Management of plant resources in southern hunter-gatherer societies: a review of archaeobotanical evidence of Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina)

Abstract

This paper presents a revision of the plant use evidence from ethnographical and archaeological records in the southern tip of South America. The main objective is to discuss the procurement and exploitation of woody and non-woody resources. In general, ethnographic, ethnohistorical and ethnobotanical evidence indicates that the Selk´nam and Yagan people consumed and used a wide biological diversity of plants. The use of this large number of species is recorded in different functions (fuel, instruments, food, medicine, etc.) as part of domestic and ritual activities. In the forest area of Tierra del Fuego during the late Holocene, available archaeobotanical data indicate a clear dominance of tree taxa in the anthracological record, especially Nothofagus sp. On the other hand, a predominance of shrubs is documented from early Holocene sites and from late Holocene sites located in the steppe region. In carpological record, Empetrum rubrum record predominates, which in terms of ubiquity appears in nearly all analyzed sites. Finally, the combined ethnohistorical and archaeobotanical evidence from the entire region suggests a certain homogeneity in the species and plant parts utilized by both inland and coastal societies in Tierra del Fuego during the late Holocene.