Quartz quarries and analysis of artifacts from Piedra Blanca site (Copacabana, Córdoba)

Abstract

Quartz is the primary raw material found in most archaeological sites of the Sierras Centrales region, although it is also found in lower proportions in other Argentine regions. This research reports a technological-typological analysis of knapped quartz products, in a quarry at Valle de Copacabana, northern Cordoba. The main porpoise of this paper is to exhibit the main features of these artifacts, which attributes have not always been easily identified due to the particular fracture mechanics of such raw material. Among the results yielded, we could find a wide range of artifacts, a high rate of unclassified debris, and a lower proportion of by products from bipolar knapping.