Burial methods, age profiles, chronology, and diet of hunter-gatherers from the central pampean dune fields: Laguna de los Pampas site (Pampas Region, Argentina)

At the Laguna de Los Pampas archaeological site located in the Central Pampean Dune fields, eight human burials have been recorded in two sectors of the shallow lake. In this paper, we analyze this record through different lines of evidence. We present the results obtained and discuss the implications of each for interpreting the occupational dynamics of the area by hunter-gatherer groups during the Holocene. Our results indicate evidence of human occupation during the Early and Middle Holocene, with a stronger presence for the latter period; the recorded burial method is primary in all determined cases. On the other hand, the identification of an oblique tabular modification in one individual from the Middle Holocene (∼6000 years BP) represents a novel finding since it would be the earliest record of this type of cranial modification for the Pampas region. The analyzed evidence suggests that Laguna de Los Pampas may be the product of periodic reoccupation of the site over time (Early and Middle Holocene), possibly motivated by the presence of outstanding landscape features, such as the lake and the resources it provided