Abstract

BOTTINI, Melina C.; ARRIETA, Mario A.  and  BERNARDI, Lila. MORTUARY BEHAVIOR OF THE HUNTER GATHERERS FROM MÉDANO PETROQUÍMICA SITE (LA PAMPA, ARGENTINA). PRELIMINARY CHARACTERIZATION FROM A TAPHONOMIC APPROACH. Chungará (Arica) [online]. 2020, vol.52, n.2, pp.241-259. ISSN 0717-7356.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0717-73562020005000901.

This paper proposes the use of analytical tools from taphonomy and archaeothanatology to expand knowledge about mortuary customs and site formation processes from the analysis of human bone remains. The sample comes from the Médano Petroquímica site, an inhumation area located south west of La Pampa province, Argentina, which would have been originated by hunter-gatherer societies from the Late Holocene. The results obtained from the study of four burials, one primary and three secondary (NMI=19), suggest that the cut-marks and the presence of articular relationships are consistent with practices of body manipulation at different times after death. Furthermore, a greater frequency of insects activity was recorded in the primary burial. The radiocarbon dates, along with the presence of insects, ocher, and the specific features of each burial, would largely support the synchrony in the inhumation of the features of the site.

Keywords : Human Taphonomy; hunter gatherers; mortuary practices; cut-marks; perimortem fractures.

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