Abstract

SALETTA, María José  and  SACCHI, Mariana. A Question of Absence or Abandonment? Projectile Points in Post-Contact Sites in Southern Patagonia (16th to 20th Centuries). rev.estud.soc. [online]. 2019, n.67, pp.101-114. ISSN 0123-885X.  https://doi.org/10.7440/res67.2019.08.

This paper proposes that the use of the bow and arrow and boleadoras (stone throwers) as a weapon system was simultaneously employed -in different environments- by the Aonikenk hunter-gatherer groups in the post 1520 AD period, which is different from the hypothesis found in previous historical-ethnographic studies. To test our hypothesis and due to the scarcity of stone balls in the stratigraphic excavations, we chose an analysis of the frequency of projectile points, end-scrapers and side-scrapers found in 38 post-contact sites. These three types of artefacts presented different frequencies, which may be associated with the different functions of the respective sites (limited activities vs. multiple activities). This analysis, together with the topography of the sites, allowed us to confirm our initial hypothesis, showing the usefulness of a regional approach to the analysis of post-Contact archaeology.

Keywords : post-contact; projectile points; southern Patagonia; weapons systems.

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