The main goal of this paper is to carry out a microscopic-based functional analysis in order to contribute to the understanding of the lithic technology of the hunter-gatherer groups that inhabited the Pampean region during the Early and Middle Holocene. To that end, the case of the Paso Otero 4 site is used. This site is located in the middle basin of the Quequén Grande River (Buenos Aires Province) and human occupation there ranged from between ca. 8900 and 4600 years BP. Through the study of the production and use of lithic artifacts, a better understanding of the functionality of the site was achieved. Results allowed to determine that general activities related to the processing of animal and plant resources were performed in the Paso Otero 4 site. Finally, the results were compared with the functional anlyses carried out at Paso Otero 3 site (ca. 4800-3000 BP), and the temporal trends in production and use practices for the period ca. 8900-3000 years BP were analyzed. The comparison of these contexts allowed to identify the production of the same activities (e.g., skin scraping, bone cutting, wood scraping/roughing) during that period, although dissimilar frequencies in the productive processes and edge use through time were detected. These differences are interpreted as a result of the organization of productive activities within the social context of hunter-gatherer groups.

This paper presents the techno-typological analysis carried out on the projectile points of Boyo Paso 2 (1500-750 year BP, Sierras of Córdoba, Argentina), in order to assess how the dynamic of the late prehispanic sociocultural process influenced the design of hunting weapons. Projectile points were described in techno-typological terms, classified in typological subgroups and functionally assigned to arrow or dart point. The subgroup of tiny arrowpoints with short triangular-shaped blade, con- tracted stems and barbed shoulders dominates the assemblage. All of them were made of opal and chalcedony, a high quality rock for tool knapping. Moreover, a subgroup of quartz unstemmed with a triangular-shaped blade and concave base dar- tpoints as well as another subgroup of bone arrowpoints with triangular-shaped blade, straight stems and barbed shoulders were also recognized. The diversity of projectile point-types and hafting methods identified in Boyo Paso 2, along with the extensive use of the bow, the selection of high-quality lithic raw material and the incorporation of bone-tipped projectiles, led to interpret that hunting was not a complementary subsistence activity. Instead, it was integrated in a mixed foraging and cultivation economy where flexibility was one of its defining traits.