Tehuelche (Aonikenk) site variability during XIXth to XXIst century in Southern Patagonia (Argentina and Chile)

Summary

Since the arrival of Europeans (XVIth Century) and their related economic activities in Patagonia, the different indigenous societies that inhabited the region were forced to deeply modify their ancient ways of life. The incorporation of new raw materials (glass and stoneware) to produce traditional instruments was one of several of modified aspects that have been archaeologically and historically (chronicles) recorded. We study and compare Tehuelche (Aonikenk) data from XIXth to XXIst century sites in Southern Patagonia, focusing on site structure and artifactual frequencies (mainly glass scrapers), in order to evaluate the variability spectrum of these historic archaeological sites. We analyze sites within Reservations, isolated familiar dwellings and camps, all of which show internal variability also. Differences could be related to demography and mobility as well as to contact contingencies. The resulting archaeological landscape arises as a diverse one, introducing a new scenario for Southern Patagonia in an unequal culture contact frame.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage