Cañadón Negro campsite, locality La María, Santa Cruz: Open-air archaeological site in a redundantly inhabited landscape

Cañadón Negro open-air site, La María, Central Plateau of Santa Cruz, is characterized based on identified social practices. Results of the study of the landscape, lithic technology, and the latter's distributional analysis are presented. In addition, the site's possible use as a camp by hunter-gatherer societies is evaluated. Spatial analysis indicates that the distribution of the remains presents a non-random clustering pattern. Given that the geomorphological and environmental variables would not have generated large-scale modifications in the artefactual distribution, it is proposed that this distribution could be the product of social practices. Different activities were carried out at the site, such as the production, maintenance, use, and primary discard of artifacts, as well as the lighting of hearths. Furthermore, it is recognized that the raw material used most frequently was flint. Tools were related to primary and secondary resource processing and hunting activities. The evidence thus supports the idea that Cañadón Negro functioned as a camp site where multiple activities were carried out. Such an interpretation is consistent with the patterns recognized in ethnohistorical sources, such as regional ethnographic and archaeological studies.