Between the Pampa and Patagonia: new clues about how ancient hunter-gatherers fed themselves
image: The Zoko Andi 1 site is located on the right side of the lower basin of the Colorado River, approximately 80 km from the Atlantic coast, on a dune where the excavated area reached 23 m2. Excavations were carried out both on the riverbank and in the highest part of the dune (Martínez et al. 2025).
Credit: Gustavo Martínez
A new archaeological study reveals how ancient hunter-gatherer groups lived—and survived—more than a thousand years ago in the transition zone between the Pampas and Patagonia in Argentina. The research, carried out by Martínez and colleagues (2025), focuses on the Zoko Andi 1 site (ZA1), located on the lower basin of the Colorado River, a key location for understanding the daily life of these early settlers in the south.
Analysis of animal remains found at the site made it possible to reconstruct their diet and subsistence strategies during the Late Holocene, between approximately 1500 and 400 years ago. The results show that these groups took advantage of a wide variety of resources in their environment. The guanaco was the most important species: they consumed not only its meat, but also its marrow and bone fat, evidence of intensive and systematic use of the animal.
But their diet was not limited to large prey. Researchers found clear signs of the consumption of armadillos, birds, and large rodents throughout different periods of occupation. Cut marks on the bones, fresh fractures, and burned remains confirm that these animals were a regular part of their diet.
One of the most significant findings of the study is that these food diversification strategies began earlier than originally thought. Previous research suggested that this process began around a thousand years ago, but data from ZA1 indicates that it was already underway at least 500 years earlier.
The site is notable for more than just its food record. Unlike other sites in the region, ZA1 was a place with strong symbolic and ritual significance. During the early occupations, in addition to serving as a residential camp, it was used as a formal burial area. Archaeologists identified complex burials involving intentional manipulation of the bodies and preparation of burial packages, practices that until now were believed to be more recent.
The researchers propose that this ritual dimension may have been key to explaining why the site was occupied repeatedly over centuries. The connection with ancestors would have turned the place into a social “attractor,” encouraging longer stays and more intensive use of the resources available in the environment.
Taken together, the findings show that the lives of these ancient hunter-gatherers did not depend only on the availability of food. They were also deeply marked by symbolic, ritual, and social connections that influenced how they inhabited and exploited the landscape.