Where Does the South Begin? Social Variability at the Southern Top of the World

Abstract

For thousands of years, hunter-gatherer societies from southern and central Patagonia inhabited a Subantarctic landscape. In this paper, we argue against the traditional assumption that these were simple societies. We examine population diversity from ecological, archaeological, and ethno-historical data sources, emphasizing the economic and social variability while considering social change through time. We end by analyzing processes of the development of social complexity and hierarchy in recent times, when the industrial world violently disarticulated those societies. All this evidence suggests levels of social variability and complexity archaeologists have not expected. The paper critically reviews traditional archaeological approaches and suggests new research lines that allow for a better understanding of social dynamics.

I Rode through the Desert: Equestrian Adaptations of Indigenous Peoples in Southern Hemisphere Arid Zones

“…It is almost entirely lacking in water and firewood because of the offshore presence of the cold Malvinas (Falkland) Current (Orquera 1987), though the upwelling associated with this does sustain rich fisheries and associated bird and sea-mammal populations. At European arrival, virtually all of Patagonia's inhabitants depended solely upon hunting and gathering for their subsistence, with shellfish, birds, fish, and pinnipeds along the shoreline complementing a focus on guanaco (Lama guanicoe), rhea (Rhea americana; R. pennata), and other game inland; plants were of relatively little importance (Barceló et al, 2009;Prates 2009; but see Gómez Otero 2007a), though with some limited access to maize (Zea mays; imported from Chile?) in Neuquén in the Andean foothills of northwestern Patagonia (Lema et al 2012).…”

“…However, as in North America, where horses spread at a not dissimilar rate at broadly the same time (Hämäläinen 2003), this was an expansion that not only involved feral animals, but also their adoption by Patagonia's Native population. While that adoption was near-universal, it was nevertheless most pronounced in the north of Patagonia since cold and aridity made it difficult for those living south of the Río Chubut to maintain all the horses that they wished; raids and exchange compensated for this deficiency (Barceló et al 2009;Palermo 1999).…”

Social Interaction in Hunter-Gatherer Societies

“…Storing technology is another technological factor related to the overall level of development of means of production. In the experiments we report here, we have fixed parameters related to technology and efficiency using data from our own research in Patagonia (Barceló et al, 2009(Barceló et al, , 2011: average technology ¼ 0.22 (low development); standard deviation (diversity among Barceló et al 427 simulated households¼ 0.5); and storing capability ¼ 0.11 (very low). In the absence of efficient hunting equipment beyond ''boleadoras'' and spears, bow-and-arrow was a relatively late instrument in Patagonian archaeological record, and hardly adapted to the capture of local game: lama guanicoe.…”

“…To prevent such an extreme case, in the experiments we report here, we have fixed parameters related to population size using data from our own research in Patagonia (Barceló, Del Castillo, Mameli, Moreno, & Saez, 2011; Barceló, Del Castillo, Mameli, Moreno, & Videla, 2009; Del Castillo, 2012). We programmed 300 agents, with an average of four labor units each.…”

De aquí para allá, sin o con caballo. Patagonia, 13.000 años de historia.

“…La creciente territorialización dio como resultado una mayor intensidad y frecuencia en las interacciones sociales entre poblaciones, acelerando la trasformación de los medios tradicionales de reproducción social y del orden político. Así se habría perifèria Número 18(2), diciembre 2013 http://revistes.uab.cat/periferia 32 revista de recerca i formació en antropologia 32 intensificado la tendencia hacia una mayor centralización en los mecanismos de toma colectiva de decisiones, una creciente jerarquización social, inherente al incremento en tamaño de los grupos, al desarrollo de la división social del trabajo y a la composición socialmente más diversa de las poblaciones (Barceló et al 2009, Barrientos y Pérez 2004, Mazzanti 2006.…”