Obituary: Maria Estela Mansur

January 6th 1954 – February 5th 2022

“Researcher at CONICET- CADIC (Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego) and Professor at the National University of Tierra del Fuego (Ushuaia), Maria Estela Mansur was part of the first generation of western traceologists to establish the fundamentals of the discipline. Working in Patagonia, she quickly called upon ethnographic and historical data to enrich her interpretations. Researcher at CONICET in Ushuaia (Argentina), she created and directed a research group on techniques and functional analysis where she trained many of the researchers of the discipline in Latin America. Her work focused on prehistoric hunter-gatherers in Southern Patagonia has led to many fruitful collaborations in Europe, particularly with France and Spain. Estella left us on February 5th, 2022, she always kept her optimism and unyielding enthusiasm. Many of us have very fond memories of her“.

Written by Sylvie Beyries & Annelou van Gijn