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Copyright of Intersecciones en Antropología is the property of Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) is an endangered ungulate from South American. The following paper presents the first investigation on the isotopic ecology (δ13Ccollagen; δ15Ncollagen) of modern populations of Pampas deer. The information obtained is compared with new δ13C and δ15N data of Pampas deer bones recovered from archaeological sites in the Central Pampean Dunefields (Inland Pampa phytogeographic area) and with previously published archeofaunistic isotope data for sites from eastern central Argentina. The range of δ13C values of Pampas deer is broad, ranging from a diet dominated by C3 plants to a mixed diet of C3 and C4 plants. The δ15N values mainly show distinct signals between the Atlantic coast and the interior. The diet breadth of the Pampas deer suggests a high adaptability to different environments, a crucial factor for conservation programs of this species. The δ13C values of the Inland Pampa do not show great differences between the Middle Holocene, Late Holocene and today. Adaptation strategies of the Pampas deer to the environmental changes during the Holocene were not associated with a modification of their feeding habits, but rather with social and demographic strategies. These variations in ecology conditioned the predictability of this prey for hunter-gatherers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to characterise the modifications caused by the Pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus) to the bones and teeth of its prey in the Espinal and Dry Chaco environments, in central Argentina. Plant remains, invertebrate remains, and vertebrate bones and teeth were recovered from a set of more than 180 faeces. From an actualistic perspective, we evaluated the taphonomic signature of this predator in the remains of snakes, birds and mammals recovered in its faeces. We achieved a high rate of taxonomical identification and recovered remains of exotic and native fauna, such as Ovis aries and Lagostomus maximus, respectively. The most remarkable aspects recorded in this taphonomic study were a high frequency of breakage, a low frequency of tooth marks (only observed in large prey), and a high frequency and intensity of digestion damage. The information generated in this study contributes to the evaluations of accumulating agents in archaeological and palaeontological sites of South America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Virtual Archaeology Review is the property of Virtual Archaeology Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Intersecciones en Antropología is the property of Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Intersecciones en Antropología is the property of Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Alluvial fans are typical geomorphic features of arid and semiarid mountain areas. Most archaeological sites in Santa María valley (NW Argentina) are located on this kind of landform. The aims of this paper are to describe the geomorphological context and assess the state of conservation of four archaeological sites on the piedmont of Sierra de Quilmes (NW Argentina) from a geoarchaeological perspective; to diagnose the geomorphological processes affecting the sites over the last 50 years; to assess their vulnerability and conservation hazard; and to propose some corrective measures. By mapping with remote sensors (e.g., drones, aerial photographs, and satellite images) and conducting field surveys, we found that most archaeological sites are set on the H1 and H2 units of the alluvial fans. and that their geomorphological dynamic has increased in the last 50 years. The main active processes are debris flows, overflows, and mudflows, accompanied by the development of rills, sheetflood, and aeolian deflation. Human impact is also severe. The four sites need mitigation measures and a structured management plan. To date, no studies of this kind have been done rin the region, although one of the sites has been partially reconstructed for touristic purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Mundo de Antes is the property of Revista Mundo de Antes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper we review the growing evidence of anthropogenic landscapespresent in the semi-deciduous neotropical forest biomes of eastern NW Argentina,which have remained relatively neglected in favour of arid to semi-arid western Andean regions. The evidence gathered in de El Alto-Ancasti provides animportant case study where multidisciplinary methodologies have beenapplied to sites that document the emergence and variability in food productionstrategies across the eastern Andean forests and grasslands of NWArgentina. We discuss evidence offarming structures from archaeological surveys, plant management from phy-tolith analysis, and the tempo and nature of settlement from archaeological excavations undertaken at a variety of sites in the El Alto Ancasti mountainrange. We suggest that the communities that inhabited this region during thefirst millennium AD (ca. 1500–1000 BP) established a strategy of 'overlappingpatchworks' of food production that were able to contend with considerableseasonal variability. We argue that, through the use of cross-channelling, low river areas, erosion control techniques and the establishment of mesothermal crops,including maize, legumes, and tubers, throughout the region, these societies adopted flexible strategies to adapt to life in a region prone to climatic change [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Intersecciones en Antropología is the property of Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Patagonian coast has been occupied at least since the Middle Holocene but the way in which humans have interacted with spaces and resources in different areas of the coast has varied. As such, it is important to study the specifics of each occupation. In this paper, the activities that would have taken place at Cabeza de León 1 archaeological site, Monte León National Park, Santa Cruz province, Argentina, are addressed from the study of the recovered lithic assemblages. Results show the use of local raw material, the development of all manufacture stages in situ and the implementation of mainly expedient strategies. It can also be inferred that activities were mostly related to the capture and processing of resources. La costa patagónica ha sido ocupada desde mínimamente el Holoceno medio, pero el modo en que los humanos interactuaron con el espacio y los recursos a lo largo del tiempo en los distintos sectores fue diferente, lo que hace necesario estudiar las particularidades de cada ocupación. Aquí se abordan las actividades tecnológicas que se habrían desarrollado en el sitio Cabeza de León 1, sito en el Parque Nacional Monte León (Santa Cruz, Argentina), a partir del estudio de los materiales líticos allí recuperados. Estos muestran el empleo mayoritario de materias primas locales, la realización de todas las etapas de manufactura in situ, la implementación de estrategias tecnológicas principalmente expeditivas, y también permiten inferir actividades mayoritariamente vinculadas a la captura y procesamiento de recursos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper presents the results of a Species Distribution Model (SDM) for grassland hunter-gatherer archaeology sites in the southern Pampas region of Argentina. The goal of this exploratory model is to provide a complementary survey model for the detection of archaeological sites in this region, which will also help characterize and discuss site locations and regional distribution patterns of hunter-gatherer occupations. Even in this largely homogenous and highly dynamic landscape, SDMs can help guide archaeological surveys by identifying some environmental variables affecting hunter-gatherer decisions, and can provide insights into mobility and archaeological settlement patterns. Among the available tools for SDM, Maximum Entropy Modeling (Maxent) is one of the most widely used approaches in archaeological predictive modelling. After controlling for bias and adjustment of several modifiable parameters, the Maxent software provided a potentially effective predictive model to direct future archaeological survey and heritage management projects. The results of this research suggest that watercourses and slope were the key environmental factors influencing the distribution of hunter-gatherer archaeological sites in the southern Pampas region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Intersecciones en Antropología is the property of Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista del Museo de Antropología is the property of Museo de Antropologia - IDACOR and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Espanola de Antropologia Americana is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Intersecciones en Antropología is the property of Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, we carry out an isotopic study to learn about the diet and mobility patterns of the human groups that inhabited different areas and environments of western Catamarca, Argentina, over almost 2500 years. We present and discuss the results of the isotopic composition of 26 bioarchaeological remains (δ13C and δ15N on bone collagen, and δ13C and δ18O on bone apatite) with their respective calibrated absolute dates, from different settings and elevations of the province of Catamarca. They account for the sociocultural development of both the first agropastoral village societies and the Inca society. We also present the regional isotopic context of autochthonous animal and plant food resources. The isotopic composition (δ13C and δ15N on bone collagen) of 47 samples of pre-Hispanic camelids recovered from archaeological sites located at different altitudes of the Fiambalá and Chaschuil regions are studied and discussed. In addition, the δ13C values of 52 native modern and archaeological plant samples are compiled, including samples from the region as well as information from the bibliography. Finally, isotopic analyses of water samples (δ18O) recovered from different environments in the study region are also shown. The data from δ13C and δ15N on bone collagen and δ13C on bone apatite show a high variability of the human diet of the populations of western Catamarca, and suggest that the societies that inhabited the region during the first millennium AD had a balanced diet that combined proteins and carbohydrates, while those dated after the thirteenth century AD reduced their protein intake, which would have significantly affected their health status. The first trends in the δ18O values indicate that individuals had low mobility patterns during their lives, except for some unusual cases of possible non-local individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zooarchaeological works in the city lack of a specific theoretical and methodological framework to understand its faunal assemblages. The different analyses were done in most cases following procedures that had been developed for hunter-gatherer contexts. In this paper, we evaluate some questions related to this issue, encompassed in the acquisition mode and the characteristics of the archaeological record. Finally, an example from two sites in La Boca, Buenos Aires city, Argentina is given in order to understand some of these questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zaranda de Ideas: Revista de Jóvenes Investigadores en Arqueología is the property of Asociacion de Arqueologos Profesionales de la Republica Argentina (AAPRA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Espanola de Antropologia Americana is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Espanola de Antropologia Americana is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Comechingonia: Revista de Arqueología is the property of Comechingonia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The following paper deals with the preliminary results obtained from the application of the microstratigraphic technique, as a tool for the conservation and management of archaeological pigments. The risks of impact, deterioration and loss of data that may occur on the pigment material during the data collection for the development of research works, led us to reflect on the procedures put into practice and the need to preserve the information that contain. At the same time that the formation of a database for the registration and documentation of material and associated studies is conceived, as part of the archaeological heritage management, with a view to solving problems of sampling, preventive conservation and storage. Both criteria are based on sampling and conservation protocols, articulating issues related to archaeological research with analytical perspectives supported by an interdisciplinary work, in compliance with the relevant regulations applied in the conservation of cultural heritage at the international level and in Argentina. The cases of application correspond to pre-Hispanic ceramic collections from the Quebrada de Humahuaca, Argentine northwest, which come from both archaeological excavations and collections stored in the storage areas of regional museums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the integrity and resolution of archaeological sites in sandy environments is a key issue for understanding site formation processes in hunter-gatherer's contexts. A case study from the lower course of the Colorado River, at the eastern Pampa-Patagonian transition (Argentina) is presented here. The studied area is characterized by a sand dune relief that is superimposed upon ancient fluvial and marine environments. The sites date to between c. 2000 and 250 14C yr BP (late Holocene) and they are mostly located in eolian contexts. The objective of this paper is to understand environmental dynamics and the site formation processes that operated in archaeological sites of the late Holocene through the integration of geoarchaeological and taphonomic information. The obtained results allowed the identification of site formation processes related to the different environmental settings (coast, ancient delta and inland). However, general patterns that relate some taphonomic effects as root action and weathering with landscape processes such as pedogenesis at an areal scale were also recognized. Despite the varied and highly dynamic environmental conditions of this arid-semiarid area, archaeological contexts with good degrees of resolution and integrity were recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many American cultivated species have been domesticated in the Neotropical Lowlands. While the southern limit of some cultivars (e.g. maize) is relatively well known for the Andean Region, the south-western limit of lowland horticulture has been poorly established in South America. Sixteenth-century European accounts mentioned the presence of cultivated plants in the Delta of the Paraná River, but until now this had not been confirmed by direct archaeobotanical data. This paper presents and discusses the results of starch grains analysis from six archaeological sites of the Paraná Delta (Argentina), ranging from 1302 to 1492 years cal. ad, which confirm the pre-Hispanic presence of cultivars in the area. Wild (algarrobo; South American mesquite) and domesticated (maize and beans) plant remains were found in ceramic containers and on grinding tools from those sites. Our research contributes new data on the late dispersion of cultivated species in the Paraná Delta, an area so far excluded from continental models for the dispersal of cultivars in the Americas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Intersecciones en Antropología is the property of Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Espanola de Antropologia Americana is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Espanola de Antropologia Americana is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents the study of the extractive metallurgical technology that was employed in four colonial mining-metallurgical sites in the high plateau (Puna) of Jujuy, Argentina, dedicated to silver exploitation during the 17th and 18th centuries. In these archaeological sites, we have identified the presence of reverberatory furnaces. We explore the development of this technology and show the results of the study of the furnaces found in the Puna of Jujuy, their functions and performance, based on our fieldwork and on the results of archaeometric analyses of smelting slag and vitrified clay samples. The excellent conservation of most of the furnaces makes them not only a great source of information for the study of colonial metallurgy in this region, but also a contribution to our understanding of mining and extractive metallurgy in the Andes, of the circulation of workers and technical knowledge and of the changes generated by the Spanish conquest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intense aeolian processes in arid and semi-arid environments play an essential role in the preservation and destruction of archeological sites. This is especially the case in the lower basin of the Colorado River at the eastern Pampa-Patagonia Transition of Argentina, as is illustrated by geoarchaeological and chronostratigraphic studies at a mid-Holocene hunter-gatherer site, La Modesta, where aeolian processes strongly influence the archeological record in dune sediments. At La Modesta, surface archaeological materials are numerous and well preserved, although the stratigraphic record is incomplete. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sediments that contain cultural material provides a chronology dating from ca. 8.2 ka but shows one or more hiatuses from ca. 6–2 ka in the sedimentary succession. Intense morphogenesis related to arid climates likely caused gaps in sedimentation, affecting the integrity and resolution of the archaeological record. This study helps explain mid-Holocene archaeological discontinuities throughout central Argentina and highlights the importance of considering taphonomic and geologic biases when dealing with the absence or reduction of the archaeological record in dryland regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work is to reconstruct production sequences and use of woody raw materials among Patagonian hunter-gatherer groups. To this end, we studied small fragments of non-carbonized wood, pieces of wood with distinct types of technological features and formatized artefacts and/or wooden tools from two archaeological sites in south-central Argentine Patagonia. The taxonomic results showed the recurrent use of two taxa, Nothofagus pumilio and Berberis sp., among distinct occupations corresponding to both the early and late Holocene. The morphological and traceological results demonstrate the implementation of different technical operations such as the debarking and the roughing of the wood, as well as bevelled and perimeter cuts. They also show the recurrent presence of certain technological features and traces in woods and artefacts associated with distinct occupations in the Holocene. To sum up, the results reached reaffirm the existence of a selective practice of woody plant species to be used as raw material, and at the same time, the results reveal the existence of a sustained formatization over time and suggest the existence of production sequences related to the development of wood technology among Patagonian hunter-gatherer groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Relaciones de la Sociedad Argentina de Antropología is the property of Sociedad Argentina de Antropologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Espanola de Antropologia Americana is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The archaeological record of the Late Prehispanic Period of Sierras of Córdoba, Argentina (~1220–330 cal BP) has revealed a rich and highly developed bone industry. The worked bones are purported to include various types of hunting or warfare weapons such as arrowheads, knives and daggers, or bleeders. However, most of the latter two tools can now be interpreted as spear or spear‐thrower dart heads based on ethnographic and macro‐wear studies. Thus, the aim of this article is to present the techno‐typological and functional analysis carried out on the bone spearheads collected at the San Roque archaeological locality (Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina). Spearheads are defined as massive and strong pointed tools that are suitable for hafting to a shaft about 15 mm or more in diameter, which corresponds to ethnographic spears or darts. The tools were assigned to the Late Prehispanic Period based on their similarity with those recovered in neighboring sites and regions during the last 1,500 years. The study supports the contention that Late Prehispanic people developed a variable and highly sophisticated set of weapons suitable for taking any animal resource when encountered, minimizing the cost of failure in the capture of the prey they depended on. However, warfare and the use of spears in raids against other groups need to be taken into account because evidence of physical interpersonal violence increases in the Late Prehispanic Period. Finally, it is proposed that museum collections can provide valuable data for archaeologists, mostly when artifacts with low frequency in modern excavations are the focus of the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological studies of specialized craft production in hierarchies often highlight the crucial roles of prestige goods in ancient political economies. Yet elaborate crafted items are also produced and circulated widely in heterarchically-ordered societies, where powerful elites are absent. In this latter case, attributing crafting to the agency of elites — or to the demands of political economy — is unconvincing. This article investigates the alternative cultural logic underlying crafting in heterarchies, seeking to understand both the contexts of crafting and the nature of the ‘social projects’ in which artisans were engaged. Expectations for archaeological signatures of craft activity are developed and applied to a case study, drawing upon recent excavations in northwest Argentina. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This paper summarizes the results of the research carried out during a decade at the Hornillos 2 rockshelter, located at 4020 m asl in the Dry Puna of Argentina. The human occupations in this site are bracketed between the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary and the mid-Holocene, challenging the idea of a widespread abandonment of the Andes highlands during mid-Holocene due to extreme arid conditions (i.e. the “silencio arqueológico” or archaeological silence hypothesis). Nine occupational levels have been recognized in the timed span at the site, the result of hunter–gatherer activities carried out in a highly oscillating and changing environment. Here we present the mean trends and patterns observed in the full set of lines of inquiry applied in the site: lithic evidence, zooarchaeological analysis, rock art, stratigraphic and spatial analysis, and isotopic data. The outcomes of these studies, together with the site location features, known raw materials sources and regional archaeological evidence, indicate that hunter–gatherer groups reduced their residential mobility, and increased the intensity of their occupations and the rate of technological innovations in the arid and unstable mid-Holocene landscapes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents, for the first time, a detailed study, from an archaeological perspective, of the morphological characteristics of the starch grains within the kernels of selected native wild grasses found in the Central Pampas of Argentina. We compared native wild grasses to maize starch grains, which can be distinguished from each other based on their size, shape and other attributes. The majority of the studied grains did not share morphological characteristics with maize starch grains. Considering this, it can be said that, if irregular and polyhedral grains with transverse or radial fissures dominate the starch assemblage, maize identification may be done on the basis of both morphology and size. Additionally, this research contributes to the characterization of the starch grains of the Panicoideae subfamily, which includes maize. Several classes of simple and compound starch grains are described and defined for native species of Pooideae, Chloridoideae, Arundinoideae, and Panicoideae subfamilies. The results obtained may constitute a baseline for the future determination of maize and wild grass use in archaeological contexts belonging to Middle/Late Holocene hunter–gatherers in the Pampas of Argentina and neighboring areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In December 2008 the remains of a wooden ship was discovered in Puerto Madero, down town in Buenos Aires. At preliminary observations, it would be a Spanish merchant ship from XVIII century. During the dig, remains from ship and loading were found. Among different kind of things, a sternpost gudgeon was found separated from the rest. This element has an important structural function in the ship associated with the support and guide of the rudder. The objective of the present paper is to analyze the geometric, structural and metallurgic characteristics from the mentioned artifact obtained at the archaeological site Zencity, to get a best understanding about the technology used to manufacture it, and a best knowledge of the complete finding. To this purpose, several analytical techniques were performed. First of all a visual and dimensional analysis was done on the piece. Then material was characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy and chemical composition was determined by energy dispersive X ray spectrometry (EDS). Also microhardness was measured and non metallic inclusions were analyzed. According to results the piece would have been made of forged ferrous alloy with a significant complexity in its manufacturing. It presents forge welded areas with large slag inclusions. Ferritic-pearlitic structures differentiated according to the area were detected with different grain sizes, which would indicate heterogeneous temperature of hot working. Some Adjacent areas that show different contents of carbon were identified indicating the use of different materials, especially to form parts of larger thickness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Intersecciones en Antropología is the property of Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper discusses some aspects of the taphonomic interpretation of Canis sp. remains associated with a XVIIth century human burial on the El Bagual site, in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. We discuss the presence of post-depositional cultural alterations associated with a primary burial context. We also evaluate and discuss the presence of skeletal remains of the genus canis sp. in apparent stratigraphic association with one of the human burials. The taphonomic profile is evaluated based on vertebrate disarticulation models and experimental observations to finally argue for its intrusive nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large South American camelids, the llama (Lama glama) and the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), present a low level of morphological variation in the skeleton and a significant overlap in their body size at population scale. Therefore, if we consider the inter-specific and intra-specific variability, it is difficult to distinguish between wild (guanaco) and domestic (llama) species, based only on osteometric analysis of remains from archaeological sites. Techniques based on 2D geometric morphometric were applied in order to test their power for the taxonomic identification of these two camelids species through shape study of three anatomic elements: the first anterior and posterior phalanges, and the glenoid fossa of scapula. A total of 59 skeletal elements of 29 modern individuals and 14 archaeological specimens were analysed. The morphogeometric evaluation differentiated the skeletal element shapes of modern camelids groups. The archaeological samples revealed the presence of llama and guanaco in the archaeological record of the Argentinean Northwest at 1900–1300 BP. Nevertheless, domestic species were dominant in Antumpa site, whereas wild species were better represented in Condor II. This exploratory study provided an advance in the efforts of taxonomic identification of bone remains from the shape analysis performed on modern individuals of living species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of an analysis of pigments used in slips and designs deployed in ceramic assemblages recovered from archaeological sites located in different environments, expressing the socio‐historical process developed in the regions of Fiambalá and Chaschuil (Catamarca, Argentina) during the last 1500 years are presented. The sample, formed by fragments of different ceramic styles and natural pigments, was analysed via Raman spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction. Results indicate the continuity in use of certain pigments (mainly hematite for red hues and Mn oxides in combination with magnetite for black paints) within the different socio‐political organizations that inhabited the region from the first to the 14th centuries ce, in spite of the diverse shades of colour, which suggests an intentional search linked with their cultural conventions. For the Inca Period, this scenery of continuities in minerals employed for reds and blacks is complemented by the use of new compounds (Ti oxide, apatite and gypsum) in order to generate the 'cream' tones applied as slips, all of which have not been identified for previous moments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micromammalian bone assemblages from modern pellets of the strigiform Bubo virginianus magellanicus, from the upper Atuel River (southern Mendoza, Argentina), were taphonomically analysed. The results allow us to place B. v. magellanicus in the category of intermediate modification (Category 2). This sample has also been compared with results from other members of this genus, in order to classify B. v. magellanicus as a taphonomic agent. The participation of the Bubo species in archaeological accumulations has been documented, but in Argentina, the role of B. v. magellanicus has been reported up to the present. It is partly because of the sequence of one archaeological site in the south of Mendoza Province called Laguna El Sosneado-3 (LS-3). However, considering the absence of a current taphonomic model of this owl, this participation was mentioned as a hypothesis. In the current investigation, archaeological and modern samples have been compared. The results indicate that the skeletal element assemblages recovered from LS-3 were accumulated by strigiform birds. Taphonomical evidence of light modifications on units I and IV indicates that Tyto alba (Category 1) was probably the main species involved in these units, whereas the taphonomical evidence on skeletal element assemblages recovered from units II and III suggests the action of a strigiform with a major category of modification such as B. v. magellanicus. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work are presented the results of isotopic analyses made on bone remains of human individuals ( n = 6) from the southern Puna of Argentina dated to the final Early Holocene (ca. 8230-8000 BP). They were found in structures located in Peñas de las Trampas 1.1, a rockshelter at 3582 m.a.s.l. in Antofagasta de la Sierra, in the southern Argentinian Puna. They contain multiple secondary burials. Bone fragments were recovered from at least six individuals, three in each structure. Stable isotopes of Carbon (δ13C) and Nitrogen (δ15N) analysis were aimed at defining aspects related to the palaeodiet of the six individuals within the palaeo-economic subsistence spectrum typical of hunter-gatherers. It is worth noting that these human remains are among the earliest from North-Western Argentina, where funeral practices are related with the transportation of certain anatomical parts. The palaeodietary inference considers, on the one hand, the extreme aridity of this geographical area and its impact on the isotopic ecology. And, on the other, it takes into account the fact that four of the six individuals under study were breastfed infants. The results are in agreement with the expected values of the period, which has been characterized as the beginning of the arid Altithermal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times private creditors have increasingly begun to resort to litigation against States in case of sovereign debt default. One of the most complex recent cases concerns the legal proceedings brought against Argentina by NML Capital Limited before the courts of the United States (US). The plaintiffs are primarily "vulture funds", seeking profit by buying heavily discounted distressed debt, that have rejected the restructuring terms accepted by the majority of Argentina's creditors. There are two main questions at the heart of the present dispute: sovereign immunity and the alleged breach of the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), and the interpretation of the pari passu clause. The US Supreme Court held that the FSIA does not limit the scope of discovery against foreign sovereign assets and rejected Argentina's petition for certiorari to review the Second Circuit decision upholding the injunction orders that required Argentina to pay NML Capital and the other plaintiffs whenever it pays the holders of its restructured debt. This comment assesses the approach of the US courts in relation to discovery and their interpretation of the pari passu provision. In particular, it argues that the outcome of this legal battle threatens future sovereign debt restructurings and confirms the gravity of the lack of a binding central restructuring mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The isotopic fingerprint of terrestrial gastropods has been increasingly used as a credible natural paleoenvironmental archive. Most published work has used this proxy at tropical and temperate latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, and focused on entire-shell analysis. The present study provides entire-shell and intra-shell isotopic profiles to infer average and seasonal late Holocene environmental conditions in central Argentina (30°S). Shells of Plagiodontes daedaleus (Gastropoda: Odontostomidae) were retrieved from the Alero Deodoro Roca–Sector B site, one of the few archaeological sites in central Argentina rich in shells collected by pre-Hispanic hunter-gatherer groups. Ancient entire shells exhibited values that were ~2.5‰ higher in δ13C and ~1.8‰ higher in δ18O than modern individuals, pointing to higher abundance of C4 plants and overall drier conditions (lower relative humidity and/or higher rain δ18O) during 4.5–1.7 cal. kyr BP than today, in agreement with published regional proxies. Intra-shell isotopic profiles suggest that modern and fossil specimens deposited their shells throughout two-to-three summer/winter cycles. Intra-shell δ18O values varied ~5‰, matching with the seasonal variation of rain δ18O values. The extent of seasonality was similar during 4.5–1.7 cal. kyr BP and today. Intra-shell δ13C values varied ~2–3‰ and did not portray distinct seasonal cycles, depicting minimal seasonal variations in the snail diet. This work illustrates that South American terrestrial gastropods have great potential for paleoenvironmental studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 1970s, excavations were conducted in Alta Gracia, Córdoba, Argentina, in a compound that once was a seventeenth and eighteenth-century Jesuit Convent and is presently a museum. During the excavation, an amazing amount of historic material never studied before was discovered inside a sealed privy. After studying the material, we were able to identify the objects as once belonging to Santiago de Liniers, a man who successfully resisted and expelled British invaders from Buenos Aires. As a result, he was appointed Viceroy, though eventually he was shot in 1810 for confronting the Independence movement. Our hypothesis is that these objects were thrown into the privy as a gesture of contempt associated with his capture and execution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Incas climbed many of the highest peaks of the Andes to deposit offerings on their summits. They established places of worship above 6000 metres that would be reached again only four centuries later. The offerings at the high-altitude shrines were dedicated to state deities and local mountain gods and involved a broad range of objects, ranging from gold and silver figurines, shell necklaces and high-quality textiles to pottery and food items. Human sacrifices were also performed on some of the more important peaks. Although Spanish chroniclers wrote about these offerings and the capacocha ceremonies during which they were consecrated, their accounts were based on second-hand sources, and the only direct evidence of them comes from archaeological excavations. The most thoroughly documented of these cult assemblages were recovered on high mountain summits in Peru and Argentina, where the material evidence was exceptionally well preserved. In this study we shall discuss the offering assemblages from mountaintop sites in Argentina. By comparing the archaeological evidence with the chroniclers' accounts, interpretations will be presented regarding the social use, political purpose and symbolic meanings attributed to the objects of dedication, which moved the Incas to ascend the highest Andean mountains in search of power and eternity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research focusing on teeth of the Andide Indians of Santa Rosa de Tastil in Salta, Argentina. The authors note that skulls discovered in an archaeological excavation had suffered severe tooth loss but that groove patterns and cusp numbers for mandibular molars could be examined. They note the evolution of the groove pattern and compare it to other South American populations.