Pastoral Bases

These are the largest sites in Block 2. They consist of pastoral facilities, associated residential structures and adjacent middens, and an artifact scatter extending along the margins of the grazing area. These sites are commonly found on a sloping area or a raised area along the margins of the pampa where the drainage is adequate. Animal control structures were frequent on these sites, with the majority of them taking the form of maintained or abandoned corrals of varying sizes. At the sites designated as "Pastoral Bases", corral structures were mapped and they range in area from 62 m2to 4,306 m2with a mean corral size of 671m2. Due to high rates of erosion, it was difficult to confirm from the soil consistency if it was largely dung soil inside of structures that appeared to be long-abandoned corrals. However, the raised area of these corrals are effectively low mounds that may be the result of accumulation of dung over long time periods, combined with some building up and filling in of the raised area to lift the corral areas off of the level of the pampa to improve drainage and avoid inundation during the wet season.