Maritime Hunter-Gatherers from Southernmost Patagonia (South America, Chile): Discussing Occupation Intensity and Resource Exploitation Strategies for the Central Strait of Magellan during the Late Holocene (2500 BP – XVIII Century)

Summary

Maritime hunter-gatherers from Fuego-Patagonia are of special archaeological interest given their sudden emergence in the archaeological record and their highly specialized economic adaptation. In 2011 we carried an intense salvage archaeological excavation program along the central area of Strait of Magellan in Southernmost Patagonia, Chile. Here we present the results obtained from 1.546 m2 of excavation, where a total of 18 archaeological sites, located along the eastern shore of the Brunswick Peninsula (south of Punta Arenas), were rescued. The excavations have generated an important archaeological assemblage of materials that provide significant information regarding the human occupations of this region between c. 2500 years BP and the XVIII century.

This study assesses the general characteristics of the occupations in this region, and discusses their technological components (bone and lithic instruments) and the faunal resources exploited. The results obtained are then compared with previous studies in this region. These data are used to discuss the intensity of human occupation in the area, and the role of marine and terrestrial fauna in the subsistence strategies of the maritime nomads from Southernmost Patagonia during the Late Holocene.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22409