Abstract

SALGAN, Laura; GIL, Adolfo  and  NEME, Gustavo. Mobility, procurement and use of obsidian in el payén, south of the province of Mendoza, Argentina. Comechingonia [online]. 2014, vol.18, n.1, pp.33-50. ISSN 1851-0027.

Human populations that occupied The Payunia during the late Holocene, used obsidian from outside sources, with predominant east-west directionality. In this paper we analyze the spatial distribution of obsidian artifacts from known geographical origin in El Payén. We investigate the possible transport routes, procurement strategies and forms and intensity of use of that resource, from the base of technological and biogeography indicators. The results suggest that although the directionality of movement of obsidian matches that proposed for the region (west-east), its frequency decreases from south to north. The results also show differences in the number of sources represented and the procurement modes and use of this resource among Central, South and North sectors of El Payén.

Keywords : Lithic technology; Obsidian; Hunter gatherer; South Mendoza.