Q2. What could be the reason for the differential treatment performed on these individuals when they died?
The differential treatment performed on these individuals when they died could be a sign of asymmetrical social relationships in which only some members of the society had preferential access to certain exchange goods.
Q3. What are the common types of ornaments found in the Andes?
They are mainly ornaments often found in funerary contexts, which have been interpreted as prestige goods (Taboada, 2014), many of them as symbols of power and social status, which were possibly special gifts from the Incas to local Santiago del Estero populations as part of alliances or in exchange for some services.
Q4. What was the main reason for the Guaran to travel to the west?
Even the search for metals without intermediaries and the direct theft from mining settlements were powerful incentives for the repeated population movements towards the west made by the Paraguay river Guaraní (named Itatines; Combès, 2015).
Q5. What were the objectives of these studies?
The objectives of these studies were to determine the chemical composition of the objects and the existence of any sort of alloy, as well as to obtain information about the metallurgical manufacturing techniques.
Q6. What did Francisco Ribera learn about the trade circuit?
He was informed there about the interethnic trade circuit that metal objects followed: they got the gold and silver from ‘‘the Payzunos, who are three days away from their land, they give them in trade for bows and arrows and slaves that they take from other nations, and the Payzunos obtain them from the Chanés and Chimenos and Carcaraes and Candires, who are other Indian people, who have lots of them.
Q7. What are the contaminant elements that have been formed on the surface of the metal?
Beneath these layers made by salts, continuous reddish surfaces have been generated, which constitute passivation patinas formed by the oxidation of Cu.
Q8. How long have metal objects been transported?
They have been transported for millennia for very long distances, from the sources and metal production workshops to the places of use, as observed in the southern South American Andes (e.g., González, 1992; González et al., 2011).
Q9. What is the main route of metal ornaments and other products to the Paraná Delta?
According to early chronicles, one of the main indigenous routes through which metal ornaments and other products reached the Chaná-timbú people in the Paraná River was following the course of one of its tributaries, the Carcarañá River.
Q10. What did the cultural developments in the NWA have on the Paraná Delta?
The cultural developments in the NWA did not have a direct impact on the Paraná Delta, although they possibly did affect a greater circulation of goods to remote areas.
Q11. What are the only archaeological sites in Argentina that are not included in this paper?
They are only limited to indigenous settlements from the initial period of the Hispanic contact (Las Conchas site, Serrano, 1934 and possibly Arroyo Fredes site, Loponte et al., 2011) and settlements of European origin, which are not included in this paper, such as Santa Fe la Vieja city founded in 1573 (e.g. Fester and Retamar, 1955) and the Franciscan missions of Santiago del Baradero founded in 1615 (Debenedetti, 1910; Tapia et al., 2009).
Q12. What is the morphology of the matrix with annealing twins?
In Fig. 6c and d the matrix with annealing twins was observed over a previous inter-dendritic phase, which is characteristic of molten material prior to this hot forming.
Q13. What is the manufacture hypothesis of the rectangular pendant?
the manufacture hypothesis is that this piece was made by casting in an open mould or bivalve whose interior had the shape of the pendant and contained some sort of implement with an oval section that could craft the holes.
Q14. What is the significance of the first European observations of the local indigenous people?
the first European observations of the local indigenous people can be very useful for understanding how the metals came to the Paraná River.