El sitio Isla El Disparito (Iberá, Corrientes). Aportes a la arqueología del Chaco húmedo (Argentina)

The recently undertaken interdisciplinary study of the Ibera Macrosystem is aimed at increasing our understanding of regional archaeology, among other aspects. This paper presents the results of the analysis of the archaeological collection from the site Isla El Disparito. In addition, we present sedimentological, paleobotanical and mineralogical data, as well as radiocarbonic dates. The pottery fragments recovered are mostly undecorated, with smoothing as the most frequent surface treatment, but also corrugated. A few are decorated (incised and/or impressed). They would correspond to diverse vessels with both simple and complex contours. Different lithic artifacts and bone tools were recovered. The lithic artifacts, including projectile points with peduncles, straight and concave fins, spokeshave, knife and scraper, among others, are mostly made from sandstones. The bone tools included diverse morphological types of projectile points ( i.e . convex, hollowed, flat and foliate). We also identified chisels, a tube and pendants. Furthermore, the faunal remains are characterized by high frequency of small mammals, especially coypu, as well as the mollusks Diplodon parallelopipedon, D. charruanus and Castalia sp. Until recently, these freshwater bivalves were not thought to occur in the study area. A minimum of 18 individuals were identified, with dental crown features characteristic of American Indian populations. The only primary burial identified has been dated ( 14 C 960 BP). The results are discussed with reference to regional information and contribute to reconstruct the dynamics of ancient human populations.