Spatial Distribution and Prehistoric Use of Chorrillo Mirafl ores Lithic Raw Materials in Northern Tierra del Fuego (Argentina)

Abstract

Lithic raw materials employed by hunter-gatherers who inhabited the northern portion of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (southern extreme of South America) since the Early Holocene come mainly from sedimentary deposits of gacial, fl uvial and/or marine origin available within the region. Th e recent identifi cation of a primary lithic source in the chorrillo Mirafl ores valley (Prieto et al. 2004), which presents distinctive lithologies and evidences of its prehistoric exploitation, provides an opportunity to assess circulation and use of rocks with a focal  availability within the fueguian landscape. Th e goals of this paper are: 1) to introduce the fi rst petrographic and geochemical characterization of Mirafl ores lithic raw materials; 2) to inform on its distribution and frequency among  archaeological assemblages recovered in the Argentine portion of the Island comprised between Espíritu Santo and San Sebastián capes; 3) to present the technological analysis of those artifacts. Petrographic studies allowed the identifi cation of the two Mirafl ores rocks as riolitic tuff and silicifi ed tuff . Geochemical analysis showed that all artifacts recovered within study region are geochemically similar to the Chorrillo Mirafl ores raw materials. We conclude that hunter-gatherers that inhabited the fueguian steppe used and transported Mirafl ores rocks several tenth of kilometers from the Chorrillo Mirafl ores source.

Key words: lithic technology, Tierra del Fuego, hunter-gatherers.