Manufacture Marks on Shell Fishhooks: Technological Knowledge and Tradition of Coastal and Maritime Societies along the Pacific Coast of Chile

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Fishhooks on Choromytilus chorus shells (mussel) can be found along the northern coast Chile (18° to 30° Lat. S) and were manufactured between 7500 and 4000 yrs cal BP. Manufacture marks on these artefacts are prominent features to observed, describe, and compare. In this way, the study of shell fishhooks’ manufacture techniques allows us not only to deepen our knowledge on these artifacts but also on the logic and knowledge of ancient fishing and artisanal societies. In this study we present the results of a manufacture mark analysis done on archaeological shell fishhooks from several sites along the north coast of Chile. Shell fishhook replicas, made with traditional tools such as sandstone drills and lithic knife, were also analyzed and compared. Through a detailed description of striation characteristics such as direction, width, length, and density, among others, we aim to compare techniques and intensity of work and describe how shell fishhooks were made during the mid-Holocene along the Chilean cost. As rich evidence of shell fishhooks is found around the Pacific coast, we also proposed some guidelines for wider comparative studies.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36288.0