8428) and 9230 ± 105 RCYBP (LP-949), represents the stage of effective colonization of the region. The Holocene context of Unit 2, dated at 7670 ± 110 RCYBP (LP-450) is related to the stage of territorial consolidation of the local hunter-gatherer societies. Taxonomic analysis reveals greater biodiversity and a higher proportion of extinct taxa in U6 compared with U 4/5. Likewise, U5 contains more extinct species than U4. However, there are no extinct species in Unit 2, where Lama guanicoe dominates the spectrum. The disappearance of taxa from U6 to U4 suggests two possibilities, sample bias or differential extinction of Pleistocene fauna. Based on comparative studies of other archaeological contexts of similar antiquity in the Patagonian region, the second hypothesis seems more reliable. Remains of U6 and U4/5 relate to different depositional events, chronologically separated, as suggested by radiocarbon dating, different depths below the surface of the site, and changes in the sedimentology of the units. Both depositional zones contain archaeological remains that are interpreted as two different hunting events in the human colonization of the region. According to the faunal assemblage, stratigraphic position, and radiocarbon dating, U2 represents the latest occupation in the site, during the early/middle Holocene.