Hunter-Gatherer Adaptation in the Deserts of Northern Patagonia

Summary

Arid environments (marked by scarce water and heterogeneous resources) constrain human adaptation. In this paper, we explore changes in the use of land in the Diamante Valley, Mendoza province, Argentina, during the Holocene. The principal aim of this exploration is to test the validity of a perceived intensification process in the area of North Patagonia where we conducted a systematic random surface sampling in three ecological zones: the Highlands, the Piedmont and the Lowlands. Within these zones, three 100km2 areas were selected along with a sample of 400 hectare units in each to make meaningful comparison of each environment. Here, we present the results of lithics analysis that compares the different proportions of units with archaeological materials from each ecological zone. With this, changes in subsistence and settlement patterns in the Late Holocene are monitored through differences in raw materials proportions, as well as in the densities of instruments, debitage and cores.

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): 21372