Abstract

ZARZA, María Macarena; PAPA, Luis del; LAMENZA, Guillermo  and  TONNI, Eduardo. ANALYSIS OF THE RECORD OF HOPLOSTERNUM LITTORALE (CALLICHTHYIDAE, SILURIFORMES) TO ESTIMATE SEASONAL OCCUPATION AT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES. APPLICATION CASE. Folia [online]. 2023, n.46, pp.283-300. ISSN 0325-8238.  http://dx.doi.org/10.30972/fhn.4606504.

The occupation moment of a pre-Hispanic settlement is one of the fundamental topics that is considered to be addressed through the archaeological record. Species with marked seasonality are one of the main avenues for its study and Hoplosternum littorale is one of them. This Siluriformes is widely distributed in most of the South American lowlands and its life cycle includes modifications of its pectoral spines with clear sexual and age dimorphism. In fact, variations are found in adult male individuals. These variations take place at the beginning of the reproductive period in close connection with the beginning of the rainy season. We consider that these ontogenetic characteristics have great potential to estimate the time of year in which this resource is being exploited and, consequently, contribute to understand the space occupation strategies of pre-Hispanic societies. Therefore, we offer a model to understand this record and generate archaeological expectations. Finally, we test it through the analysis of an archaeological site in the Argentine humid Chaco.

Keywords : Morphotypes; Seasonal Variation Models; Late Holocene; Ichthyofauna.