Resumen

HADJUK, ADÁN  y  LEZCANO, MAXIMILIANO J. AN "OLD-NEW" MEMBER OF THE PATAGONIAN BONE INSTRUMENT SET: THE BONE HAMMERS. Magallania [online]. 2005, vol.33, n.1, pp.63-80. ISSN 0718-2244.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-22442005000100005.

Based on existing literature, the analysis of archaeological material, and experimental work, we offer a reinterpretation of the pattern "perimetral marking" of guanaco bone shafts in Patagonia. Previously this technique of transversal fracture was related to marrow extraction and/or the preparation of "tube" or splinter pre-forms for the production of bone tools. In this paper we propose that bone modification classified as " perimetral marking" is the outcome of the use of bone as a percussion or pounding artifact rather than an attempt to obtain a transversal fracture. This hypothesis is supported by experimental simulation of both techniques of transversal fracture and the use of the bones as pounders. Until now this type of material has never been considered as part of the repertoire of Patagonian bone instruments. Hypothetically it is proposed that these bone instruments may have been used to soften jerky or hard fresh meat, or to process other types of organic materials such as vegetal fibers, etc. We cannot at this stage overrule the possibility that they might have been used in conjunction with stone tools

Palabras clave : guanaco; perimetral marking; bone instruments; pounders; Patagonia.

        · resumen en Español     · texto en Español     · Español ( pdf )