Marine <i>vs</i>. terrestrial resources: Archaeofaunal analysis at Cueva del Negro site, north coast of Santa Cruz

Abstract

The Cueva Del Negro site is located in Bahía del Oso Marino, North Coast of Santa Cruz. It presents evidences belonging to a hunter-gatherer settlement site, and its archaeological assemblage includes numerous faunal bone remains, with the wide predominance of marine resources. The goal of this paper is to obtain information in order to understand the role of different faunal resources in the subsistence of the ancient groups that inhabited the zone. To such purpose, a zooarchaeological analysis that include a taxonomic and anatomic determination of the recovered materials, was performed. The obtained results from those studies were discussed with ethnohistorical data as complementary information. We could determine some differences on the exploitation and consumption modes between two large mammals (pinnipeds and camelids). The preliminary studies suggest that it was a group with a broad-spectrum economy, with a predominance of marine fauna, represented by different age classes. Thus, hypotheses on an extended occupation in the coast, are enunciated. The intensive exploitation of marine resources in comparison with the terrestrial resources appears to indicate a preference by the former, leading to postulate a seasonal mobility along the coast and not necessarily to the interior lands.