Regionalization processes in the high altitude desert of Northwestern Argentina during Middle to Late Holocene

Abstract

Lithic materials proceed from Antofagasta de la Sierra (Catamarca), in Southern Puna and Inca Cueva-El Aguilar (Jujuy), in Northern Puna. Published data from the Puna of Jujuy and Salta provinces are also considered. Local archaeological sequences involve, among other issues, a decline in residential mobility, use of smaller-sized territories, wild and domesticated animal and plant resources exploitation and non local biotic and abiotic resource procurement. It is highlighted that at this moment important socio-economic changes related to the emergence of productive activities occurred in the region and some regional congruencies on, for example, the decline in bifacial thinning, the increase in the role of obsidian in the manufacture of projectile points and the ubiquity of some particular flaked stone tools as morphologically very specific cutters or very specific projectile points. Nevertheless, differences between the Northern and the Southern parts of the Puna are very strong in both technological and typological terms. Both the Northern Puna and the Southern Puna exhibit several different stemmed and un-stemmed projectile points and hafted knives. Also, Northern Puna is characterized by the presence of blade technology, that is completely absent in the South. In fact, blade tools are exclusive from the North. Differences in stone artifact assemblage composition are assumed as due to economic intensification, increase in sedentism, environmental change and/or social factors. The interaction of those factors on spatio-temporal variability in artifact assemblage structure is discussed here.