Resumen

CARDILLO, Marcelo; CARRANZA, Eugenia; ALBERTI, Jimena  y  BORELLA, Florencia. Thermal alterations in coastal pebbles in Las Grutas locality (Río Negro). Discussing its implications for the interpretation of the lithic archaeological record. Rev. Mus. Antropol. [online]. 2022, vol.15, n.3, pp.273-288. ISSN 1852-060X.  http://dx.doi.org/http://doi.org/10.31048/1852.4826.v15.n3.38007.

Abstract During late 2019 and early 2020, grassland fires occurred in the vicinity of Las Grutas city (Río Negro, Argentina), which affected a wide area and generated an impact on the local landscape. A year later we walked across some of these areas to recognize the possible impact of the fire on the surface archaeological record. Although the material was scarce in the observation areas, signs of alterations resulting from thermal damage in pebbles were identified, such as changes in color and in situ fractures on different rocks, some of them suitable for knapping. Likewise, other indicators of the effect of the fire were recorded, such as charred wood and reddening of the surface sediment around burned bushes. The extension and effects on the landscape of this punctual event allow us to think about the implications that these summer events have on the superficial archaeological record in Patagonia. In this case, the generation of pseudo-artifacts due to thermal fractures, and the misidentification of clusters of pebbles as combustion structures. In addition, these phenomena represent a potential bias in the identification of heat treatment in lithic artifacts, since these could have been exposed to fire once discarded.

Palabras clave : Fires; Surface archaeological record; Northern Patagonia; Thermal alteration; Lithic artifacts.

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