Santander, February 19th-22nd 2008 - Aranzadi

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ESTER VERDÚN
In order to estimate the quantity of molluscs
captured and the work involved in these activities
it was necessary to develop a method based on
samples. There are two different analysis aspects
in the Yamana hunting-gathering-fishing society.
On the one hand, the food consumption of
molluscs must be evaluated, and on the other
hand the use of their residual shells can also be
evaluated.
2. TÚNEL VII
Túnel VII site is a shell midden located in the
north coast of the Beagle Channel, in the south
limit of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
(Argentina). Its coordinates are 54º49’15’’ latitude
south and 68º09’20’’ longitude west (fig. 1).
Figure 1. Location of Túnel VII.
The excavations at Túnel VII site made evident
a ring of shell deposits (of 3m in diameter) on the
surface of the land. The ring is constituted by an
accumulation of sediments, molluscs and other
organic and inorganic consumption residues (fig.
2). This depression of the surface is where the hut
is located. Túnel VII is just one example of the
Figure 2. Túnel VII
other similar structures along the beaches of the
Beagle Channel coasts. We can find groups of
many relief structures like those extended along
broader beaches (Estévez and Vila 1995a,
Orquera and Piana 1999).
The climatic and geographic conditions of Isla
Grande restrict the local resources which could be
exploited by the indigenous people. The climate is
cold and wet in this area of the Beagle Channel
and the wind is constant. The vegetation surrounding
the site is composed basically by species of
the genus Nothofagus. The animal resources that
can be found nowadays in the area are marine animals
like fishes, molluscs, pinnipeds and cetacean;
the terrestrial animal resources are foxes, guanaco
and some rodents (but proceeding basically
from the north of the Island); the avifauna is very
rich in the area too (Massoia et al. 1993).
This zone was occupied by the
Yamana/Yaghan society until their disintegration
after the arrival of the Europeans in the 19 th century.
The site was dated by dendrochronology and the
results showed that it was occupied in the 19th
century. This means that Túnel VII corresponds to
the period when the contact between the two
societies began (Piana and Orquera 1995).
Due to these particularities we have some ethnographic
chronicles which are testimony of how
Yamana people lived. The most important ethnographical
testimonies about Yamana are, for example,
the work of Martin Gusinde (1986), from the Mission
Scientifique and from the missionary Thomas
Bridges who lived with the natives. This constitutes a
very useful tool to compare with the archaeological
results and get a complete reconstruction of the
Yamana social organisation. In this sense, the ethnographic
information helps us, as archaeologists, to
test our methodology and to develop new techniques
or methods in order to go further with our social
interpretations of the archaeological record (Estévez
& Vila 1995b, Vila et al. 2007).
Until the arrival of the Europeans, the Yamana
economy was based on the hunting- gatheringfishing
activities, but they were basically focused
on the exploitation of marine resources: marine
mammals (pinnipedia, cetacean), birds (penguins,
cormorant…), fish and they had a high dependence
on molluscs (Estévez et al. 1995, Mameli and
Estévez 2004). Molluscs are the only resource
abundantly present during all year and with no
interruption. That is why the Yamana society had a
high level of mobility, following the available resources
along the Channel coast.
MUNIBE Suplemento - Gehigarria 31, 2010
S.C. Aranzadi. Z.E. Donostia/San Sebastián