Coast and lowlands: zooarchaeology of La Esmeralda shell midden (Uruguayan Atlantic coast, late Holocene)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

La Esmeralda is a set of three Donax hanleyanus shell midden (3000 to 1000 b.P) in which they were capture, processing and consumption of coastal vertebrates (pinnipeds, fish and birds) and terrestrial (field deer, mulita and Rhea egg) in an exploitation scheme that includes the coast and the continental lowlands. The use of the Donax hanleyanus bank is simultaneous with the hunting of field deer and mulita and the collection of Rhea eggs from the grasslands of Laguna Negra. Potrerillo site (3200-2400 b.P), located (4 km) on a hill surrounded by floodplains is composed by two earth mounds. Archaeological record of the site shows the exploitation of the surrounding environment (cervids and rodents) but also of the Atlantic coast (sea lion and lithic raw materials). Both settlements show the use of the ecotonal zone that forms the Atlantic coast and the coastal lagoons, may be as part of a coastal-inland mobility circuit. The relations between the coastal and continental occupations have been the subject of discussion for more than 20 years. The discussion should focus on the relative weight of coastal vs. continental resources.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39552.0