Long distance tool stone transport in the Argentine Pampas

Abstract

Tools manufactured from a characteristic reddish siliceous rock are present in low frequencies in most early Pampean assemblages in Argentina. They are bifacial tools, including fishtail projectile points, bipolar products, and flakes. They have been found in both excavated assemblages dated between 10,000 and 11,000 BP, and in surface sites. Surface collections from Uruguay also include fishtail projectile points manufactured on this rock. Petrographic analyses were carried out to determine stone provenance. Archaeological artifacts from the Argentine Pampas, and macroscopically similar nodules obtained from secondary deposits in Uruguay were analyzed. The rock used for the artifacts is composed of a siliceous very fine homogeneous mass that is nearly isotropic, and is characterized by recognizable remains of organisms, including silicified gastropods. The samples obtained from deposits in central and southern Uruguay have similar microscopic characteristics. Many of these deposits were exploited as indigenous quarries. Therefore, this reddish rock was transported from Uruguay to the Argentine Pampas by societies who inhabited the region during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. Within this context, we discuss the social meaning of this long distance tool stone transport and propose that it was a result of human interaction networks.