Pinniped processing and consumption patterns in southern coast of Tierra del Fuego and Isla de los Estados: A comparative analysis

Abstract

Pinnipeds (Arctocephalus australis and Otaria flavescens) were an important food source for hunter-gatherers along the southern coast of Tierra del Fuego and Isla de los Estados. Even so, there was variability in the human-pinniped interactions recorded for this area. These variations probably relate to the distribution of rookeries across the Fuegian archipelago. Pinniped bone remains from three Late Holocene sites located in different coastal areas (Beagle Channel, Peninsula Mitre and Isla de los Estados) demonstrate that at the Beagle Channel site A. australis adult females predominated, with the bones exhibiting considerable processing marks, meanwhile at Peninsula Mitre and Isla de los Estados, mostly neonates and adult males of both species were represented, the assemblages also had few butchery marks. Age and sex profiles at the three sites indicate that these prey were captured on land. Nevertheless, the availability of rookeries near the sites in the south-eastern Fuegian archipelago, allowed them to catch larger animals (O. flavescens adult males), which implied lower foraging cost, involving fewer processing activities.