Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology in South America

Abstract

▪ Abstract A general overview of hunter-gatherer archaeology in South America is given by recognizing the main problems in a South American context. Environmental framework and Paleoecological changes are summarized. Pleistocene and Holocene archaeology is reviewed in terms of these particularities. With respect to the Pleistocene, I review Pre-Clovis human presence in South America, technological differences between North and South America, variability in South American subsistence strategy, colonization and demographic models, and migratory routes. The Holocene archaeology is divided into Early and Late. For the former, I consider establishment of adaptive strategies (as marine adaptations), new artifact designs, and mortuary behaviors. For the latter, I consider exchange networks, emergence of complex hunter gatherers, mortuary behavior, origins of food production, and the contact with European populations.

A Tale of Two Migrations: Reconciling Recent Biological and Archaeological Evidence for the Pleistocene Peopling of the Americas

“…The geographic distribution of the sites prompted Miotti (2003;also see Miotti andSalemme 2003 andScheinsohn 2003) to suggest that human colonization of southernmost South America followed both South American coasts and proceeded inland along rivers, either simultaneously or with advancement along the Atlantic Coast preceding that along the Pacific. Miotti (2003) noted, too, that evidence of Pleistocene occupation along the Atlantic Coast itself, if it exists, would likely now be submerged by the Argentinean Sea.…”

The memory of the landscape: Surface archaeological distributions in the Genoa Valley (Argentinean Patagonia)

“…Among the avian fauna, theñandú and choique (Rhea americana and Rhea pennata, respectively) are important given their sizes and abundance. Finally, it should be mentioned that, in historical times, European horse and cattle were introduced into this landscape (Scheinsohn, 2003).…”

“…The Late Holocene (c. 5000 BP to the present) is characterized by notorious climatic and ecological changes that influenced Patagonian hunteregatherers occupation (Borrero, 2001a). An increase in the demographic density of human populations in northern Patagonia has been argued on the basis of an increment in the quantity of archaeological sites (Borrero, 2001a;Barrientos, 2002;Scheinsohn, 2003;Barrientos and Perez, 2004, among others). This process could be related to cases of restricted residential mobility and wide exchange networks, as demonstrated by obsidian distribution and other items exchanged with non-hunter neighbors (Scheinsohn, 2003, among others).…”

“…In more recent times, hunteregatherers had links with farmers on the Western slope of the Andean Cordillera, but cultigens on the Eastern slope were not critical for subsistence (Mena, 1997). The presence of Europeans affected hunteregatherers in many ways, some of which show an archaeological expression, as in the case of the horse adoption (Scheinsohn, 2003). Ethnographically these inhabitants were called Tehuelches Septentrionales (Escalada, 1949;Casamiquela, 1965).…”

Mobility and Ancient Society in Asia and the Americas

“…We are less familiar with South American records, but stemmed points and leaf-shaped bifaces dated to the terminal Pleistocene have been identifi ed along the Andean Coast of Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, as well as much of the remainder of the continent (see Lynch 1986 ;Maggard 2010 ;Scheinsohn 2003 ). Stemmed "fi shtail" points, some with fl uted bases, are widely distributed, and those found in datable contexts appear to be between about 14,000 and 11,000 years old (Bruhns 1994 :48).…”