Las aves de sitios arqueológicos del Holoceno tardío de Norpatagonia, Argentina. Los sitios Negro Muerto y Angostura 1 (Río Negro)

Abstract

This paper deals with the subject of avian remains from two archaeological sites of Patagonia (Río Negro province, Argentina). First, there is a synthesis of current discussions on birds in Patagonian archaeological contexts. Next, there is a detailed evaluation of archaeological samples from Angostura 1 and Negro Muerto sites (2.791 remains, including eggshells and bones), the human evidences of their exploitation and the paleoclimatic implications of their presence. According to the analyses we conclude: 1: most of the avian remains from both sites were accumulated by humans, 2: birds were not a main eating resource, but they would have been an important complement in hunter-gatherers diet, 3: avifauna exploitation in analyzed sites supports the hypothesis of diversification of human diet in Pampa-Patagonia as a result of demographic increase during final late Holocene and 4: evidences presented here suggest that climatic conditions have not significantly changed since 900 years BP.