The Underlying Spatial Structure of a Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) Bonebed Assemblage in the Fuegian Region, Subantarctic Insular Argentina

Abstract

Abstract Several recent papers have focused on new evidence pointing to the possibility of the mass procurement of guanacos in Fuegian pedestrian hunter-gatherer groups. These works are linked to the excavation of Las Vueltas 1 (northern Tierra del Fuego, Argentina), an archaeological site mainly characterised by a vast guanaco bonebed. This paper is part of that discussion, adding a new line of evidence over the zooarchaeological record using spatial statistics. Our hypothesis considers the formation processes of LV1 were caused by a communal hunting party, which implies the synchronous deposition of the guanaco assemblage in a single event. Consequently, the underlying spatial structure of the bonebed should be clearly identifiable, since neithersuperposition of events nor cleaning patterns are expected. Our proposal embraces an interdisciplinary approach and offers a practical methodology to address the general problem of analysing the spatial structure of an archaeological site, without additional, time-consuming analysis. The results of the different statistical tests have proved to be insightful about the formation processes of the LV1 bonebed, and they are consistent with the initial hypothesis regarding the functionality of the site as a guanaco mass hunting site.