New data on the archaeology of the Haush, Tierra del Fuego - Persée

NEW DATA ON THE ARCHAEOLOGY

OF THE HAUSH : TIERRA DEL FUEGO

by Anne CHAPMAN1 and Thomas R. HESTER2

Introduction and ethnographic background

In 1964-65 Chapman began her work on the Great Island (Isla Grande), Tierra del Fuego, as a member of A. Laming-Emperaire's expedition. It was then that she met Lola Kiepja, the last Selk'nam (Ona) who had participated in the traditional culture. Lola died in 1966 3. Since then Chapman has continued field work with the last few Selk'nam and Haush, the majority of whom are mestizos.

At the beginning of White colonization с 1880, the Great Island was inhabited by the four known groups of Tierra del Fuego. The Selk'nam (Ona) occupied most of the island ; the Haush the south-eastern part, from Cabo San Pablo on the Atlantic coast to Bahia Slogget on the Pacific (Fig. 1) ; the Yámana (Yahgan) the southern shore along Beagle Channel to Brecknock Peninsula ; the Alakaluf the western coast, from Bahia Almiratasco to Bahia Inutil.

As part of her research Chapman made two expeditions into the Haush area. In December 1969 she traveled by horseback from Caleta Irigoyen to Bahia Thetis and back. This expedition lasted for two weeks. In February, 1970, she went down the same section of the coast again and remained for two weeks exploring and excavating in the region of Caleta Falsa. Subsequently, she and two guides hiked for ten days around the far tip of the island, most of which is now uninhabited, to Puerto Rancho in former Yámana territory (Fig. 1). During these trips she found and recorded a number of archaeological sites, obtained surface collections and excavated three burials at Caleta Falsa (Fig. 1). Given the difficulty of transportation and the short time at her disposal, only a few bags of lithic material could be brought back and the site data lack detail. Some of this material is described and analyzed in this paper by Hester. This information, scant as it is, is the first archaeological report on the Haush area.

1 . Chargée de Recherche au Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris. 2. Assistant Professor of Anthropology The University of Texas at San Antonio. 3. Cf. Chapman, 1970. • . ;