Ongoing research on 19th Century shipwrecks and coastal sites located in North-Patagonia, Argentina

Abstract

Since 2017, archaeological research has been conducted in the area between Bahía San Blas and Carmen de Patagones (Southern Buenos Aires Province, Argentina), with emphasis on maritime and nautical activities associated with territory exploration, battlefields, resource exploitation, commerce, and related on-land activities. In this work, we present the results of the coastal surveys, excavations, photogrammetric recording and drone mapping conducted on 19th Century shipwreck remains distributed in the intertidal and supratidal areas of this region. Data recovered from fieldwork activities, archival sources, and laboratory analyses, allowed dating and assessing provenance of different wooden structural remains, as well as discussing site formation processes. In addition, preliminary surveys on other coastal sites such as a pilot’s house and a campsite with a combination of indigenous evidence and creole/European material culture from a shipwreck, provided new insights into the maritime activities of the region.