Guanaco bone piles from the Pampas region (Argentina) and their implications for hunter-gatherer subsistence

Abstract

Six hunter-gatherer archaeological sites from the Pampas region (Argentina) are characterised by ?bone piles? dominated by guanaco bones. These assemblagesare dated to the Middle and Late Holocene and their study contributes to theunderstanding of hunter-gatherer subsistence, especially in periods like these when diet was highly oriented to the consumption of guanaco. This article discusses assemblages with bone piles, with a special focus on the site Empalme Querandíes 1. This is a base camp where a wide variety of resources was exploited. Of particular interest at this site is the presence of two bone piles, mainly composed of complete guanaco bones. These features are associated with at least two different chronological events that took place during the Late Holocene. Analyses conducted on specimens from the bone piles show that they were deposited in palustrine environments, the elements were highly articulated, the time of burial was short, and they correspond to guanacos of different ages. Taking into account the cultural context, the association of the elements, and the presence of human modifications, it is proposed that both bone piles had an anthropogenic origin. Their presence could be the result of cooperative hunting and the premature abandonment of the base camp because of unpredictable situations or mobility decisions.