A burial find in Shiquimil, province of Catamarca. Bioarchaeology and pottery styles from the Early Late Period in Yocavil

Abstract

The archaeological rescue of an infant urn burial was carried out during the surveys conducted in southeast-ern Yocavil valley, Catamarca, in 2008. This discovery was made in an archaeological area known as Shiquimil ravine, close to the present village of Entre Ríos. The finding is interesting for showing the association in the same context of two ceramic types considered as exponents of the early Late Period –a Lorohuasi pot used as an urn or container and a fragmented pot or San José / Shiquimil “urn” used as the cover of the former vessel. Also remarkable is the good preservation of the human remains contained in the urn, which enabled an osteological analysis and radiocarbon dating. The data obtained represents a valuable contribution considering the lack of contextual information and associated bone samples for similar findings in the Yocavil valley and, at the same time, allows the review of functional categories assigned to the different types of ceramic containers.