Taphonomy and zooarchaeology in the Neotropics: A view from northwestern Patagonian forest and steppe

Abstract

This paper presents modes of faunal exploitation in NW Chubut Province (Patagonia, Argentina) during the last 3 500 calibrated years B. P. based on taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses. Bone assemblages come from archaeological sites of the Sub-Antarctic forests and the extra-Andean Patagonian steppe, where huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) and guanaco (Lama guanicoe) were the main staple. Different processes and agents were involved in the accumulation of small vertebrates bone assemblages (e. g. birds of prey, foxes, and small carnivores). In the steppe, only two taxa of small vertebrates can be related with human subsistence activities. Ñandú (Pterocnemia pennata), a medium-sized flightless bird, also integrated the hunter-gatherer diet. Almost all taxa reveal a fat-oriented carcass processing. Comparisons between bone assemblages associated both with ceramic and non-ceramic technologies; show a lack of changes in guanaco carcass processing. Moreover, the similarities in bone grease obtention suggest boiling previous to the appearence of pottery.