VI. PECULIAR STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE 



COAST 



By Ale§ Hrdlicka 



Historical Account 



THE "split-stone" INDUSTRY 



During 1908, while studying the sedimentary formations of the 

 coast of the Province of Buenos Aires, Professor Ameghino discovered 

 certain pecuhar stone implements, which he regarded as of a hitherto 

 unknown type; their seemingly primitive form and especially their 

 apparent association with earlier geologic deposits led him to the 

 conclusion that they are the work of a geologically ancient man of 

 this region, assigned by him to the Pliocene. 



The first report of this discovery made by Ameghino appeared in 

 1909.' Referring to Punta Porvenir, a point on the coast a few 

 miles south of Mar del Plata, he says: 



"This locality, the mammal fauna of which indicates the upper 

 part of the Ensenadean or the lowest portion of the Bonaerean 

 formation, is of special importance, on account of the quantity of 

 fossil bones contained in the less compact superficial sand, and 

 because of the proof that this accumulation of bones is due to the 

 man of those times. . . . 



"This tongue of land was at that epoch a seashore site (paradero) 

 of man. I collected there the carapace of a Sclerocalyptus pseudor- 

 natus, which was found standing vertical, resting on the caudal end, 

 with the dorsal aspect toward the sea and the ventral concavity 

 toward the west, looking as if it had been made to serve as a shelter 

 against the sea winds. The interior of this carapace contained no 

 skeletal parts of the animal, but there were bones of small ruminants, 

 parted longitudinally, and other extraneous remains, while the border 

 of the posterior aperture of the carapace, on which it rested, shows 

 artificial cuts. About the carapace, to a rather considerable dis- 

 tance, were found artificially split bones of mammals, burned bones, 

 marine shells which appeared to have been subjected to the action 

 of fire, and very crude stone implements of an unknown type." 



1 Ameghino, F., Las formaciones sedimentarias de la regi6n literal de Mar del Plata y Chapalmaldn; 

 in Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires, xva (ser. iii, t. x), 1909, pp. 343-428. 



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