In this paper, several lines of evidence (geology, paleoenvironment, lithic and faunal analysis, among others) from the Calera site (Sierras Bayas, pampean region, Argentina) are summarized and discussed. The cultural deposit seems to be a ritual site, formed by the occurrence of several ceremonies during the late Holocene. In the Calera site, four cubetas (pits) were intentionally excavated, between ca. 3400 and 1750 years BP, and filled with a great amount and variety of archaeological materials as well as alochtonous sediments. Among the recovered materials, there were more than 6000 of lithic artefacts, 310 pottery sherds (some of them with antropomorphic motifs), 1760 pieces of mineral pigments, 4 marine molluscs, a shell bead, a granite axe, several instrument made of bone and deer antler, and a phallic statuette. A yet undetermined number (several thousands) of faunal remains were from 16 different mammal species (guanaco, pampean deer, carnivores, mesomammals, micromammals, among others), 6 avian species, 3 fishes and probably reptiles. The exceptional features of the site allow the study of social and ideational aspects of the pampean hunter-gatherers and discussion of the archaeological signatures of the site in terms of non-hierarchical societies. / En este trabajo se discuten y resumen las evidencias obtenidas como resultado de estudios multidisciplinarios —geológicos, paleoambientales, líticos, arqueofaunísticos y tafonómicos, entre otros— del sitio Calera, ubicado en las Sierras Bayas, región pampeana, Argentina. Este sitio se presenta como un depósito excepcional de origen ritual producido probablemente como consecuencia de varias ceremonias realizadas en las inmediaciones. En este lugar se registraron cuatro cubetas excavadas intencionalmente, fechadas entre c. 3400 y 1750 a.p., que fueron rellenadas con materiales arqueológicos y sedimentos alóctonos. Entre los materiales se destacan más de 6000 artefactos líticos de diferentes materias primas locales y no locales, aproximadamente 400 instrumentos líticos, 310 tiestos de alfarería (algunos con motivos figurativos antropomorfos), 1760 restos de pigmentos minerales, cuatro moluscos marinos, una hacha de granito, una cuenta de valva, una estatuilla cilíndrica decorada de forma fálica y varios instrumentos sobre hueso y astas. También se registró un número aún indeterminado (varios miles) de restos óseos de 16 especies de mamíferos —entre ellos guanaco, venado, carnívoros, mesomamíferos y micromamíferos—, seis aves, tres peces y, posiblemente, reptiles. Las características excepcionales del sitio permiten abordar aspectos ideacionales y sociales de los cazadores recolectores pampeanos y discutir la visibilidad arqueológica de los sitios de encuentro.

Dans la région pampéenne, les politiques néolibérales et le développement rapide d’une agriculture de firme laissent supposer que les agriculteurs de type « familial » sont menacés du fait des nombreuses incertitudes qui pèsent sur l’avenir. Cette thèse montre au contraire en quoi ces « situations d’imprévisibilité » conduisent ces acteurs à s’interroger sur leurs compétences, à rechercher pour les activer différentes ressources construites dans l’expérience sociale ou professionnelle, pour réagir, s’adapter, résister… autant de postures d’actions décisives pour définir de nouvelles pratiques, bifurquer vers de nouvelles professions ou imaginer de nouvelles formes de penser et de pratiquer l’agriculture. A partir d’une analyse sociologique des trajectoires et des bifurcations vécues et relatées par différents producteurs d’un même territoire rural (Balcarce), cette recherche permet : 1. de reconstruire des trajectoires professionnelles qui illustrent les transformations récentes de l’agriculture pampéenne et les processus d’émergence des nouvelles identités professionnelles qui coexistent aujourd’hui dans les territoires ruraux ; 2. de mettre en lumière les stratégies ou modalités par lesquelles des acteurs construisent leurs décisions et actions pour répondre à un projet et 3. d’interroger la pertinence du concept d’adaptation que ce soit pour analyser les changements vécus par des agriculteurs ou pour penser de futurs dispositifs pour les accompagner dans leurs projets. / In the Pampa neoliberal policies and the rapid development of « firm agriculture » suggest that family-type farmers are threatened due to the many uncertainties about the future. On the contrary the present thesis shows how this unpredictability leads these actors to draw on their experience in order to develop new practices and branch out into new occupations. The point is whether this reflexive capacity can be interpreted as a form of resistance, adaptation or empowerment. This thesis aims to provide a sociological analysis of the life trajectories and bifurcations as experienced and related in life narratives by different producers of the same rural area (Balcarce). The purpose is: 1. to reconstruct professional trajectories illustrating the recent transformations of Pampean agriculture as well as the emerging processes of the new occupational identities which coexist today in the rural areas ; 2. to highlight the strategies or modalities through which actors construct their decisions and actions and 3. to question the relevance of the notion of adaptation as a way to analyse the changes as experienced by the farmers or develop new schemes to support them in their projects.

The fault-bounded Cianzo basin represents a Cenozoic intermontane depocenter between the Puna plateau and Eastern Cordillera of the central Andean fold-thrust belt in northern Argentina. New characterizations of fold-thrust structure, nonmarine sedimentation, and sediment provenance for the shortening-induced Cianzo basin at 23°S help constrain the origin, interconnectedness, and subsequent uplift and exhumation of the basin, which may serve as an analogue for other intermontane hinterland basins in the Andes. Structural mapping of the Cianzo basin reveals SW and NE-plunging synclines within the >6000 m-thick, upsection coarsening Cenozoic clastic succession in the shared footwall of the N-striking, E-directed Cianzo thrust fault and transverse, NE-striking Hornocal fault. Growth stratal relationships within upper Miocene levels of the succession indicate syncontractional sedimentation directly adjacent to the Hornocal fault. Measured stratigraphic sections and clastic sedimentary lithofacies of Cenozoic basin-fill deposits show upsection changes from (1) a distal fluvial system recorded by vi fine-grained, paleosol-rich, heavily bioturbated sandstones and mudstones (Paleocene‒Eocene Santa Bárbara Subgroup, ~400 m), to (2) a braided fluvial system represented by cross-stratified sandstones and interbedded mudstones with 0.3 to 8 m upsection-fining sequences (Upper Eocene–Oligocene Casa Grande Formation, ~1400 m), to (3) a distributary fluvial system in the distal sectors of a distributary fluvial megafan represented by structureless sheetflood sandstones, stratified pebble conglomerates and sandstones, and interbedded overbank mudstones (Miocene Río Grande Formation, ~3300 m), to (4) a proximal alluvial fan system with thick conglomerates interbedded with thin discontinuous sandstone lenses (upper Miocene Pisungo Formation, ~1600 m). New 40Ar/39Ar geochronological results for five interbedded volcanic tuffs indicate distributary fluvial deposition of the uppermost Río Grande Formation from 16.31 ± 0.6 Ma to 9.69 ± 0.05 Ma. Sandstone petrographic results show distinct upsection trends in lithic and feldspar content in the Casa Grande, Río Grande, and Pisungo formations, potentially distinguishing western magmatic arc (Western Cordillera) sediment sources from evolving eastern thrust-belt sources (Puna‒Eastern Cordillera). In addition to growth stratal relationships and 40Ar/39Ar constraints, conglomerate clast compositions reflect distinct lithologic differences, constraining the activation of the Cianzo thrust and coeval movement on the reactivated Hornocal fault. Finally, U-Pb geochronological analyses of sandstone detrital zircon populations in conjunction with paleocurrent data and depositional facies patterns help distinguish localized sources from more distal sources west of the basin, revealing a systematic eastward advance of Eocene to Miocene fold-thrust deformation in the central Andes of northern Argentina. / text