Abstract

CATELLA, Luciana; INSAURRALDE, Aldana  and  ANGEL, Julieta. SUPPLY SOURCES AVAILABILITY AND LITHIC RAW MATERIALS SELECTION IN THE SOUTHWEST OF BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE. Comechingonia [online]. 2021, vol.25, n.1, pp.41-60. ISSN 1851-0027.

This work analyzes the frequency, weight and cortex index, of the most abundant raw materials in artifactual assemblages from the plain located between Ventania range and the Chasicó-Salinas Chicas lowlands, in the southwest of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. This area is characterized by zones with very little rock availability, or absence of them, and areas with a high number of supply sources (potential and effective). Those areas were lithic raw materials are available are differentiated by rock characteristics (i.e. fracture, hardness, toughness), and by sources characteristics (i.e. location, extent, accessibility, available or obtainable blanks). Trends in lithic raw material selection and their relationship with the regional structure of lithic resources are investigated sincelithic artifacts assemblages analyzedwere deposited in environments with different characteristics. We observe a predominance of raw materials obtained, mainly, from immediately available and nearby local sources, with a high use of secondary sources.Sources characteristics (v.g. extension, available base forms) seem to be the mostimportantfactors when selecting one or another raw material.

Keywords : hunter-gatherers; lithic technology; Ventania; lithic procurement.

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