**3. Quartz crystals in Tierra del Fuego**

During its geological evolution, Tierra del Fuego experienced the necessary conditions for the development of quartz crystals: hydrothermal solutions loaded on silica

*Pleistocene Archaeology - Migration, Technology, and Adaptation*

because they have not been manufactured or used.

raw material have not yet been identified.

the Hain ceremony.

**2. Quartz as raw material**

from archaeological contexts.

the world.

the circulation of raw materials and ornaments (i.e., in [10, 36]). However, there are elements that we cannot explain from the point of view of circulation of raw materials, because they are really exceptional in archeological contexts and also

If we consider these elements as manuports, we can analyze the possibility of circulation as ornamental pieces loaded with symbolic value within social interaction networks. From this point of view, we present and discuss the case of a series of nine prismatic quartz crystals that were discovered in one of the sites. This is something really unusual for the archeological record of Tierra del Fuego. The technofunctional analysis revealed that they have neither been manufactured nor used. Their provenience source is far from the site, and the primary sources of this

Different scenarios can be proposed to explain their presence here; however, the most probable interpretation is that they have arrived as a "gift" between relatives in one of the social interaction networks. Because of their attractiveness, color, rarity, and difficulty to be found, they are likely to be included in exchange activities, reinforcing connections, like the Hain ceremony. Since the works of Marcel Mauss, especially the publication of the essay *The Gift* (i.e., in [37]), the concepts of "gift" and "counter-gift" start to be used to understand the economic logics in primitive societies. For Mauss, "gift" and "counter-gift" constitute the basis of reciprocity. They are not a simple exchange; they give prestige and importance to the donor. Then, Lévi-Strauss gives a clear dimension to reciprocity in relation to kinship relations and alliances. He considers that in primitive societies, the reason for gifts is to create alliances. In the type of exchange where there is a gift and a counter-gift, there is much more in the exchange than the exchanged objects themselves (i.e., in [38]). In this case, we understand as a gift the exchange of particular objects (with ornamental or symbolic value) that have as purpose to strengthen the relations between groups during and after aggregation events, as

We believe that the models extracted from ethnographic and ethnohistoric information, which we utilize to explain this perspective on strategies implemented by Fuegian hunter-gatherer societies, are an excellent starting point to approach the interpretation of different aspects of Paleolithic hunter-gatherer strategies. Consequently, it would be interesting to explore them in relation with different findings of quartz crystals in archeological contexts in other parts of

Quartz is a common raw material on earth that occurs in different states, such as milky quartz or as hyaline quartz (rock crystal). Due to this availability, it was a raw material highly used in prehistory, mainly milky quartz. This archeological abundance does not occur in the same way for hyaline quartz crystals; however, they have been used as raw materials for lithic assemblages in certain regions as central Brazil, South Africa, Russia, Greece, and Portugal (i.e., in Refs. [39–44]). On the other hand, this material has been interpreted with functions associated with the symbolic, votive aspect, as part of funeral garments, in megalithic constructions, or used by the shamans for their possible magical powers (i.e., e.g., [45–49]). There are ethnographic works that account for the use of quartz by shamans and their magical-symbolic function (i.e., [50–52]). However, as mentioned by Fenandez-Machena and Ollé (i.e., [53]), these attributions are difficult to prove with materials

**176**

and cavities in the rock, where these solutions decompress and deposit dissolved silica. Both during the Jurassic volcanism generated by the Fm Lemaire (which occupies the northern flank of the Sorondo mountain range, the Vinciguerra mountain range, the Valdivieso-Alvear mountain range, Montes Negros, etc. to States Island and to the west in Chile) and then during the regional metamorphism, these conditions could occur together with a moderate temperature of more than 200°C. The first case is more favorable than the second, because there was a higher temperature and wide availability of silica since it is an acid volcanism. Given the extent reached by the geological formations affected by these characteristics (i.e., in [58]), there may be outcrops of this raw material distributed in various parts of the island.

However, as mentioned above, its presence in archeological sites is very low. Therefore, it is interesting to mention the case of those we discovered the investigations in the central strip of Tierra del Fuego.
