Investigaciones arqueológicas en la casa del primer intendente de la localidad de Puan, provincia de Buenos Aires

Abstract

This work deals with the study of the material remains relevant to the home of the first mayor of the town of Puan. This residence was built at the end of the nine- teenth century and has the distinction of being located on the island of Puan, in the eponymous lagoon, at the western end of the Ventania's system, within the south- ern sector of the Area Ecotonal Húmedo Seca Pampeana. Currently the island is a natural and cultural reserve, but despite being protected introduces important con- sequences of human activities, product of its proximity to the current town of the capital city of the district. From 1987 to date, developed archaeological investiga- tions related to the pre-Hispanic occupation of the island, which determined the identification of four archaeological sites in different parts of the island and two concentrations of materials on the banks of the lagoon, whose age reaches approx- imately 3300 years A.P. On the other hand, in the Northwest corner of the island important evidence related to the institutional history of the town, are located goes into which one can mention the structures belonging to the house of Rómulo Fran- co, the first mayor of Puan. This construction was abandoned in the twentieth cen- tury, given the difficulties that presented the island to hold a still small population in extreme weather conditions, which has also led to vary its appearance, becoming a peninsula at certain moments in history. In the town there are oral stories about possible burial of weapons or other elements belonging to the time of Rómulo Franco, which adds a mystical value to the body of evidence from this period. Keywords: historical archaeology, Puan, XIX century, glass, crockery, metal.