The Estancia de la Maria has more than 80 caves, rock shelters and other sites on its 22,000 hectares of land. Many of the sites are of archaeological importance.
Archaeological work has been conducted there since 1994.
54. Possible Relatives in the Americas
La Maria sites (Santa Cruz, Argentina)
by George Weber
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The Estancia de la Maria has more than 80 caves, rock shelters and other sites on its 22,000 hectares of land. Many of the sites are of archaeological importance. Archaeological work has been conducted there since 1994. |
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The Estancia runs a very good and informative web-site so there is no need for us to get in on the act as well. The web-site of the Estancia is: As the owners Fernando Behm and Josefina Ortolá note: Estancia La Maria ... holds a cultural sequence from the late Pleistocene until recent times: 10.999 +/- 55 years 14C BP. 10.967 +/- 55 years 14C BP. 10.250 +/- 110 years 14C BP. 9090 +/- 40 years 14C BP. 7.970 +/- 40 years 14C BP. 7.665 +/- 75 years 14C AP. 4.500 +/- 40 years 14C BP. It been divided in has 12 sectors determined by archaeological, environmental and landscape characteristics, holding 84 caves and rock shelters with rupestrian representations, many prehistoric surface sites, quarries and lithic workshops. The sites have been grouped into 12 "sectors" by the owners, taking into account environmental, archaeological and landscape aspects: 1. La María Bajo: El Anfiteatro, Cueva del Nido, quarries 2. La María Quebrada: Cañadón Principal: Cueva de La Mesada y del Sol, Cueva Larga. Cañadón del Eco: Cueva del Felino, Cueva de los Guanacos Tomando Agua 3. Cañadón de Los Sauces 4. Cañadón de La Lavandería: Cueva de la Lavandería. 5. Cañadón de La Cueva de La Ventana: Cueva de La Ventana, quarries 6. Cañadón de Las Columnas: Cueva de las Manos con Puntos 7. Cañadón de La Mina: Cueva Casa del Minero (see below), watersheds, Laguna Grande, quarries 8. Cañadón de Puesto El Frío 9. Cerro de Las Cuevas 10. Cuevas de Los Cinco Promontorios 11. Valle de Los Manantiales 12. Cuevas del Camino: Silex quarries and Petrified Forests used as petrified wood quarry |
We only describe one of the many sites here, as a sample:
Cueva Casa del Minero Site 1
The geology of the area has created a number of rocky outcrops that contain many caves and rock shelters that containmany traces of prehistoric human visitors. The same geological formations also contain veins of material that make excellent wall-painting colours while other minerals provide the raw material for high-quality stone tools.
Stratigraphy of the Casa del Minero Site 1
(adapted from: Rafael S. Paunero, "The Presence of as Pleistocene
Colonizing Culture in La Maria Archaeologicaö Locality, Case del
Minero 1", in: Voices from South America, A Peopling of the
Americas Publication, no year given, pp. 127-132Strata:1.
Symbols:
black lentils forms: cultural remains
Dates:
black 1: C14 date 10,967 ± 55 years
black 2: C14 date 10,999 ± 55 years
Strata:
1. loose sediments with medium
sands, no guano, historical cultural remains from miners in 19th
century, 6-8 cm thick
2. compact sand with faded lines
of charcoal at the base and Holocene archaeological remains
3a/3b/3c. Silt and sand,
holocene, compacted layers with medium-sized stones, stone tools and
fragments of bone
Overlies fallen rock fragments based on layer 4a and 4b
4a. Compact light ochre sediment
of sand and silt
4b. Lenticular hearth structure,
thickness 10-20 cm from which two C14 dates were obtained
5. Light-cloured sediment of sand
and silt; contains lithic tools and remains of both extinct and
extant fauna
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A. Knife made of red flint (silex) B. Sidescraper made of a wide flake |
Among web-sites with further information are:
- http://www.arqueologialamaria.com.ar/paginas/ingles/CASCOLAMARIAing.htm
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Last change 31 March 2007
