Continuidades e hiatos ocupacionales durante el Holoceno Medio en el borde oriental de la Puna Salada, antofagasta de la sierra, Argentina

Abstract

This paper focuses on the occupations in Salamanca Cave (Antofagasta de la Sierra, Argentine Salt Puna) during the Middle Holocene, a period of generalized aridity in the Puna. This cave was an optimal place where groups of hunter-gatherers carried out subsistence activities (hunting and gathering), as well as the production of technology and tools. The effect that the arid conditions had on mobility and settlement strategies ca. 9,000-7,000 cal. BP (8,000-6,000 BP) is discussed. The sequence of occupations and gaps is compared with that of neighboring sites during the early Middle Holocene within the framework of an increase in arid conditions in order to propose the existence of multiple fluvial oases along rivers whose headwaters originate in the eastern border of the Salt Puna. The occupation gaps following ca. 7,900 BP (7,200 BP) suggest increased arid conditions and the reorganization of mobility and settlement systems.