Subsistence patterns during the Holocene in the Interserrana area (Pampean region, Argentina): Evaluating intensification in resource exploitation

Abstract

Intensification is defined as the process by which the total productivity per areal unit of land is increased at the expense of overall decreases in foraging efficiency. The Interserrana area is a large ecosystem of grasslands located in the Pampean region of Argentina inhabited by hunter–gatherers from the Late Pleistocene until recent times. The objectives of this paper are to characterize subsistence patterns in the Interserrana area during the Holocene, to compare these trends considering their chronology, and to evaluate if there was an intensification process in this sector of the Pampean region in the Late Holocene. Four faunal assemblages from this area were analyzed. Additionally, published information about local assemblages was compiled and incorporated into the discussion. Results indicate that hunter–gatherers used a generalized strategy during the Early Holocene and the first half of the Middle Holocene. During the second half of the Middle Holocene and the Late Holocene, the diet was strongly oriented to the consumption of guanaco, and an intensification process is not documented for the Interserrana area. The hypothesis to explain the changes in the diet is that there were variations in the guanaco local availability.