Raw-material Procurement and Landscape Use during the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition in the Eastern Tandilia Range (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the use of lithic resources by hunter-gatherer groups during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition (c. 10,000 14 C yr BP) in the eastern Tandilia Mountain Range (Pampas region, Argentina). The lithic assemblages of nine archaeological sites were recovered in sedimentary sequences from caves and rockshelters. The results show that the first human groups who inhabited the micro-region had a wide knowledge of the landscape and sources, and developed a highly selective acquisition of rocks, transporting them from different sources. Among these rocks, two different sedimentary rocks (orthoquartzites) were the most used: the first locally available and the second located 100 km away from the study area. Additional raw-material sources are located 400 and 500 km away from the archaeological study area and were used with different intensities in the studied sites.