Rock art and social networks among hunter gatherers of north-central Chile

Bone tools of Late Holocene hunter‐gatherer‐fishers of North‐Central Chile: Case study of the Punta Teatinos assemblage

“…They are the only pieces from a known context, both coming from the same tomb (Burial site 148). They are also the only decorated objects in the study collection; they bear similarities to a piece from an inland area and to designs found in contemporary rock paintings (Pascual et al, ; Troncoso et al, ).…”

“…In this case, we think that different aspects are involved. The demographic increase and the territorial dynamics in the area require the material culture to participate in these information flows and the construction of social networks (Troncoso et al, ). The presence of similar motifs on these bone artefacts and in contemporary rock paintings reflects the need to use different supports and contexts to allow these information flows to circulate (Troncoso et al, ).…”

“…These sites are characterized by an important number of human burials (Quevedo, ), marking the appearance in the regional record of cemeteries and mass funerary spaces. A series of other changes can be recognized in association with the above, namely, demographic growth, intensified exploitation of the environment, conflict and interpersonal violence, and the construction of closed spatial networks related with practices and dynamics of territoriality (Méndez et al, ; Pino et al, ; Quevedo, ; Schiappacasse & Niemeyer, ; Troncoso et al, ).…”

“…Important changes can be recognized in the social dynamics of hunter‐gatherers at the start of the Late Holocene in different regions of the southern Andes. These transformations are associated with processes of demographic growth, territoriality, increased social complexity, technological innovations, and intensified exploitation of the environment (e.g., Quevedo, ; Schiappacasse & Niemeyer, ; Troncoso, Moya, & Basile, ).…”

“…This situation can be clearly identified in North‐Central of Chile (29–30°S). On the one hand, there is an increase in the intensity of human occupation with demographic growth after 5,000 years cal BP (Barberena, Méndez, & de Porras, ; Méndez et al, ); on the other, the appearance of new technologies like rock art and bedrock mortars reflects strategies of spatial demarcation and territoriality in the same period (Pino, Troncoso, Belmar, & Pascual, ; Troncoso et al, ). Both phenomena are observed particularly along the coast, where hunter‐gatherer‐fisher communities consolidated a process of marine adaptation ( sensu Erlandson & Fitzpatrick, ) and slowly began a more intense exploitation of land plant resources.…”