Sea Nomads of the Beagle Channel in Southernmost South America: Over Six Thousand Years of Coastal Adaptation and Stability

At the southern tip of South America, the archaeology of the Beagle Channel-Cape Horn region documents a clear specialization on the exploitation of littoral and nearshore resources that began at least 6400 years ago. The use of marine resources varied through space and time, but the main staple was pinnipeds. To regularly obtain these marine mammals it was essential to use canoes and harpoons with detachable points. This paper explores two aspects of this interesting maritime sociocultural system: its success, which occurred despite its simple social and technological organization; and its stability, which spanned over six millennia up to the nineteenth century AD.