Early Domestic Horse Exploitation in Southern Patagonia: Archaeozoological and Biomolecular Evidence from Chorrillo Grande 1, Argentina

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Columbian Exchange Revisited: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives on Eurasian Domesticates in the Americas" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The introduction of domestic horses following Spanish colonization transformed Indigenous societies across the grasslands of Argentina, leading to the emergence of specialized horse cultures across the Southern Cone. However, the relatively late establishment of permanent European settlement in Patagonia means that the dynamics of this introduction are poorly chronicled by historic records. Here, we apply archaeozoological and biomolecular techniques to horse remains from the site of Chorrillo Grande 1, located in the Río Gallegos middle basin in the steppes of southern Argentina. Osteological and taphonomic analyses of these horse remains suggest that horses were raised and used for food by Aónikenk people before the onset of permanent European settlement in the region, as early as the mid-seventeenth century. DNA-based sex identifications suggest consumption of both male and female horses, while residues from a ceramic sherd also show consumption of guanaco products. Sequential isotope analyses on dentition from the oldest specimen in the assemblage reveals an origin for the animal in southern Patagonia and, within this region, suggests the movement of these animals between the Río Coig (Coyle) and Río Gallegos basins. These results reinforce emerging evidence for extremely rapid and Indigenous-mediated dispersal of the domestic horse in the Americas.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Columbian Exchange Revisited: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives on Eurasian Domesticates in the Americas   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37777.0