Resumen

CORTEGOSO, Valeria; DURAN, Víctor; CASTRO, Silvina  y  WINOCUR, Diego. AVAILABILITY OF LITHIC RESOURCES AND HUMAN EXPLOITATION OF THE ANDEAN BORDERLANDS,: RIO DE LAS TAGUAS VALLEY, SAN JUAN, ARGENTINA. Chungará (Arica) [online]. 2012, vol.44, n.1, pp. 59-72. ISSN 0717-7356.  doi: 10.4067/S0717-73562012000100005.

Through an analysis of the availability and exploitation of lithic resources, characteristics of human occupations in the Argentinean-chilean boundary are discussed. The area is located in NW San Juan (Argentina) and extends from the edge of the mountain range slopes (4,500 masl) to the nearby valleys (3,700 masl). We define spatial patterns for the use of these environments considering: altitudinal variation, characterization of lithic raw material sources, and associated knapping activities. The higher areas, with primary sources, evidence the first lithic reduction sequence stages and a lower density of elements. The lower sections show high densities and complete sequences associated with secondary sources. We elaborate a preliminary record of occupation, through a consideration of the lithic record at a site with a ca. 9,000-year sequence and available paleoenvironmental data. According to this approach, the area would have been explored after the last retreat of the ice. successive human occupations coincide with periods of water availability in the high cordillera and aridity at lower altitudes on the western slopes. Given the topography of the area, the archaeological record, and paleoenvironmental data, is proposed that the area would have been exploited from bases on the mountain western flanks.

Palabras clave : Lithic resources availability; human exploitation; Andean borderlands; San Juan; Argentina.