Abstract

SKARBUN, Fabiana; FRANK, Ariel  and  CUETO, Manuel. Analyses in landscapes with high availability of lithic raw materials. The sources and quarries of La María, Santa Cruz province . Rev. Mus. Antropol. [online]. 2020, vol.13, n.1, pp.17-24. ISSN 1852-060X.  http://dx.doi.org/http://doi.org/10.31048/1852.4826.v13.n1.24245.

Abstract The landscape of the southern section of the central plateau of Santa Cruz -and specifically La María Archaeological Locality- is plenty of rocks. We have performed systematic analyses of raw material sources from La María for 15 years. The aim of this paper is threefold: to present a methodological synthesis, to communicate the structure of lithic resources of the locality and to discuss the strategies of acquisition and exploitation of raw materials applied in local quarries. More than 50% of the surface of La María is covered by geological formations with abundant stones of very good quality for knapping. Sources are visible and easy to access. The characteristics of the lithic remains indicate that past societies used these quarries intensively. There, they shaped cores and produced blanks. Strategies aiming at optimizing the performance of raw materials were not applied. This is something to be expected in a landscape with high availability of raw materials such as La María.

Keywords : methodology; landscapes with high availability; quarries; sources.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )