Contribuição ao estudo da mudança tecnológica em sociedades caçadorascoletoras: um enfoque integrador

Aportes al estudio del cambio tecnológico en sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras: Un enfoque integrador. El objetivo del presente trabajo es llevar a cabo una contextualización crítica del cambio tecnológico y su abordaje en sociedades con economía de caza y recolección. En una primera instancia se describen cuáles son los factores o causas que generan transformaciones en las prácticas sociales, con una revisión profunda sobre el rol del ambiente. En segundo lugar, se definen variables y/o criterios a nivel material (artefacto, materia prima, sitio) para identificar el cambio o innovaciones tecnológicas. Por último, para plasmar la perspectiva aquí planteada se propone como caso de estudio el de las sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras que habitaron el área Interserrana Bonaerense durante el Holoceno medio y tardío.The aim of this paper is to show a critical contextualization of technological change and its analysis in hunter/gatherer societies. First of all we describe what factors or causes generate changes in social practices. Subsequently, material criteria (artifact, raw material, site) will be defined to identify technological changes. Finally, it is proposed as a case of study of hunter-gatherer societies that inhabited the Interserrana area (Buenos Aires province) during the middle and late Holocene.L’objectif de ce travail est la contextualisation critique du changement technologique et son étude dans les sociétés d'économie chasseuse-cueilleuse. En premier lieu, on a décrit les principaux facteurs o causes que génèrent transformations dans les pratiques sociales, particulièrement celles liées aux variables environnementales. Deuxièmement, on a défini les critères matériaux (artéfact, matière première, site) pour identifier les changements o innovations technologiques. Finalement, pour exprimer la perspective proposée dans ce texte, on présente un cas d'étude lié aux sociétés du chasseurscueilleurs qui ont habité la région inter-montagnarde de Buenos Aires pendant l'Holocène moyen et tardive.O objetivo do presente trabalho é fazer uma contextualização crítica da mudança tecnológica em sociedades com economia de caça e coleta. Em primeiro lugar são descritos quais são os fatores ou causas que geram transformações nas práticas sociais, com uma revisão profunda no papel do ambiente. Em segundo, são definidas as variáveis e os critérios a nivel material (artefato, materia prima, sítios) para identificar as mudanças ou inovaçes tecnológicas. Por último, para atender à perspectiva colocada é apresentado como estudo de caso as sociedades caçadoras-coletoras que habitaram a área Inter serrana Bonaerense durante o Holoceno médio e tardio.Fil: Pal, Nélida Marcela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez, Myrian Rosa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Briz I Godino, Ivan. University Of York; Reino UnidoFil: Lasa, Adriana Edith. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentin

Settlement and mobility strategies among hunter-gatherer-fisher communities from the Southern region of the Fuegian Atlantic Coast

Este trabajo tiene como eje central el estudio de las estrategias de gestión social del espacio por parte de las sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras-pescadoras de la costa atlántica de Tierra del Fuego. Esta problemática se aborda desde una triple óptica: el análisis de las dependencias entre sitios arqueológicos y variables ambientales de su entorno, la cercanía de estos lugares con ciertos recursos necesarios para su supervivencia y las relaciones de vecindad entre ellos. Las herramientas utilizadas para la implementación de estos análisis se encuentran dentro del dominio de la arqueología cuantitativa, destacando diversos métodos de estadística exploratoria y espacial. Gestión de datos, análisis y visualización se interrelacionan en un Sistema de Información Geográfica a través del cual se interpretan los resultados principales. Con ello se pretende responder a diversas cuestiones, tales como qué variables ambientales o de cercanía a ciertos recursos pudieron afectar a la elección de los lugares de asentamiento, con qué intensidad lo hicieron o si existen indicios de otros factores más allá de los vinculados al medio físico que hubiesen podido incluir en la elección de los lugares de hábitat.This article focuses on the study of the social space management strategies of hunter-gatherer-fishers within the Fuegian Atlantic coast. This theme has been tackled from three different perspectives: the analysis of the relationship between environmental features and settlement intensity, the proximity of these places to certain necessary resources, and the study of neighbourly relationships between these communities. To study these three aspects, we used analytical tools from the domain of quantitative archaeology, including exploratory and spatial statistical methods. Data-mining, analysis and visualisation were combined within a Geographical Information System from where our results were interpreted. By these means, we addressed several questions, such as which environmental variables and resources affected settlement choices and with which intensity and what was the influence of other non-environmental related factors on habitat patterns

Robustness of cooperation to movement patterns in a hunter-fisher-gatherer model

Most societies often face social dilemmas in which there can be contradictions between individual interests versus those of the community as a whole. Hunter-fisher-gatherer societies can be considered as paradigmatic examples of these phenomena. The fact that many of these societies tend to live permanently disaggregated produces a specific need for maintaining the social tissue as well as for reproducing social and economic knowledge and values that depend on individual behaviour. Therefore, aggregation events are of special relevance as they represent the optimal occasion to deal with specific social aspects that in these cases need extraordinary circumstances to be held. Our case of study is focused on cooperative processes developed by historical hunterfisher- gatherer-societies from the Beagle channel (Tierra del Fuego), that developed their existence mainly through an economy focused on the exploitation of coastal and maritime resources. Yamana households moved across the territory in their canoes in search for needed resources. In spite of this, Yamana society has different ways to strength social cohesion: visiting each other or because of the celebration of different types of ceremonies. Initiation ceremonies were of special relevance, and the need for maintaining the group meanwhile these rituals were being developed became essential. The finding of a beached whale, and the subsequent aggregation event that took place through a public call, created the ideal context for the development of economic and social processes in a cooperative way

Knapping on the hill: A lithic workshop site of hunter-gatherer groups from Tierra del Fuego island

6 páginas, 3 figuras.-- et al.[EN]: This paper provides the initial results obtained from the analysis of a lithic workshop, named Altos del Varela I, located on the top of Petersen hill in Tierra del Fuego Island (Argentina). The site contains distinctive areas entirely composed of a high frequency of flakes made from local metamorphic rhyolite. These results open the debate about the use of mountain landscape between the fuegian hunter-gatherers as well as the interaction between coastal and inland groups.[ES]: En este trabajo se presentan los resultados iniciales obtenidos del análisis de un taller lítico, denominado Altos del Varela I, ubicado en la cima del cerro Petersen en la isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). El sitio presenta diferentes áreas que incluyen, de manera exclusiva, una alta frecuencia de lascas de riolitas metamorfizadas de origen local. Los resultados permiten abrir el debate sobre el uso de los paisajes montañosos por parte de las sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras fueguinas así como sobre la interacción costa-interior.Este proyecto fue financiado por un subsidio de la Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (PICT 2071).Peer reviewe

Ethnoarchaeology of hunter‐fisher‐gatherers societies in the Beagle Channel (Tierra del Fuego): ethnographical sources and social simulation

Research from the Beagle Channel (Tierra del Fuego) offers a rich ethnographic and historical record produced by the late inclusion of Tierra del Fuego in the industrial world (the Beagle Channel was discovered by R. Fitz- Roy in 1830). This is an interesting frame for using new techniques (social simulation by Agent Based Modelling (ABM)) to generate new hypotheses in archaeology. In this case, the hypothesis is focused on the role of social cooperation in Yámana hunter-fisher-gatherer societyEtnoarqueología de sociedades cazadoras-pescadoras-recolectoras en el canal Beagle (Tierra del Fuego): fuentes etnográficas y simulación social La investigación etnoarqueológica en el canal Beagle (Tierra del Fuego) ofrece un abundante registro documental etnográfico e histórico producto de su tardía incorporación al mundo industrial (el canal Beagle es descubierto por R. Fitz-Roy en 1830). Este marco posibilita la aplicación de técnicas novedosas (simulación social mediante “agent based modelling” (ABM)) para la generación de hipótesis a contrastar arqueológicamente. En el caso de nuestro proyecto esa hipótesis versa sobre el papel de la cooperación social en la sociedad cazadora-pescadora-recolectora YámanaEthnoarchéologie des sociétés de chasseurs-pêcheurs-cueilleurs dans le canal de Beagle (Tierra del Fuego): sources ethnographiques et simulation sociale La recherche ethnoarchéologique dans le Canal Beagle (Tierra del Fuego) offre un registre riche de documents historiques et ethnographiques come conséquence de son entrée tardive dans le monde industriel (le canal de Beagle est découvert par R. Fitz-Roy en 1830). Ce cadre permet l’application de nouvelles techniques (simulation sociale à l’aide de «modélisation de l’agent sur la base» (ABM)) pour générer des hypothèses à tester dans le registre archéologique. Pour notre projet cette hypothèse concerne le rôle de la coopération sociale dans les chasseur-pêcheur-cueilleurs YámanaMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad de España. Project: “Social and environmental transitions: Simulating the past to understand human behaviour (SimulPast) (CSD2010-00034)” and “Marcadores Arqueológicos de Relaciones Sociales: etnoarqueología de cazadores-recolectores en el Canal Beagle (HAR2009-06996)”. -Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la República Argentina. Project: “Procesos de agregación social entre las sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras del canal Beagle: nuevas metodologías de análisis (PIP0706)”. -The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. Project: “Social aggregation: a Yamana Society’s short-term episode to Analyse Social Interaction.

Effect of resource spatial correlation and Hunter-Fisher-Gatherer mobility on social cooperation in Tierra del Fuego

This article presents an agent-based model designed to explore the development of cooperation in hunter-fisher-gatherer societies that face a dilemma of sharing an unpredictable resource that is randomly distributed in space. The model is a stylised abstraction of the Yamana society, which inhabited the channels and islands of the southernmost part of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina-Chile). According to ethnographic sources, the Yamana developed cooperative behaviour supported by an indirect reciprocity mechanism: whenever someone found an extraordinary confluence of resources, such as a beached whale, they would use smoke signals to announce their find, bringing people together to share food and exchange different types of social capital. The model provides insight on how the spatial concentration of beachings and agents’ movements in the space can influence cooperation. We conclude that the emergence of informal and dynamic communities that operate as a vigilance network preserves cooperation and makes defection very costly.MICINN http://www.idi.mineco.gob.es/ CSD2010-00034 (SimulPast CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010) and HAR2009-06996; the government of Castilla y Leónhttp://www.jcyl.es/ GREX251-2009; the Argentine CONICET http://www.conicet.gov.ar/PIP-0706; and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Researchhttp://www.wennergren.org/ "Social Aggregation: A Yamana Society's Short Term Episode to Analyse Social Interaction, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina". The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscrip

Social cooperation and resource management dynamics among late hunter-fisher-gatherer societies in Tierra del Fuego (South America)

This paper presents the theoretical basis and first results of an agent-based model (ABM) computer simulation that is being developed to explore cooperation in hunter–gatherer societies. Specifically, we focus here on Yamana, a hunter-fisher-gatherer society that inhabited the islands of the southernmost part of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina–Chile). Ethnographical and archaeological evidence suggests the existence of sporadic aggregation events, triggered by a public call through smoke signals of an extraordinary confluence of resources under unforeseeable circumstances in time and space (a beached whale or an exceptional accumulation of fish after a low tide, for example). During these aggregation events, the different social units involved used to develop and improve production, distribution and consumption processes in a collective way. This paper attempts to analyse the social dynamics that explain cooperative behaviour and resource-sharing during aggregation events using an agent-based model of indirect reciprocity. In brief, agents make their decisions based on the success of the public strategies of other agents. Fitness depends on the resource captured and the social capital exchanged in aggregation events, modified by the agent’s reputation. Our computational results identify the relative importance of resources with respect to social benefits and the ease in detecting—and hence punishing—a defector as key factors to promote and sustain cooperative behaviour among populationSpanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (projects CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010 SimulPast-CSD2010-00034 and HAR2009-06996) as well as from the Argentine Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (project PIP-0706) and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (project GR7846)

¿Una realidad compleja? Apuntes y anotaciones para una teoría emergente en arqueología

Desde finales de la década de los setenta existe en investigación una línea de pensamiento, cada vez más importante, concentrada en el análisis de la complejidad como elemento básico de la Ciencia (Teoría de la Complejidad). Entre otros muchos campos, laarqueologia también es una de las disciplinas en donde esta línea de pensamiento está implantándose con fuerza. Mediante este trabajo se pretende realizar una revisión básica (y crítica) de los planteamientos esenciales de esta nueva perspectiva, y dar a conocer los aspectos básicos más relevantes desde el materialismo histórico, para la arqueología

'Durable Residues': Addressing the use of microwear, a case study from March Hill

Different cultural and research traditions have led to distinctively different approaches to lithics analysis. An integration of different approaches can often give new 'ways of seeing' artefact assemblages and distribution patterns and provide valuable insights into past activities. Here we present the preliminary results of a project integrating detailed analytical techniques, focused on processes of production and consumption and social dynamics in ethnarchaeological contexts in Tierra del Fuego with existing detailed lithic analysis at Mesolithic sites in the Central Pennines. Such methods, taken from Argentina (Álvarez) and Spain (Briz), that were developed in ethnoarchaeological contexts employed detailed edge morphological analysis and use wear. When applied to site A at March Hill, these techniques yielded interesting new insights about activities at the site, and provided a test case for such techniques

Robustness of cooperation to movement patterns in a hunter-fisher-gatherer model

Most societies often face social dilemmas in which there can be contradictions between individual interests versus those of the community as a whole. Hunter-fisher-gatherer societies can be considered as paradigmatic examples of these phenomena. The fact that many of these societies tend to live permanently disaggregated produces a specific need for maintaining the social tissue as well as for reproducing social and economic knowledge and values that depend on individual behaviour. Therefore, aggregation events are of special relevance as they represent the optimal occasion to deal with specific social aspects that in these cases need extraordinary circumstances to be held. Our case of study is focused on cooperative processes developed by historical hunterfisher- gatherer-societies from the Beagle channel (Tierra del Fuego), that developed their existence mainly through an economy focused on the exploitation of coastal and maritime resources. Yamana households moved across the territory in their canoes in search for needed resources. In spite of this, Yamana society has different ways to strength social cohesion: visiting each other or because of the celebration of different types of ceremonies. Initiation ceremonies were of special relevance, and the need for maintaining the group meanwhile these rituals were being developed became essential. The finding of a beached whale, and the subsequent aggregation event that took place through a public call, created the ideal context for the development of economic and social processes in a cooperative way