Archaeology and human interaction between coastal and inland settings: the Pampean Atlantic coast, Argentina

Abstract

The results of our archaeological research on the coast of the eastern Pampas (Argentina) related to Middle-Late Holocene hunter-gatherers are presented in this paper. Many authors have put forth two alternative hypotheses to explain coastal occupations. Some of them maintained that littoral and inland archaeological records were produced by the same human societies. Other authors have proposed the existence of coastal cultural groups. The aim of this paper is to discuss the aforementioned hypotheses with a model of space use on the coast. Using evidence from surface and stratified sites, as well as from museum collections, it is proposed that the Pampean marine coast was used by the same inland populations.