UTILIZACIÓN DEL ANÁLISIS MULTIVARIANTE PARA LA SISTEMATIZACIÓN DEL COMPONENTE ALFARERO DEL CHACO PREHISPÁNICO.

This work is part of an interdisciplinary project whose overall objective is to reconstruct the prehispanic biocultural process and use of the space in the South American Gran Chaco (UNLP CONICET Project Dinámica Cultural Chaqueña en el Holoceno Tardío). This large region is located in the south-central part of the continent and is characterized as the second most wooded region in South America after the Amazon rainforest. It is divided from north to south into three areas: Northern Chaco, Central Chaco, and Southern Chaco. The first area is spread across Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia, while the remaining two areas are both in Argentina. The Argentine Chaco is further subdivided, in archaeological terms, into Paraguay-Parana Riverside, Central, and Subandino. The results of the latest research, which aimed at understanding the definition and configuration of prehistoric settlements through the archaeological analysis of ceramic remains, are presented. In this case, multivariate analyses were performed using numerical taxonomy techniques. The results were obtained based on an arrangement that links together the archaeological sites and allows the characterization of groups, the setting of frequencies, the evaluation and proposed dispersal of traits correlations, and the forming of useful identities to be used as diagnostic indicators. This type of analysis provides promising results to assess the degree of interaction of the Chacoan prehispanic societies, and enables progress towards a broader regional characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]