Abstract

This study presents the results of the lithic artifact assemblage analysis from the Parque Diana Cave, located in the forested area of the Meliquina Lake region in the Andes Mountains, southwest Neuquén province. The analysis includes the classification and description of tools and debris, as well as the geochemical determination of an obsidian sample using ICP-MS and XRF to establish its provenance. The site reveals occupations from 2,370 ± 70 years BP to 580 ± 60 years BP. The earliest occupations are marked by the presence of a few tools, mainly made from non-local raw materials, indicating a period of exploration and sporadic use by steppe hunters. During the latest occupations (pottery period), activities primarily involved the final stages of bifacial tool production and reactivation, along with minimally shaped maintenance tools, typical of populations known in the western forest and lake areas of the mountain range. The supply of obsidian primarily came from forests and lakes within a 30–40 km radius, with a smaller contribution from a more distant source approximately 150 km north of the site. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd