Artículo de publicación ISIWe present the results of XRF analysis for 428 obsidian samples from archaeological sites in the Argentinian province of Mendoza and from central Chile. The archaeological samples come from different environments and have dates that range from 9000 to 300 BP. The results indicate that all known sources were utilized; however, the beginnings and the intensities of their exploitation were variable. On the contrary, strong differences appear, especially between the Cordilleran and the non-Cordillera sources. We suggest that this pattern is mainly related to differences in the accessibility, quality and abundance of the obsidian in the sources.Agencia Nacional de Promocion Cientifica y Tecnologica of Argentina 14695 Facultad de Filosofia y Letras of the Universidad Nacional de Cuy

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This paper discusses the problems faced when making interpretations of human stable isotope values due to the various explanatory alternatives that arise when reading archaeological data. These interpretative issues are analysed and discussed using the isotopic results for approximately 100 human individuals from archaeological contexts spanning from 5000 BC to 1540 AD in central Chile, supported by data for more than 50 plant and animal samples to establish a local C 3 and C 4 baseline. A number of assumptions are frequently used to establish the bridge between isotopic results in human tissues and their corresponding diets. The problem is that different assumptions lead to different dietary reconstructions. Past feeding experiments on herbivores, pigs, rats and mice give different results, so we need to be cautious when applying these models to human isotope data. One specific problem concerns estimates of % C 4 from collagen and apatite data, a very important issue when looking for evidence of maize in archaeological contexts, which was one of the major objectives we had in the isotopic analyses of archaeological specimens in central Chile. We conclude that the opportunity for estimating the actual percentage of C 4 foods in human diets is limited, since a specific apatite fractionation value for humans cannot be experimentally determined, while maize consumption is underrepresented in bone collagen. This may be addressed in our study by sampling more specimens of wild gramineae to establish baseline plant values, more humans that could have had a low maize intake, and more Archaic period individuals when there was certainly no maize in the region.

Este artículo refiere al material cerámico de poblados arqueológicos de la región de Tarapacá ubicados en las quebradas altas, valles bajos y la costa al este y oeste de la Pampa del Tamarugal. Nuestro objetivo ha sido sistematizar nuestros anteriores estudios y los análisis de otros investigadores acerca de la cerámica de la región para actualizar el conocimiento en torno a la historia cultural y los procesos sociales relacionados con el aún poco conocido complejo Pica Tarapacá del Norte de Chile. Al respecto, proponemos que este complejo cultural se desarrolló durante el período Intermedio Tardío al menos en dos fases, una inicial y otra clásica, las que denominamos fase Tarapacá (ca. 900-1.250 d.C.) y Camiña (ca. 1.250-1.450 d.C.), respectivamente. Se plantea una tradición alfarera local que nació a fines del período Formativo y que luego, en ausencia de influencias estilísticas Tiwanaku, integró elementos nuevos del altiplano meridional, siendo este último el panorama que predominaría en la región a la llegada del Inka. Lo anterior pretende contribuir con mayor evidencia empírica a la discusión acerca de las dinámicas sociales e interacción económica entre las tierras bajas y altas de los Desarrollos Regionales (período Intermedio Tardío) de esta parte de los Andes Centro Sur.Palabras claves: complejo cultural Pica Tarapacá, tipología y análisis cerámicos, secuencia y fases, período Intermedio Tardío. 250) and Camiña Phase (ca. A.D. 1,450) In this paper we study the ceramic material from the archaeological villages of the Tarapacá region, located in the high ravines, the low valleys, and the coast to the west and east of Pampa del Tamarugal. Our objective is to do a systematic review of earlier studies by ourselves and by other investigators of domestic pottery in the region