Resumen

BORRAZZO, Karen. Lithic taphonomy and pseudoartifacts: the case of El Páramo peninsula, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina. Intersecciones antropol. [online]. 2011, vol.12, n.2, pp.261-273. ISSN 1850-373X.

The El Páramo Peninsula is located on the northeastern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. From an archaeological perspective it represents an excellent secondary source of lithic raw materials. Its exceptional character is based on the high availability of good quality rocks and the presence of chalcedony nodules -a scarce lithology within most of the natural deposits of the region- that were used intensively for tool manufacturing throughout the north of the Island. Here, El Páramo is characterized as a potential source of lithic raw material. The results obtained from a systematic survey to assess the prehistoric human use of this portion of Tierra del Fuego are presented Taphonomic and technomorphological analysis of lithic materials recovered suggest that most were produced by local geomorphic dynamics and are thus pseudo-artifacts. Therefore, this paper shows that besides the outstanding character of El Páramo as a potential source of lithic material, this part of the Fuegian landscape presents appropriate conditions for the generation of lithic pieces that emulate archaeological artifacts.

Palabras clave : Lithic taphonomy; Raw materials; Littoral deposits; Pseudoartifacts; El Páramo.

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