Cristian M. Favier Dubois, Dalila Herrera Villegas, Ana P. Alcaraz, Marcelo Cardillo and Paula Vitale

Along the semi-arid coast of northern Patagonia (Golfo San Matías, Río Negro) mountain ranges composed of rhyolites illustrate different stages in the evolution of rock cavities. A comparative study carried out in the Punta Pórfido area allows us to evaluate rockshelter formation processes and their sedimentary fillings. Cavity morphology in this sector results from the romboidal pattern of joints in the volcanic rock and weathering processes, mainly the development of tafoni. The fillings are made up of gravel and blocks derived from the weathering of the rhyolite, with the contribution of fine sediments originating from wind and marine salts that have collaborated in the preservation of unusual organic remains. At the main cavity surveyed, Alero 2, two excavations were carried out and four radiocarbon dating samples determined the ages on charcoal to be between ca. 2200 and 7500 years cal. AP. In this contribution, we present the initial results of the geoarchaeological study of these cavities in the coastal area of Punta Pórfido to understand their development and some properties of the archaeological and taphonomic record contained in their fillings.

Lila Bernardi, Mario A. Arrieta and Melina C. Bottini

Paleodemography is a line of research that is often underestimated in bioarchaeological studies because prehistoric sites generally lack written records that provide accurate information about the societies that generated them. Given the high number of individuals buried at the Médano Petroquímica site and the short period of occupation thereof, the use of life tables and different paleodemographic indices would allow us to provide relevant information about population dynamics for the study area during the late Holocene. Infant mortality, female fertility rates, and other indicators suggest it would be a population with a tendency towards growth. In addition, the results would support the model proposed by some researchers of decreasing residential mobility in the region, increasing population density, and the appearance of formal burial areas during the initial period of Spanish- indigenous contact.

Lezcano and Luciano Prates

This work presents a detailed description of remains of dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) from the Pucará de Tilcara site (Jujuy Province, Argentina), which were recently recovered from two archaeological contexts (MNI = 5). The purpose of this article is to define the chronology and reconstruct the morphology of these dogs, as well as to inquire about their social status and possible roles. To accomplish the first objective, a first taxon-date in northwestern Argentina, carried out on a sample from Midden 1, has established an age of has established an age of 610±27 years 14C BP (1383-1424 years cal. AD) as a minimum absolute date for the presence of pre-Hispanic dogs in the region. In turn, the analysis of the archaeological evidence from the second context (Acrópolis) suggests their presence during the Inca domination of the site. Morphological reconstruction lends support to a previously observed pattern, consisting of a predominance of medium to small sized dogs. Our analysis suggests that the Acrópolis dogs could have been pets, as well as prestige goods, of the Inca elite or of specialized craft workers, whereas the specimens from Midden 1 were used as food and possibly fur resources. This is the first time that undeniable evidence of dog consumption among the pre-Hispanic societies of northwestern Argentina has been recorded.

Sebastián Pastor, Agustín Acevedo and Gisela Sario

In this paper, we analyze two unpublished objects of portable art from the Córdoba mountain range in central Argentina and assigned to the Final Late Holocene. Their particular characteristics justify the use of iconographic tracking. For this purpose, we consider other stone and ceramic tools from the same archaeological locality, especially a set of pieces from the Patagonian and Pampean regions, with defined and quantified repertoires of motifs, allowing for interregional comparison: engraved axes, plaques and decorated Rheidae eggs. The results reveal some shared design aspects for certain types of motifs, base shapes of the figures and filling types. Thus, we are able to identify relevant problems related to the local scale within the Córdoba mountain range, but especially at the interregional scale. This is based on a hypothesis that conceives portable art objects as significant mediums in visual communication processes, integrated into the development of long-distance networks. The paper emphasizes social connections, which have traditionally received scant attention in research focused on the Patagonia, Pampa and the Central Mountain Range of Argentina.