Hunting and Faunal Consumption Among Herders of Northwestern Patagonia: A Zooarchaeological Perspective

Abstract

This article examines the dietary patterns of herders in central-western Argentina, known as puesteros (local herders). We investigate how changes in land use, urbanization, and hunting restrictions have affected traditional puestero herding practices and the contributions of wild and domesticated animals to their diets. The study focuses on two research questions: (1) Has the growth of urban economies and transportation infrastructure in central-western Argentina during the past several decades influenced puestero domesticate and wild animal meat consumption? (2) Does the consumption of large domesticates (e.g., beef from cattle) today decrease when the distance to cities increases and connectivity with markets decreases? We examine the differences in faunal assemblages between high-elevation summer puestos and low-elevation permanent puestos. We expected that puesteros in more remote areas would rely more on wild animals as a food source. However, the results showed that wild faunas were more common in permanent puestos compared to comparatively remote, summer puestos. This can be explained by the different activities carried out in each puesto and the animal biodiversity of each ecoregion. The study also highlights the impact of land use changes and conservation policies on puesteros. New employment opportunities, rural–urban migration, and changes in land ownership have influenced ranching and pastoralism practices as well. We emphasize the need to understand the puestero lifestyle in a broader framework that considers economic, social, and political processes and the importance of zooarchaeology in this study, which provides a valuable tool for documenting and preserving aspects of puestero culture.