Living in the cold: Geoarchaeology of sealing sites from Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, Antarctica)

Abstract

Few geoarchaeological studies have been conducted in the Antarctic continent. This paper contains the first results of the geoarchaeological research done in two sealing sites dated from the 19th century, located in Byers Peninsula, South Shetland Islands (Antarctica). The research is part of a wider international project that aims at understanding the daily practices of the first anonymous occupants of Antarctica, and the insertion of the continent into the world system. The geoarchaeological study focuses on site formation analyses to provide new data on site function, use of local resources, length of occupation and taphonomy. With this approach, data not attainable through artefact or documentary analyses is provided. The studied sites are Sealer 3 and Sealer 4, two sealing shelters built with piled up boulders on rocky outcrops on the south Beaches of Livingston Island. Two major precincts and annexes were studied by means of multi-element chemical analyses, micromorphology and organic petrology. Although local lithology and cryogenic processes are dominant in the chemical and micromorphological records, respectively, important distinctions could be made, especially on the behavior associated with pyrotechnology and the use of local resources for survival. The effects of humans on the sediments are expressed by higher P2O5, CaO and total C concentrations. This is related with the use of seal bones, fat and herbaceous tissue as fuel for the hearths. Shelters with more intense occupation could be differentiated from single-activity sites. Differences are attributed to habitation shelters vs. working spaces for fat processing.