Abstract

The archaeological record of the Province of Santa Cruz’s north Atlantic coast in Argentine Patagonia is represented mainly by middens. These shell middens are made up of the calcareous exoskeletons of mollusks, as well as skeletal remains of vertebrate fauna, lithic artifacts, and carbonized plant remains, intermixed with a varying quantity of sedimentary soil. Recently, along the Lower Basin of the Deseado River, outcrops have been identified that would have functioned in the past as rock shelters for hunter-gatherers who occupied the area during the Middle and Late Holocene. With the aim of expanding our knowledge concerning the dynamics of use of coastal spaces, we began a stratigraphic study of the shell middens and rock shelters. Here, we present a comparative analysis of the occupation characteristics registered at both types of sites and their possible structuring in terms of mobility and functionality. Rock shelters would have functioned primarily as contexts for short-term activities related to the processing and consumption of fauna, mainly terrestrial and to a lesser extent marine fauna. These probably structured seasonal mobility strategies that linked coastal shell middens, defined as multiple activity contexts, with hinterland areas that might have been related to the specific pursuit of other activities.

摘要

阿根廷巴塔哥尼亚圣克鲁斯省北大西洋海岸的考古记录主要以贝丘为代表。这些贝丘由软体动物的钙质外骨骼、脊椎动物的骨骼遗骸、石器和碳化的植物遗骸组成，并与不同数量的沉积土混合在一起。最近，沿着德塞阿多河下游盆地发现了一些露头，这些露头在过去曾是全新世中后期占领该地区的狩猎采集者的岩石庇护所。为了扩大我们对沿海空间利用动态的了解，我们开始对贝丘和岩石掩体进行地层学研究。这里，我们对这两类场所登记的职业特征及其在流动性和功能方面可能的结构进行了比较分析。岩石庇护所的主要功能是作为与动物群（主要是陆地动物群和少量海洋动物群）加工和消费相关的短期活动的场所。这些可能结构化的季节性流动策略将沿海贝丘（定义为多种活动环境）与可能与其他活动的特定追求相关的内陆地区联系起来。