Abstract

FAVIER DUBOIS, Cristian M.. Fluvial dynamics, palaeoenvironment and human occupations in the Paso Otero archaeological locality, Quequén Grande river (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). Intersecciones antropol. [online]. 2006, n.7, pp.109-127. ISSN 1850-373X.

Geoarchaeological research at Paso Otero locality, middle basin of the Quequén Grande River (Buenos Aires Province), was carried out to schematize the environmental evolution of this valley since the late Pleistocene. The potential human use of each geological unit was established, along with the formation processes of the archaeological record. From within this framework the stratigraphic and environmental context of four guanaco bone concentrations (piles) recovered from Paso Otero 1 site were analyzed. The occurrence of the piles was related to two major erosive discordances produced by turbulent floods. As such, this paper postulates a strong relationship between the lack of mid-Holocene archaeological remains in this valley (and other valleys of the Pampean region) and the presence of lacustrine and paludal environments that inhibited human occupation of these areas during that period, such as the shallow lagoons and wetlands that characterize the Río Salado member of the Luján Formation, which are also the best represented deposits of that age in Pampean valleys.

Keywords : Geoarchaeology; Fluvial dynamics; Paleoenvironments; Late Pleistocene-Holocene; Interserrana area.

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