Arqueología

Blades as a distinct technological system. Analysis of lithic assemblages of the Cerro Casa de Piedra 7 site (Santa Cruz, Argentina) during the Middle Holocene.

2025-09-15T13:59:40+00:00

The present article explores the lithic technological organization at the Cerro Casa de Piedra 7 (CCP7) site, located in the lake-mountain area of northwest Santa Cruz, Argentina. CCP7 has a broad chronological sequence that shows the incorporation of lithic blade technology from ca. 7800 cal BP. This is not an isolated phenomenon, as at a regional level this new technology begins to become visible from the middle Holocene, forming an alternative to flake technology. In this study, artifacts made on blades were compared with those manufactured on other types of blanks. In this way, the aim was to evaluate the internal variability of the assemblage, identify manufacturing patterns, and propose possible uses related to the blades subset. The results indicate a certain degree of standardization of the pieces, an efficient use of their edges, a careful selection of raw materials, and specialized designs to perform specific tasks. All this suggests that the adoption of this new technology did not respond so much to a maximization of lithic resources, but rather to a search to optimize the efficiency and versatility of these tools. Thus, this work provides new information on the introduction and development of blade technology in central-southern Patagonia and invites us to consider what motivated its incorporation and/or adoption by the hunter-gatherer groups that inhabited the region from the middle Holocene onwards.

María de las Mercedes Constanzó, anthropologist: a transgressor in times of social turbulence

2025-09-25T17:24:24+00:00

This work aims to contribute to recovering women’s trajectories in the academic field of anthropology from a gender perspective. This approach involves integrating their work with that of men, on which traditional historiography has focused, reflecting on the established gender relations. Specifically, it addresses the academic itinerary of Dr. María de las Mercedes Constanzó (1909-1998), a distinguished physical anthropologist and a pioneer in the discipline in Argentina. The reconstruction of her career entails, on the one hand, analyzing her main scientific works, participation in academic events, and official documentation related to her teaching and research activities. On the other hand, interviews were conducted with the researcher's family. While the first group of sources provides institutional information and insights into the macrohistory of the discipline, access to personal data contributes to understanding the microhistory, resulting in a more comprehensive view of her professional career and the history of anthropology. By situating her experiences within the national and disciplinary historical framework, this study explores both the limitations imposed on women in a patriarchal society and the strategies used to overcome them.

Food preparation and consumption practices in Aguada societies of the Ambato Valley, Catamarca (VI-XI centuries A.D.): an approach from plant microremains

2025-09-29T17:50:07+00:00

In the Ambato Valley, archaeological sites record activities related to food processing and storage under conditions of social and economic inequality, with differential access to resources. Within this framework, understanding the specifics of these activities is of interest to better comprehend the role played by the resource-food in the formation of these past societies. This study focused on identifying silicophytoliths and starch grains on residues from ceramic fragments, which were classified following previous research according to their technological and morphological aspects. In this way, we sought to infer methods of food preparation and consumption at the Piedras Blancas site, establishing a correlation between the recovered plant microremains and their presence in different varieties of ceramic vessels, considering aspects such as paste composition, shapes, and functions. Findings included maize (Zea mays), carob (Neltuma sp.), potato (Solanum tuberosum), bean (Phaseolus sp.), ulluco (Ullucus tuberosus) and morphotypes related to the Cucurbitaceae and Arecaceae families. Various processing techniques were identified, such as grinding and exposure of different parts of the plant to various heat sources. These results suggest a plant consumption pattern like that of other sites in the valley, indicating that food and processing practices were widely shared across different social sectors.

Grinding in the Somuncurá plateau foothills (Northeastern Patagonia) through archaeological collections and vegetal microremains studies

2025-10-06T15:51:42+00:00

Throughout the Somuncurá plateau and its foothills, stone constructions represent some of the most visible archaeological evidence. Although they have been linked to the communal hunting of guanacos, their morphological diversity and association with different remains could indicate other functions. Recent advances in the archaeobotany of Argentinian Patagonia have suggested a greater importance of plant resources for hunter-gatherer groups in the region, increasing the species consumed and associated practices. This work evaluates the role of grinding in the diet of hunter-gatherer groups who inhabited the foothills of the Somuncurá plateau through the analysis of two archaeological collections. A lithic techno-morphological and morpho-functional study, and an archaeobotanical analysis of plant microremains were carried out. The results suggest that basalt is the main used raw material and that differences in the final size of the artefacts may be related to the distance from the lithic source areas. Archaeobotanical analyses show the processing of local species (Neltuma sp.), non-local species (Araucaria araucana (Molina) K. Koch), and seaweed remains recovered for the first time, that were possibly used as condiments. Finally, the spatial association of one of the collections with stone structures would support the hypothesis that some of the constructions could have had residential functions.

Archaeology, veterans of the Malvinas War and mental health: an unprecedented experience in Latin America

2025-10-13T17:14:39+00:00

In this article we will present a pioneering experience that evaluates the therapeutic potential of archaeological practice in relation to the mental health of veterans of the Malvinas War (1982). The framework project connects professionals from archaeology, history and mental health sciences (psychiatrists, psychologists and music therapists). Through the evaluations and observations conducted by each discipline, the preliminary results of the first three archaeological field experiences with veterans will be developed. Based on the scarce precedents existing in other parts of the world, this interdisciplinary team seeks to apply this type of practice, for the first time in Latin America, with those who starred in the only international war in which the Argentine Republic took part. We are referring to the South Atlantic conflict of 1982, in which Argentinean forces fought against the British Empire, and which still constitutes an open wound in the Argentinean social fabric.