Ungulates butchering and transport by hunter gatherers with maritime economic orientation: The case of the south coast of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina)

Abstract

Hunter-gatherers with a maritime economic orientation have been commonly characterised by an opportunistic use of terrestrial environments and its resources. Studies on transport and butchering activities help to reconstruct a better understanding of this human behavioural pattern. In this paper, I discuss spatial variations in guanaco (Lama guanicoe) exploitation patterns and butchering activities in different sectors of the southern coast of Tierra del Fuego (southern tip of South America) during the Late Holocene. The guanaco was the only terrestrial animal that played a significant role in the diet of the inhabitants of this region. Analysis show that guanacos butchering and transport strategies were not always consistent with the general parameters usually expected on the use of the terrestrial environment in coastal contexts of cold and temperate climates. The results suggest that, despite the geographical gradient and the paleoenvironmental variations, hunter-gatherers used the interior and the coastal environments as integrated zones that formed part of the same mobility system. However, foragers followed diverse strategies for optimal use of guanaco based on different foraging spatial ranges and butchering-consumption techniques.