Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of different resources in the human ranking of habitats during the peopling of the Atlantic slope of Central-South Patagonia, as well as the technological strategies used during early human dispersal. We studied the distribution of early sites in the Deseado Massif, where there is a relatively high concentration of evidence of early human activity. We analyzed published information related to site chronology and distribution, presence/absence of hearths, raw-material provenance, the presence of bifacial artifacts and reduction activities, the location of corridors, and least-cost paths among sites. Results show that water would have been the most important resource in selecting locations. The availability of high-quality rocks would have been an asset, which also helped to generate a highly visible archaeological record in which bifaces were important. These resources were probably exploited using a multidirectional half-radius pattern of movements, basically restricted to the eastern margin of Massif.