Phytoliths and geochemical analyses to unravel plant use activities in hunter-gatherer sites: the case of Lanashuaia II (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina)

Abstract

The study of plant remains in hunter-gatherer sites with standard preservation conditions is most times challenging. In those cases, only the application of specific methodologies and techniques such as phytolith analyses allows giving visibility to plant material that was used in the past for different purposes. In this study we present the results from the phytolith and organic matter analyses carried out in the archaeological site Lanashuaia II. This is a shell-midden site that has been studied from an ethnoarchaeological perspective and that is located in the northern coast of the Beagle channel (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina).