Actualistic Taphonomy in the Northeast of the Santa Cruz Plateau (Argentina). Advances and Archaeological Implications

This paper presents the first advances made in the framework of the actualistic taphonomy project that we recently started in the northeast of the Central Plateau of Santa Cruz, Patagonia Argentina. The main goal of this project is to strengthen, through this line of study, the archaeological interpretations of the area. Here we present the results corresponding to the field works developed between 2016 and 2017 in three archaeological localities, with the objective to assess the potential of the different characteristic environments of the area to accumulate, disperse, preserve, destroy and bury bone remains. The survey was carried out at a broad spatial scale and was based on systematic observations through transects in which taphonomic and environmental data were recorded. The results obtained offer the first approach to determine which are the environments with the greatest potential for the natural incorporation of bones into the archaeological record and the heterogeneity with which different taphonomic agents and processes operate in each one. This work provides new information for the Central Plateau region and reflects the development of a new line of research for the area, from which systematic data are provided that contribute not only to improve the interpretations of the archaeological assemblages from the region, but also favor the comparison with neighboring regions.