Human subsistence after the megafaunal extinction in Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina (Epullán Grande cave, Holocene)

Abstract

This study presents the zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of the Epullán Grande archaeological site, a cave located in the middle basin of the Limay River, within the steppe environment of Northwestern Patagonia (Neuquén Province, Argentina). The archaeofaunal remains were recovered from Period A (11,443 cal. BP), Period B (7847 cal. BP), Period D (2991 cal BP), Period E (2114 cal BP), and Period F (Post-Hispanic). A consistently low incidence of carnivore activity and post-depositional processes was observed throughout all periods. Taphonomic analysis indicates that Lama guanicoe was exploited for meat and marrow extraction, as a source of raw material for tool manufacture, and plausibly for its skins. The subsistence strategies of these human groups were supplemented by other taxa, including Osteichthyes, Diplodon chilensis, Rhea sp. (meat and eggs), Lycalopex sp., Leopardus sp., Conepatus chinga, Chaetophractus villosus and Zaedyus pichiy. The domestic exotic taxon Ovis orientalis aries also appears to have formed part of subsistence practices during later periods, albeit in a secondary and complementary role, as observed at other neighboring archaeological sites. In Period E, notably, osteoderms assigned to the extinct glyptodont Neosclerocalyptus sp. were recorded. The analysis of thezooarchaeological assemblages from the cave provides insights into the initial human occupation of North­western Patagonia. The evidence suggests no temporal overlap between humans and megafauna, with radio­carbon dates from Epullan ´ Grande consistent with an Early Holocene context.