Obsidian sources from the southern Andean highlands (Laguna del Diamante, Argentina and Chile): geochemical insights on
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(2020) 12:29
ORIGINAL PAPER
Obsidian sources from the southern Andean highlands (Laguna del Diamante, Argentina and Chile): geochemical insights on geological complexity and human biogeography Valeria Cortegoso 1 & Lucía Yebra 1 & Víctor Durán 1 & Ramiro Barberena 1 & Gustavo Lucero 2 & Luis Cornejo 3 & Martin Giesso 4 & Brandi L. MacDonald 5 & Michael D. Glascock 5 Received: 4 November 2019 / Accepted: 30 December 2019 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract New geochemical results for two obsidian types, Laguna del Diamante and Arroyo Paramillos, naturally available in the Laguna del Diamante locality, a seasonally accessible highland wetland emplaced in the current border between Argentina and Chile at 3300 masl (34°S), are presented. A total of 1219 archeological artifacts from 41 sites located on both sides of the Andes have been assigned to these sources. The artifacts were analyzed by non-destructive, energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF). Archeological distributions of these obsidian types are assessed through GIS spatial analysis. Results show a great asymmetry in the distribution of these sources toward the two Andean slopes: the Laguna de Diamante chemical type shows a fairly local use pattern, being concentrated almost entirely in Cordillera sites, but the Paramillos shows a less homogeneous distribution and tends to be more concentrated in the sites that are in the western natural corridor. Although these lands were accessed and occupied from diverse demographic nodes in lower-altitude settings, the spatial analysis of obsidian artifacts reinforces the argument of dominant geographic vectors of access connecting with the western valleys and lowlands of Chile. Keywords Andean highlands . Diamante caldera . Obsidian geochemistry . GIS analysis . Human patterns
Introduction and goals Obsidian was a highly valued material that was transported and exchanged by ancient societies worldwide. Owing to its homogeneous composition, it is traceable in space by means of geochemical analyses and has been broadly used globally to reconstruct the organization of technology, mobility, exchange, and trade (Cobean 2002; Dixon et al. 1968; Glascock et al. 1998; Hughes 1998; Eerkens et al. 2008, among others). In South
America, there is evidence of obsidian use since the earliest stages of continental colonization, including the manufacture of fishtail projectile points (Rademaker et al. 2014; Miotti et al. 2012). In the central and southern Andes, obsidian has been used for over 10,000 years, largely but not exclusively fulfilling functional roles, because the maintenance of long-distance social ties and the inclusion in rituals have also been recorded (Burger et al. 2000; Campbell et al. 2017; Nami et al. 2015; Tripcevich and Contreras 2013).
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-019-01009-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Valeria Cortegoso [email protected] 1
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