Mid-Holocene hunters in the Andes Mountains: environment, resources and technological strategies

摘要

Mid-Holocene archeological contexts were examined at the Blanco River basin (Lujan de Cuyo; Mendoza, Argentina) with emphasis on the analysis of lithic material to define production systems and technological strategies. The objective was to determine landscape use patterns, and changes in subsistence related to the complex population dynamic that occurred during the mid- to late-Holocene. The environments of the region are characterized by great altitudinal differences. The patterns tested consider this particularity and its relation with the resource structure. Other variables are also evaluated, such as the proximity to specific geological formations and access, which is critical in the high altitudinal areas. At El Piedron 01 rock shelter (Quebrada de La Manga-Cordillera Frontal) archeological contexts dated at 5460 ± 130 and 4560 ± 120 ~(14)C years BP have been recovered. The significant occurrences of late-Holocene sites in the same area, as well as the differences in the technological behavior organizational properties, are related to factors including population growth, changes in subsistence and different settlement systems over a chronological range of 4000 years BP.