To be used in the kitchen. Acquisition, production and use of lithic artifacts in Structure 1 of Cardonal (Cajón Valley, Catamarca)

Abstract

This paper presents the reconstruction of lithic knapping activities carried out within Structure 1 of Compound 1 in the Cardonal archaeological site (Cajón Valley, Catamarca) at the beginning of the Christian Era. The study of this structure, interpreted as the house kitchen, allowed us to analyze microscale technological processes, and so address the sum of technical actions that constituted daily life within the house. We evaluated the selection of lithic resources chosen by the inhabitants of the house and studied artifact variability within the lithic assemblage recovered, thereby identifying the lithic technological activities that occurred in the room. The methodology employed and the results obtained allowed us to determine the diversity of rocks used, as well as to reconstruct a wide range of lithic production activities. We focused on lithic technology embedded in everyday practices within network frameworks that included not only other Cardonal residents, but also more distant people and landscapes.