Engineering the perfect hunt
On the windswept basaltic plateaus of Santa Cruz province, hundreds of low, semi-circular stone walls dot the landscape. These structures, known locally as parapetos, are the primary archaeological evidence of a sophisticated, communal hunting system developed by the ancestors of the Tehuelche people. For at least 4,500 years, and likely longer, these hunter-gatherers engineered the terrain to funnel and ambush their primary prey: the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), a wild camelid native to South America. The guanaco provided meat for sustenance, bones for tools, and thick hides for clothing and shelters, called toldos.
The hunt was a collaborative effort. Groups of hunters used the parapetos as blinds, waiting as other members of the community drove herds of guanaco into carefully chosen positions. These drive lanes, often using natural topography, directed the fast-moving animals towards the hidden hunters. As the guanacos came within range, the hunters would rise and deploy their primary weapon: the boleadoras, or bolas. This hunting tool consists of two or three stone weights, meticulously shaped and connected by leather cords. When thrown, the bolas would wrap around the legs of a guanaco, entangling and tripping the animal without piercing its valuable hide. Archaeological sites associated with these blinds contain the bolas themselves, but also thousands of lithic flakes from the production and maintenance of stone tools used for butchering.
A record in stone and story
The origins of these pedestrian hunting techniques stretch deep into the Holocene. Radiocarbon dating of materials found within the hunting blinds places their construction and use firmly in the Late Holocene, around 2,500 years ago, though the tradition is much older. The parapetos are often clustered in strategic locations on plateaus above 700 meters, overlooking areas frequented by guanaco herds. More than 500 such structures have been recorded in the central-western part of Santa Cruz alone.
This archaeological evidence is complemented by ethnographic accounts from the 19th century. Travelers and explorers documented the Tehuelche way of life before it was irrevocably altered. The introduction of the horse around 1725 dramatically changed hunting dynamics, shifting from pedestrian ambush to mounted pursuit. This equestrian phase was relatively short-lived. By the late 1880s, the expansion of sheep ranching fenced off traditional hunting grounds, disrupting both the guanaco populations and the Tehuelche's nomadic lifestyle. Disease and conflict further decimated the population, leading to the near-total collapse of this ancient subsistence system. Today, the stone parapetos are the most enduring physical record of a hunting culture that sustained human life in Patagonia for millennia.