Mobility and exploitation of terrestrial resources by coastal hunter-gatherers of Bahia Moat, southeast coast of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

In this article, we discuss coastal hunter-gatherer mobility and terrestrial land use in Moat Bay, on the southern coast of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, by evaluating the patterns of the exploitation of guanaco (Lama guanicoe). This was the only terrestrial animal that played a significant role in the diet of the inhabitants of this region. Hunting this animal may have involved logistic planning in terrestrial ecosystems. To assess this phenomena, we analyze faunal remains from archaeological collections from the Late Holocene remains according to different models and frames of references of different strategies for hunting, transportation, and butchering. The results suggest that spatial organization of subsistence practices developed under the influences of complex interactions between the inland region and the coast: the significant exploitation of guanacos at Moat Bay and the selective transport patterns suggest that the patterns of residential mobility, centered on the coast, were the result of logistically integrating the available resources in ecological zones near the coast with inland hunting activities.