Alero 4 rock shelter, north coast of Deseado estuary (Patagonia, Argentina): Hunter–gatherer mobility strategies during the Late Holocene

Abstract

The Alero 4 site is a rock shelter located in the vicinity of the northern edge of the Deseado River in the Santa Cruz province of Patagonia, Argentina. The stratigraphic studies recorded evidence of human occupation assignable to late Holocene. Stone artifacts, bones, malacological and anthracological remains were identified. Based on the study of these items, the features and functionality of this type of site in the context of coastal occupations so far recorded in the lower basin of the Deseado River are discussed, mostly shell middens on coastal dunes. The study of the archaeological record of the Alero 4 site suggests that human hunter–gatherer groups who occupied the lower basin of the Deseado estuary and its vicinity during the late Holocene used rock shelters in a complementary and synchronously manner with the occupations with shell middens on dunes.