Artefactos en piedras bezoares y su rol simbólico en el Período Prehispánico Tardío (Sierras de Córdoba, Argentina)

We present the results of research on two artifacts made from bezoar stones in the southern Punilla Valley (Sierras de Córdoba, Argentina). Although the tools were non-systematically collected from sites assignable to the Late Pre-Hispanic Period (~1220-330 cal. BP), valuable data may be obtained from these objects at broad temporal and spatial scales, mainly because such elements are strongly connected with symbolic aspects of past societies, whose recovery is exceptional in modern excavations. The tools were studied using a techno-morphological approach, using bibliographical sources to explore the practices in which they were probably used. One of the tools was made from a spherical bezoar with a groove around the circumference of the piece, possibly used to secure its attachment to a necklace, a piece of clothing, or other type of composite artifact. The second piece is a fragment of a bezoar stone decorated with long and deep linear incisions, flat in transversal section, and fanning out from a focal point. This piece exhibits traces of red paint. The artifact likely mimics the shape of mollusks associated with the Andean ceremonial world. We propose that the bezoar stones analyzed here are gastroliths produced by cervids and/or camelids, which would have been transformed into artifacts to increase their symbolic relevance and for use in ritual or magic-therapeutic practices.