Archaeological littoral sites on the northern coast of Santa Cruz: Valuable evidence of sea level changes on the continental Patagonian coasts (Argentina)

Abstract

Geological studies are fundamental to archaeologists as they provide essential data to understand certain processes involved in the present archaeological record. When working on marine coastal archaeology, the information provided by geomorphologic studies with regards to the evolution and dynamics of coastal marine lines is essential to assess the availability and accessibility of certain marine coastal areas, and their resources, to human populations of the past. This is also the key to reach correct cultural interpretations. However, on certain occasions, archaeological information can also offer valuable alternative data for geologists to reach geological interpretations, for instance when working on the evolution and changes of coastal sea lines. In this case, spatial and temporal scales must be regarded. This idea is supported on the experience gained through research done on the Patagonian Atlantic coast at the two archaeological localities introduced in this paper: Cabo Blanco, where we evaluate models of evolution of the coastline with a number of radiocarbon dates from excavated sites; and Punta Medanosa, where we discuss the temporal depth of the formation of the coastal ridges for the mid-Holocene transgression.