Author： Pallo Mara Cecilia Borrero Luis Alberto
Publisher： Society for American Archaeology
ISSN： 1045-6635
Source： Latin American Antiquity, Vol.26, Iss.3, 2015-09, pp. : 287-303
Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.
Abstract
Throughout south-central Patagonia, at the southern tip of South America, artifacts of black obsidian and marine materials are found at sites far from their sources. This distribution is often attributed to the existence of exchange systems among hunter-gatherer groups occupying the region in the late Holocene. In this article, we analyze distance-decay patterns in the frequencies of both items. We explore the use of decay curves for explaining the existence of exchange systems. We also discuss the notion of exchange as a means of obtaining exotic goods. We conclude that there is much intermediate variation that is not explained by the ideal extremes of exchange or mobility (i.e., direct acquisition mode). This variation includes possible visits or other types of social interaction associated with open social formations. We argue that these mechanisms are relevant to understanding the distributional patterns of goods with known source locations recorded in south-central Patagonia.
Related content
By Carrasco Carolina Echeverría Javier Ballester Benjamín Niemeyer Hermann M.
Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 26, Iss. 2, 2015-07 ,pp. :
Access to resources
Recommend
El Anciano Alado del Edificio K de Tula, Hidalgo
Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 26, Iss. 1, 2015-03 ,pp. :