La ballena “visible”: el uso de los huesos de cetáceos entre cazadores-recolectores terrestres en el norte de Tierra del Fuego

Abstract

The characteristics of whale remains found at four late Holocene hunter-gatherer localities from la Isla Grande, Northern coast of Tierra del Fuego, are presented. Most of the remains were fragments retrieved in strata lying close to the surface that exhibited cultural modifications while featuring few instruments. Their analysis, and in particular the scarcity and nature of the bone tool kit stressed the need for establishing clear cut criteria for the assessment of natural versus cultural modifications. From such standpoint, taphonomical observations dealing with skeletal part representation, differential preservation, contextual integrity, and local availability of cetacean bones along the various sectors of the shoreline proved instrumental for the interpretation of the assemblages.