Archaeology of insular sectors in the Beagle Channel (Argentina). The case of the archipelago of the Bridges Islands and adjacent islands

Abstract

This paper presents the results of recent archaeological investigations carried out in the Bridges Islands archipelago and adjacent islands (Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina). The use of this environment by maritime hunter-gatherers is known from research carried out mainly in archaeological sites along the southern coast of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and the northern coast of Navarino Island. Until now, the study of small islands or islets in the Beagle Channel had not been systematically developed. Here, we analyze the use of the Bridges Islands archipelago in relation to the spatial and temporal distribution of the archaeological sites, as well as the study of human subsistence and settlement patterns, based on the composition of the archaeological assemblages. The results obtained show that the archipelago of the Bridges Islands was integrated into the regional mobility circuits since the Middle Holocene, although the findings indicate a low occupation intensity by that time. The high frequency of shell middens, as well as the size of archaeological sites recorded in sectors near the current coastline, points to a greater intensity of occupation for later moments of the Holocene. In conclusion, this evidence and the composition of archaeological assemblages lead to sustain a planned use of these spaces from the procurement of critical resources for the human habitability of these sectors.