Description: In this book, Gustavo G. Politis and Luis A. Borrero explore the archaeology and ethnography of the indigenous people who inhabited Argentina's Pampas and the Patagonia region from the end of the Pleistocene until the 20th century. Offering a history of the nomadic foragers living in the harsh habitats of the South America's Southern Cone, they provide detailed account of human adaptations to a range of environmental and social conditions. The authors show how the region's earliest inhabitants interacted with now-extinct animals as they explored and settled the vast open prairies and steppes of the region until they occupied most of its available habitats. They also trace technological advances, including the development of pottery, the use of bows and arrows, and horticulture. Making new research and data available for the first time, Politis and Borrero's volume demonstrates how geographical variation in the Southern Cone generated diverse adaptation strategies.
Brief description: Gustavo G. Politis is Director of the Institute of Archaeological and Paleontological Research of the Pampean Quaternary. A scholar of the archaeology and ethnoarchaeology of South American hunter-gatherers, he is the author of six books and recipient of a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.
Review Quotes: 'This impressively researched, well-executed achievement provides up-to-date research and current interpretations, making calibrated radiocarbon dates and isotopic studies of diet available for the first time ... Essential.' C. C. Kolb, CHOICE