Bird consumption in the middle Negro River valley during the Final Late Holocene: The remains of the Colforta 1 site (Rio Negro Province, Argentina)

This paper presents the analysis of the bone remains and the eggshells of birds from Colforta 1 archaeological site, located in the middle Negro River valley (Northern Patagonia, Argentina), with the objective of determining the agents responsible for their accumulation. The analysis carried out shows that a large part of the sample would have been deposited as a result of anthropic activities. The main group of birds captured were tinamous, a family of medium-sized terrestrial birds, although species of different sizes, habits and environments were also exploited. In addition, the eggs of various species, including rheids and tinamous, would have been collected seasonally. The anthropic processing of avifaunistic resources on the site and their importance in the Norpatagonia river valleys for late Holocene hunter-gatherer societies are discussed.