ANALYSIS OF THE LITHIC ASSEMBLAGES FROM PASO OTERO 4 (NECOCHEA DISTRICT, BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE). ADVANCES IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL STRATEGIES IN THE MIDDLE BASIN OF THE QUEQUEN GRANDE RIVER DURING THE LATE PLEISTOCENE-HOLOCENE

Paso Otero 4 is located in the middle basin of the Quequen Grande River (Necochea District, Argentina), within the Paso Otero archaeological locality. Human occupations were dated at ca. 8900-4600 years BP. The aim of this paper is to present the main trends of the lithic technology at the site, basically in relation with raw material acquisition, knapping techniques, tool production and the stages of the chaine operatoire represented in the two archaeological levels that compose the site. On the basis of this information the functionality of the site is discussed. Finally, the results presented in this paper are compared with the available lithic information from nearby sites of different chronology: Paso Otero 5 (Pleistocene-Holocene transition), Paso Otero 3 (Middle Holocene) and Zanjon Seco 2 (Late Holocene). Changes in the technological strategies during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene periods in the middle basin of the Quequen Grande River are proposed. The latter includes, among others, a reduction in the catchment areas of lithic resources and a provisioning places strategy.