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In this paper, the analysis of a radiocarbon database of the North Coast of Santa Cruz (central Patagonia, Argentina), is presented. Dated archaeological samples were obtained from 56 different types of archaeological sites (open-air -residential sites and burials-, and also rock shelters). The objective of this paper is assessing the continuities and discontinuities in the chronological signal of the area and identifying tendencies along the Holocene. The database currently contains 75 radiocarbon dates falling between ca. 8000 and 300 BP. The radiocarbon data base provides information on the chronological, spatial and contextual variability of the archaeological record of North Coast of Santa Cruz. By means of different analysis of sum of probabilities, we present three different chronological moments of human use of the coast and intermediate zone can be identified. A first moment is represented by early evidence of settlement during Middle Holocene. A second moment corresponds to a hiatus between ca. 5800 and ca. 3900 BP without archaeological evidence. Finally, a third moment is where an increasing of chronological signal occurred, related to greater artifactual variability and an increase in the intensity of human settlement in the Patagonian region. The causes that could have influenced in the discontinuity of the chronological signal of the study area, and the characteristics of the different moments identified are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper compares two zooarchaeological sub-samples, each of which comes from a different area (North chamber and South chamber) of Maripe Cave Site (Santa Cruz, Argentina). In previous papers, each chamber was interpreted as a particular microenvironment based on their specific environmental and geoarchaeological features. In both areas, hunting–gatherer society occupations were recorded since the Pleistocene–Holocene transition to late Holocene. This paper investigated and discussed the different agents and processes involved in the formation of each assemblage, with the aim of assessing the taphonomic variability between the two areas and discussing their integrity. Bone specimens of Lama guanicoe (guanaco), the most common species on the site, were analyzed. The bone surfaces of specimens were studied by naked eye observations and binocular magnifying to 10×, which allowed recognition of different patterns of modification. The representation of guanaco anatomical units was also discussed at each chamber according to economic utility and BMD values. The results indicate that while there was involvement of different natural agents and processes acted differently in each sector, the main accumulating agent in both sets was human. Differences between both chambers are observed in the representation of anatomical units, in processing marks, in the conservation of specimens, and in the number and intensity performed by each natural agents and process in each sector. Each chamber indicates a different taphonomic history: the North Chamber records greater conservation and archaeological integrity, while the South Chamber shows a more complex taphonomy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this paper is to begin to understand human mobility through rock transport at different times in two areas with different environmental characteristics: the Southern Deseado Massif and the basaltic canyons north of the Santa Cruz River. We focus on obsidian, which has a clear geochemical signature and an uneven distribution. Additionally, we use macroscopic information on siliceous rocks, which at present have only been identified in northern areas, although they may also be recovered randomly and in low frequencies in southern ones. During the initial peopling of the Southern Deseado Massif (ca. 10,800 BP), inhabitants were transporting black obsidian as well as translucent chalcedony, probably as part of the individual gear. During the Late Holocene, the number of obsidian artifacts decreased in the Southern Deseado Massif, related to a better knowledge of the high-quality local lithic resources and/or to the existence of higher population densities. Obsidian artifacts are more abundant in the northern Santa Cruz River basin than in the southern Deseado Massif, suggesting the existence of a relationship with areas located to the northwest, close to the obsidian source, as other lines of evidence suggest. In addition, the presence in the basaltic canyons of artifacts made from high-quality siliceous rocks, more abundant and predictable in northern areas, could also be the result of human movements following a north-south direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]