%0 Journal Article
%T Stone Tool Manufacture Strategies and Lithic Raw Material Exploitation in Coastal Patagonia, Argentina: A Multivariate Approach
%A Marcelo Cardillo
%A Jimena Alberti
%J Journal of Archaeology
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/128470
%X This paper seeks to characterize strategies of artifact manufacture and lithic raw material exploitation along San Mat¨ªas Gulf coast, Argentina, using multifactorial and cluster analysis. Multifactorial analysis is a relatively new method that has yet to be used for archaeological analysis; it has the advantage that it allows us to describe data using different groups of qualitative or quantitative variables at the same time. Additionally, cluster analysis was conducted on multifactorial axis in a bid to identify grouping patterns. The results obtained from the combination of these two methods suggest that they may be useful in characterizing technological strategies in the study area. Furthermore, they may also be a powerful exploratory and characterization tool able to generate explanations at low spatial scales. The application of these methods on San Mat¨ªas Gulf study case suggests that along the western and northern coasts of this Gulf the most important variables in determining differences in resource use were the fragmentation ratio and lithic raw materials used in artifact manufacture. 1. Introduction The coast of R¨ªo Negro province, Argentina, runs for 380£¿km (Figure 1) with an archaeological record ranging from 6000 years 14C BP to the recent Late Holocene (450 years 14C BP) [1]. Focusing on different research avenues¡ªartifactual, isotopic, archaeofaunistic, bioarchaeological¡ªit has been possible to determine differences in the use of the coastal areas, as well as changes in subsistence strategies over time ([1¨C6], amongst others). Figure 1: Archaeological sites along the northern and western coasts of San Mat¨ªas Gulf. *BL: Bah¨ªa Lobos; AV: Arroyo Verde; PC: Piedras Coloradas; BP: Bah¨ªa Pozos; IL: Islote Lobos; EF: El Fuerte; LG: Las Grutas; SAO: San Antonio Oeste; FSM: Faro San Mat¨ªas; BF: Bah¨ªa Final; BQ: Bajo de la Quinta; CL: Caleta de los Loros; BC: Bah¨ªa Creek; PB: Promontorio Bel¨¦n; BR: Bah¨ªa Rosas. In this regard, through the study of lithic assemblages from our study area, we have detected variations in the abundance of different stone tool types and debris discard rates. This could be the result of the microenvironmental diversity in the area, of dating issues, and/or due to changes in human diet [3, 7, 8]. In general, although the manufacture of lithic artifacts was mostly expeditive [9], some raw materials such as obsidian, obtained from sources more than 200£¿km away, would have been exploited in a much more conservative manner [10]. Probably, the procurement of obsidian would have taken place as part of the regional circuits of
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jarchae/2013/128470/