Core reduction practices at Punta de la Peña (Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca): an analysis of the different ways of working stones at procurement contexts

Abstract

Quarry sites present a variable lithic record that is linked to the different technical procedures used by people in extracting the necessary raw materials for subsistence. The purpose of this study was to analyze the diversity of procedures and practices used by knappers for core reduction at quarries. To this end, systematic surveys, sampling, and a techno-typological analysis of cores from two quarries (PPZAC and POZAC) were carried out. We identified different core types (isolated flakes cores, polyhedral cores, bifacial cores, ake-cores, among others) that present particular knapping techniques: simple, bifacial, multifacial and centripetal. In addition, cores with specific treatment of the percussion platforms and the core face were documented. From this study, individual or collective practices and “specific ways of doing” that formed part of the technological systems linked to lithic procurement at volcanic rocks quarries were recorded.