Temporal changes in the utilization of marine resources by hunter-gatherers of the North-central Patagonian Atlantic coast during the Holocene

Abstract

We evaluated and discussed the temporal changes in the intensity and type of exploitation of marine resources – mollusks, fish, birds, and pinnipeds – by hunter-gatherers that inhabited the north-central Patagonian Atlantic coast from the mid-Holocene (7400 years 14C BP, hereafter BP) to the Natives-European Contact period (200 BP). Twenty-six faunal assemblages and 32 human individuals were analyzed through zooarchaeological and paleodietary studies (δ13C and δ15N). Analyses of human remains indicate that the nutritional spectrum was generally wide and included terrestrial and marine resources. Marine resources, especially mollusks and otariids, were important in the diet, but guanaco consumption prevailed over time. Otariids were in general exploited in a low proportion, with the highest representation between 7400 and 3500 BP and the lowest since 1000 BP. Fish and seabirds were not relevant resources for the local hunter-gatherers. The archaeofaunal assemblages after 2000 BP show an increase in the number of marine birds, a decrease in the number of fish, but a rise in their taxonomic richness. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when horses were adopted, a reduction in marine fauna representation was determined. As compared to other Patagonian Atlantic coast sectors, the highest similarities were observed with the archaeological record of San Matías gulf coast of Río Negro province and the northern coast of Santa Cruz province.