This work is part of the "Evaluación de la Potencialidad del Análisis de Residuos en el Marco de una Propuesta Integral de Estudio del Material Lítico: Aplicación a un Caso Etnoarqueológico en Tierra Del Fuego" which is a CSIC-CONICET agreement project. As part of this project we are carrying out a study of the soil development on and around the shell middens as well as in different ecolological areas of the Beagle Channel.

Areas studied for the soil survey and samples collection.    

The aim was to understand the pedogenetic and post-depositional processes related to the numerous hunter-fisher-gatherers Yamana settlements of the Beagle Channel coast and, more specifically, the ones that will be the subject of a pilot study for evaluating the potential of residue analysis. An extensive survey and sampling strategy were carried out to provide an exhaustive soil catalogue along the western side of the Beagle Channel and several micromorphological thin sections were produced to assess the pedogenetic processes.

Panoramic view of Bahía Lapataia and the Nothofagus woodland on the slopes.

The project is lead by Ivan Briz (ICREA-CSIC) and Myrian Alvarez (CONICET) with Debora Zurro (CSIC) and Assumpcio' Vila (CSIC), while Marco Madella (ICREA-CSIC), Andrea Balbo (CSIC), Margarita Osterrieth (UNMdP) and Charly French (Cambridge University) are involved at different levels with the geoarchaeological, micromorphological and pedological study.