Geoarchaeology of the Cerro La China locality (Buenos Aires,Argentina): Site 2 and site 3

Cerro La China, within the Tandilia Range, has a long archaeological record in which three different human occupations were identified. The geoarchaeological approach allowed us to correlate the archaeosedimentary columns at Site 2 and Site 3 and place the local stratigraphy in a regional context. The archaeologically rich stratigraphic sequence is composed of three episodes of loess deposition. The first bears a 10,600 yr B.P. Paleoindian occupation with Fishtail or Fell's Cave Stemmed points. It is followed by a soil-forming interval which ended about 5000 yr B.P. with an erosive episode. The second event of loess deposition continued through an unknown span of time until a new soil-forming interval started; it includes triangular stemless medium size projectile points corresponding to a different human group. By the sixteenth century another erosive event interrupted the soil-forming interval. After this, the third short-term eolian episode occurred and bears the most recent archaeological occupation marked by small triangular stemless points.