Dates As Data

Radiocarbon date frequency distributions and archaeological site counts are two popular proxies used to investigate prehistoric demography, following the assumption that variations in these data reflect fluctuations in the relative size and distribution of past populations. However, the two approaches are rarely applied to the same data-set and their applicability is heavily conditioned by the archaeological record in question, particularly research histories, agendas, and funding availability. In this paper we use both types of data to examine the population history of the Upper Palaeolithic hunteregatherers (~40 000e12 000 cal BP) of Southwestern France, comparing the demographic signatures generated. Both proxies produce similar signatures across the Upper Palaeolithic sequence of the region, strengthening the interpretation of relative demographic changes as the cause of the pattern. In particular, a marked population decline is seen in both datasets during the Late Gravettian (~28 000 cal BP), as well as a population increase in the Late Solutrean (~25 000 cal BP) supporting the notion that the region acted as a population refugium during the Last Glacial Maximum. Where the two proxies diverge in the demographic signatures they produce, the radiocarbon date distribution shows peaks compared to troughs in site counts; the opposite pattern expected given taphonomic issues surrounding cultural carbon. Despite differences in chronological resolution and sampling bias, our data suggest that the two proxies can be considered broadly equivalent; a finding which warrants the investigation of prehistoric demography in regions where either extensive survey data or radiometric dating programmes are unavailable. While some preliminary observations are made, the impact of changing mobility on diachronic patterns seen in both proxies remains, however, difficult to assess.

Were last glacial climate events simultaneous between Greenland and western Europe? M. Blaauw, B. Wohlfarth, J. A. Christen, L. Ampel, D. Veres, K. A. Hughen, F. Preusser, and A. Svensson School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, UK Department of Geology and Geochemistry, Stockholm University, Sweden Centro de Investigación en Matemáticas CIMAT, Guanajuato, Mexico Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Sweden Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA, USA Institute for Geology, Bern University, Switzerland Ice and Climate Research, Niels Bohr Institute, Univ. of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark now at: “Emil Racovita” Institute of Speleology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Received: 27 August 2008 – Accepted: 8 September 2008 – Published: 21 October 2008 Correspondence to: M. Blaauw (maarten.blaauw@qub.ac.uk) Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union.

Were last glacial climate events simultaneous between Greenland and western Europe? M. Blaauw, B. Wohlfarth, J. A. Christen, L. Ampel, D. Veres, K. A. Hughen, F. Preusser, and A. Svensson School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, UK Department of Geology and Geochemistry, Stockholm University, Sweden Centro de Investigación en Matemáticas CIMAT, Guanajuato, Mexico Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Sweden Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA, USA Institute for Geology, Bern University, Switzerland Ice and Climate Research, Niels Bohr Institute, Univ. of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark now at: “Emil Racovita” Institute of Speleology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Received: 27 August 2008 – Accepted: 8 September 2008 – Published: 21 October 2008 Correspondence to: M. Blaauw (maarten.blaauw@qub.ac.uk) Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union.

In 2013 archaeological radiocarbon databases covering 13,000–7000 14C BP for nine countries in South America, including Peru, were published in a special issue of Quaternary International. The past decade has seen new field research and radiocarbon ages contributed to the Peruvian archaeological record, two updates to the southern hemisphere calibration curve, and research papers drawing from South American radiocarbon databases to explore region- and continent-scale patterns of human-environment interaction, settlement dynamics, and paleodemography.

This paper provides an update to the Peruvian archaeological radiocarbon database for the Late Pleistocene to early Middle Holocene. The new database (version 2) includes 493 radiocarbon dates spanning 20,000 to 7000 14C BP. No radiocarbon dates >13,000 14C BP meet basic archaeological criteria. First, I review the structure of Peru’s early archaeological radiocarbon record and highlight several research and landscape taphonomic biases. Second, I examine distributions of archaeological sites through time, beginning with basic site and date frequencies and progressing to Bayesian analysis of aggregated radiocarbon dates. Third, applying established criteria for well-dated archaeological events, I identify some unresolved problems in early Peruvian radiocarbon
chronologies, with the goal of outlining priorities for future archaeological and chronometric research.

La realización de una datación por radiocarbono de material proveniente del sitio La Fundición (29° S) ha permitido reconocer una ocupación humana del Holoceno Medio. En este trabajo, junto con presentar la fecha obtenida, discutimos las implicancias interpretativas y metodológicas de este resultado. En términos interpretativos, exploramos cómo la datación obtenida se inserta dentro de la actual discusión sobre uso del espacio y cronología durante el Holoceno Medio en los Andes del Sur. En términos metodológicos, reflexionamos sobre la relevancia de obtener un conjunto de dataciones radiocarbónicas en sitios de cazadores-recolectores al aire libre en el Norte Semiárido de Chile. Considerando este nuevo antecedente cronológico, La Fundición se incorpora a una serie de asentamientos con reocupaciones recurrentes de cazadores recolectores en el NSA a lo largo del Holoceno.

In this paper, we present recent data on Early Holocene human occupations from Taltal, in the coast of the Atacama Desert. We focus on evidences of mobility and subsistence economy, discussing the data in terms of a concept of territoriality adapted from cultural geographers working with hunting-gathering societies. We attempt to show that the Huentelauqu en Cultural Complex, usually considered the earliest evidence of human occupation in the coast of northern Chile, exhibits an already consolidated territorialisation process. We question whether it represents the earliest phases of the peopling process or if such evidence are still lacking at a regional level. We try to go beyond the characterization of Huentelauqu en Cultural Complex as an early maritime adaptation, understanding it as the earliest socioterritorial identity known to date for the Arid Coast of northern Chile.

Monte Verde II in southern Chile is one of the most important, and debated, sites for understanding of the early peopling of the Americas. The authors present 43 radiocarbon measurements based on cores of sediments that overlie the archaeological deposits adjacent to the site. Statistical analysis of these dates narrows the deposition of the earliest sediments sealing the occupational layer to c. 14 550 cal BP. The consistency between the dates of the site's archaeological strata and its adjacent deposits allows not only consolidation of the site's chronology, but also illustration of how a multi-pronged approach can inform debates surrounding the peopling of new lands—in the Americas or elsewhere.

Monte Verde II in southern Chile is one of the most
important, and debated, sites for understanding of
the early peopling of the Americas. The authors present
43 radiocarbon measurements based on cores of
sediments that overlie the archaeological deposits
adjacent to the site. Statistical analysis of these dates
narrows the deposition of the earliest sediments sealing
the occupational layer to c. 14 550 cal BP. The
consistency between the dates of the site’s archaeological
strata and its adjacent deposits allows not
only consolidation of the site’s chronology, but also
illustration of how a multi-pronged approach can
inform debates surrounding the peopling of new
lands—in the Americas or elsewhere.

With generous support from the National Science Foundation, we have spent the past four years developing an archaeological radiocarbon database for the United States. Here, we highlight the importance of spatial data for open-access, national-scale archaeological databases and the development of paleodemography research. We propose a new method for analyzing radiocarbon time series in the context of paleoclimate models. This method forces us to confront one of the central challenges to realizing the full potential of national-scale databases: the quality of the spatial data accompanying radiocarbon dates. We seek to open a national discussion on the use of spatial data in open-source archaeological databases.

In this paper, we present recent data on Early Holocene human occupations from Taltal, in the coast of the Atacama Desert. We focus on evidences of mobility and subsistence economy, discussing the data in terms of a concept of territoriality adapted from cultural geographers working with hunting-gathering societies. We attempt to show that the Huentelauqu en Cultural Complex, usually considered the earliest evidence of human occupation in the coast of northern Chile, exhibits an already consolidated territorialisation process. We question whether it represents the earliest phases of the peopling process or if such evidence are still lacking at a regional level. We try to go beyond the characterization of Huentelauqu en Cultural Complex as an early maritime adaptation, understanding it as the earliest socioterritorial identity known to date for the Arid Coast of northern Chile.

Site GNL Quintero 1 (GNLQ1), located in Quintero Bay (32 S, Central Chile) constitutes the first evidence of a drowned terrestrial site on the continental West Coast of South America covered by sea-level rise after the Last Glacial Maximum. The site currently lies 650 m offshore and 13 m underwater, covers an area of w64 m 2 and contains several discrete exposed and shallow-buried bone deposits. Through underwater archaeology survey and test excavations, a significant amount of animal bone assigned to the Late Pleistocene was successfully recovered and analyzed. After recovery and prior to the analyses, the bones were subjected to conservation and stabilization treatments, resulting in good preservation of the material. Taxonomic analyses (NISP 224) revealed high taxonomic diversity of extinct fauna (Camelidae, Cervidae, Artiodactyla, Equidae, Mylodontidae, Canidae, Rodentia and Xenarthra). The sample represents a continental faunal assemblage belonging to a drowned terrestrial context, probably related to an estuarine-lagoon environment. Taphonomic analysis allowed macroscopic identification of natural marks (punctures) associated with large and small size carnivores. The bones also show abrasion related to the action of marine sands along with colour alterations. By applying Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrographs and Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) to fossil bones, marks and colour alterations were identified. Marks indicated rodent gnawing and trampling, while colour alterations were attributed to diagenesis processes, discarding thermal treatment. Site GNLQ1 is identified as having very high potential, for it provides the first evidence for a submerged palaeolandscape viable for human occupation and movement along the Pacific Coast of South America during the Late Pleistocene.

Sudamérica cuenta con evidencias de ocupación humana desde los 14.600 años calibrados a.p. (14,6 ka). Sin embargo, en el desierto de Atacama existe una notoria ausencia de ocupaciones pre-11,5 ka entre las latitudes 17° a 21° S (Atacama Norte). Esto debido, en parte, a que se ha desestimado como territorio atractivo para poblaciones de la transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno, dadas sus condiciones actuales de extrema aridez. Sobre la base de ciertos datos paleoecológicos generales, que sugerían condiciones de mayor disponibilidad de agua en la vertiente occidental de los Andes desde los 17 a 9,5 ka, se realizaron búsquedas sistemáticas de paleomadrigueras de roedores y paleohumedales en ambientes de precordillera y quebradas (1.000 a 3.000 msm). Esto permitió identificar hábitat específicos que presentaran condiciones favorables para el asentamiento humano temprano y de esta manera buscar sitios arqueológicos en forma dirigida. El modelo metodológico interdisciplinario de carácter predictivo, que se resume en este artículo, permitió identificar un conjunto de sitios entre los que destaca Quebrada Maní 12, donde se constataron las primeras evidencias de ocupaciones pleistocénicas tardías (~11,9 a 12,7 ka) en el desierto de Atacama Norte. Palabras claves: transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno, poblamientos tempranos, paleoambiente, Desierto de Atacama. In South America, evidence of human occupation dates back to 14,600 calibrated years BP (14.6 ka). Yet, important areas such as the Atacama Desert, between latitude 17° to 21° S (northern Atacama), lack occupations older than 11,5 ka. Current hyperarid conditions in the Atacama have dissuaded many researchers from considering this region as a possible territory for Pleistocene-Holocene peoples. Paleoecological data, however, have suggested increased availability of water along the western slope of the Andes from 17.5-9.5 ka. Thus, we systematically searched for rodent middens and paleowetlands in the large canyons of the Andean Precordillera as well as the interfluves (1,000-3,000 masl). As a result, we identified specific habitats favorable for early human settling. This interdisciplinary and predictive methodological model, summarized in this paper, allowed us to identify several sites. Among these, Quebrada Maní 12 is the first Pleistocene-Holocene human occupation (~11.9 a 12.7 ka) known from the northern Atacama.

The logic of using summed radiocarbon (14 C) calibrations (cumulative probability density functions for large numbers of calibrated 14 C dates) as proxies for past populations rests on the presumption of a proportional relationship between population size and the production, and subsequent preservation, recovery, and analysis, of 14 C-datable material. Critiques of this approach have generally focused on the various problems that may undermine the validity of this assumption. Here, instead, we presume a perfect correspondence between population size and the quantity of datable material produced at any given time, and explore the question of how well summed 14 C calibrations can track demographic changes under such ideal circumstances. We introduce a method of generating a random sample of simulated 14 C determinations, from a specified distribution, with variable data densities and measurement errors. In other words, we generate a random sample of 14 C dates not from an ideal statistical distribution but rather using a defined population curve to determine the probability distribution from which the calendar dates of the simulated 14 C samples are drawn. We generate simulated 14 C ages for these samples, calibrate them, and sum those calibrations. We compare the resulting proxy population curve to the known population distribution from which it was generated, to see whether known population fluctuations are unambiguously visible on a proxy curve derived from 14 C data sets that are realistic in terms of the number and precision of the 14 C determinations included. Results highlight 1) the critical role played by the magnitude and duration of any population fluctuation, and 2) the importance of sample size, and the reality that the numbers of samples required to detect significant population changes are generally far higher than those available to researchers proposing demographic reconstructions on the basis of literature searches for radiocarbon dates. We conclude that even if archaeological 14 C data sets could be corrected for taphonomic filters and research biases, demographic signals would be difficult to distinguish from statistical noise in summed probability distributions. We suggest that simulation studies should be integral components of any attempt to reconstruct prehistoric demography from 14 C dates.

Successive generations of hunter–gatherers of the Late Glacial and Early Holocene in Iberia had to contend with rapidly changing environments and climatic conditions. This constrained their economic resources and capacity for demographic growth. The Atlantic façade of Iberia was occupied throughout these times and witnessed very significant environmental transformations. Archaeology offers a perspective on how past human population ecologies changed in response to this scenario. Archaeological radiocarbon data are used here to reconstruct demographics of the region over the long term. We introduce various quantitative methods that allow us to develop palaeodemographic and spatio-temporal models of population growth and density, and compare our results to independent records of palaeoenvironmental and palaeodietary change, and growth rates derived from skeletal data. Our results demonstrate that late glacial population growth was stifled by the Younger Dryas stadial, but populations ...

Central Western Patagonia (CWP) is a key area for assessing long-distance procurement of high-quality obsidians throughout the Holocene given that almost all relevant types represented in the archaeological record are exotic to this region. By using surface and stratigraphic obsidian artifacts from archaeological sites compared to standards from known sources in Patagonia, this paper discusses the spatial and temporal distribution of this lithic material. Sampling was oriented to assemblages from deposits with radiocarbon-based time frames (10,700 À 300 cal BP). This paper presents geochemical (ICP-MS) analyses of 178 samples from 58 archaeological sites at 11 surveyed areas located along the Pacific coast, the Andean forest, and eastern steppe. Out of six potential sources, the Chait en Volcano source (Los Lagos Region, Chile) dominates exclusively the occurrence of obsidians along the coastal fringe, while the Pampa del Asador source (PDA, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina) largely dominates (86% of samples) obsidian in the eastern steppe and the forest/steppe ecotone. This broad distribution is explained by the presence of the densely forested Andean mountain range acting as a biogeographical barrier. East of the Andes, we recorded an absolute dominance of PDA south of 45 30 0 S, while more variability prevailed north of this point. The highest diversity of obsidians was recorded in the Cisnes River valley, probably because it is located closer to other alternative northern sources (Telsen/Sierra Negra, Sacanana and Angostura Blanca, all in Chubut Province, Argentina) and because it also hosts a local low-quality obsidian type. Based on this distribution, we discuss obsidian procurement behaviors by considering obsidian frequency and tool/debitage-class representation with increasing distance. We use the analysis of fall-off curves based on the distance of studied locations from the sources and include the use of leastcost paths for providing the most likely procurement routes. No obsidian diversification was recorded during the Holocene, hence the main driver for its procurement seems to be the distance from the source rather than the antiquity of its knowledge. Alternative procurement behaviors are discussed, specifically direct acquisition, exchange, and/or sporadic visits as mechanisms for explaining the archaeological patterns throughout the Holocene.

Sites with terminal-Pleistocene/early-Holocene occupations are infrequent in central Patagonia. This rarity is particularly significant near the Andean mountain range, where, at this writing, no 14 C assays have yielded dates earlier than 9500 RCYBP (Mena et al. 2000; Velásquez and Mena 2006). Nonetheless, sporadic surface finds of diagnostic stone tool types, such as fishtail projectile point blanks and discoidal stones , indicated the presence of a probable "Fell I cultural unit" (Massone 2004) within the region of Aisén (Chile). Current archaeological research in the wider Patagonian region assigns dates of around 11,000-10,500 RCYBP as the most consistent temporal markers for the earliest human occupation (Borrero 1999). Since 2005, our research team (FONDECYT 1050139) has carried out systematic archaeological surface and stratigraphic surveys in the steppe area of the Cisnes basin (~44°S; 71°15′ W), east of the Andes along a Pacific drainage system. Surface finds of one discoidal stone and an endscraper (closely resembling those of the earliest Fell's Cave lithic assemblage [Bird 1993]) at the Appeleg 1 site (CIS 009) suggested a possible human presence during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition ). Complementary paleoenvironmental studies of sediment records at Lake Shaman, placed on an inter-moraine depression, indicated that local glacial withdrawal occurred around 15,580 ± 50 RCYBP (Beta-224300), thus leaving an open area available for early occupation. Excavations carried out at El Chueco, just 6 km from Lake Shaman, and 10 km from Appeleg 1, confirmed this hypothesis. El Chueco is a rhyolite volcanic formation with several caves and rockshelters along its western margin. Stratigraphic surveys were conducted at four sheltered areas, but only at the main site (CIS 042), a cave 12 m wide and 9 m deep, were significant occupations uncovered. A 4-m 2 test unit revealed several short-term, possibly seasonal, occupations throughout the Holocene,

In this paper, we present recent data on Early Holocene human occupations from Taltal, in the coast of the Atacama Desert. We focus on evidences of mobility and subsistence economy, discussing the data in terms of a concept of territoriality adapted from cultural geographers working with hunting-gathering societies. We attempt to show that the Huentelauqu en Cultural Complex, usually considered the earliest evidence of human occupation in the coast of northern Chile, exhibits an already consolidated territorialisation process. We question whether it represents the earliest phases of the peopling process or if such evidence are still lacking at a regional level. We try to go beyond the characterization of Huentelauqu en Cultural Complex as an early maritime adaptation, understanding it as the earliest socioterritorial identity known to date for the Arid Coast of northern Chile.

In this paper, we present recent data on Early Holocene human occupations from Taltal, in the coast of the Atacama Desert. We focus on evidences of mobility and subsistence economy, discussing the data in terms of a concept of territoriality adapted from cultural geographers working with hunting-gathering societies. We attempt to show that the Huentelauqu en Cultural Complex, usually considered the earliest evidence of human occupation in the coast of northern Chile, exhibits an already consolidated territorialisation process. We question whether it represents the earliest phases of the peopling process or if such evidence are still lacking at a regional level. We try to go beyond the characterization of Huentelauqu en Cultural Complex as an early maritime adaptation, understanding it as the earliest socio-territorial identity known to date for the Arid Coast of northern Chile.

Site GNL Quintero 1 (GNLQ1), located in Quintero Bay (32 S, Central Chile) constitutes the first evidence of a drowned terrestrial site on the continental West Coast of South America covered by sea-level rise after the Last Glacial Maximum. The site currently lies 650 m offshore and 13 m underwater, covers an area of w64 m 2 and contains several discrete exposed and shallow-buried bone deposits. Through underwater archaeology survey and test excavations, a significant amount of animal bone assigned to the Late Pleistocene was successfully recovered and analyzed. After recovery and prior to the analyses, the bones were subjected to conservation and stabilization treatments, resulting in good preservation of the material. Taxonomic analyses (NISP 224) revealed high taxonomic diversity of extinct fauna (Camelidae, Cervidae, Artiodactyla, Equidae, Mylodontidae, Canidae, Rodentia and Xenarthra). The sample represents a continental faunal assemblage belonging to a drowned terrestrial context, probably related to an estuarine-lagoon environment. Taphonomic analysis allowed macroscopic identification of natural marks (punctures) associated with large and small size carnivores. The bones also show abrasion related to the action of marine sands along with colour alterations. By applying Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrographs and Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) to fossil bones, marks and colour alterations were identified. Marks indicated rodent gnawing and trampling, while colour alterations were attributed to diagenesis processes, discarding thermal treatment. Site GNLQ1 is identified as having very high potential, for it provides the first evidence for a submerged palaeolandscape viable for human occupation and movement along the Pacific Coast of South America during the Late Pleistocene.

It has been suggested that the expansion of farming in western Eurasia was paced by Holocene cooling phases. However, the immediate effects and the mechanisms could not be explained. Based on a fine-graded data set of the West-Central European earl,y Neolithic Linear pottery culture, a refined model of the interaction between climate variability and both population growth as well as decline is presented. 1he changing interrelation between these fluctuations may more thoroughl,y explain the step-wise advance of farming in western Eurasia.

Sudamérica cuenta con evidencias de ocupación humana desde los 14.600 años calibrados a.p. (14,6 ka). Sin embargo, en el desierto de Atacama existe una notoria ausencia de ocupaciones pre-11,5 ka entre las latitudes 17° a 21° S (Atacama Norte). Esto debido, en parte, a que se ha desestimado como territorio atractivo para poblaciones de la transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno, dadas sus condiciones actuales de extrema aridez. Sobre la base de ciertos datos paleoecológicos generales, que sugerían condiciones de mayor disponibilidad de agua en la vertiente occidental de los Andes desde los 17 a 9,5 ka, se realizaron búsquedas sistemáticas de paleomadrigueras de roedores y paleohumedales en ambientes de precordillera y quebradas (1.000 a 3.000 msm). Esto permitió identificar hábitat específicos que presentaran condiciones favorables para el asentamiento humano temprano y de esta manera buscar sitios arqueológicos en forma dirigida. El modelo metodológico interdisciplinario de carácter predictivo, que se resume en este artículo, permitió identificar un conjunto de sitios entre los que destaca Quebrada Maní 12, donde se constataron las primeras evidencias de ocupaciones pleistocénicas tardías (~11,9 a 12,7 ka) en el desierto de Atacama Norte. Palabras claves: transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno, poblamientos tempranos, paleoambiente, Desierto de Atacama. In South America, evidence of human occupation dates back to 14,600 calibrated years BP (14.6 ka). Yet, important areas such as the Atacama Desert, between latitude 17° to 21° S (northern Atacama), lack occupations older than 11,5 ka. Current hyperarid conditions in the Atacama have dissuaded many researchers from considering this region as a possible territory for Pleistocene-Holocene peoples. Paleoecological data, however, have suggested increased availability of water along the western slope of the Andes from 17.5-9.5 ka. Thus, we systematically searched for rodent middens and paleowetlands in the large canyons of the Andean Precordillera as well as the interfluves (1,000-3,000 masl). As a result, we identified specific habitats favorable for early human settling. This interdisciplinary and predictive methodological model, summarized in this paper, allowed us to identify several sites. Among these, Quebrada Maní 12 is the first Pleistocene-Holocene human occupation (~11.9 a 12.7 ka) known from the northern Atacama.

The brief, terminal Pleistocene archaeological site at Santa Julia (SJ, 318 50 0 S; 718 45 0 W) is the only one with fluted projectile preforms and megafauna consumption known from the Chilean semiarid coastline. Here, we present the climatic history at SJ during the early Holocene reconstructed from pollen and charcoal analyses spanning 13.2-8.6 ka (¼10 3 calibrated 14 C yr BP). Elevated charcoal concentrations confirm human activity by 13.2 ka. Human occupation decreased in intensity and charcoal practically disappears from the record after 10.6 ka, followed by wetland expansion at SJ between 10.5 and 9.5 ka. Local dominance of coastal shrubland reveals that dry phases occurred between >11.2-10.5 and 9.5-9.0 ka. Overall, these findings imply that by modulating available resources at both local and landscape levels climate change may have played an important role in explaining the peopling of semiarid coastal Chile.

Sudamérica cuenta con evidencias de ocupación humana desde los 14.600 años calibrados a.p. (14,6 ka). Sin embargo, en el desierto de Atacama existe una notoria ausencia de ocupaciones pre-11,5 ka entre las latitudes 17° a 21° S (Atacama Norte). Esto debido, en parte, a que se ha desestimado como territorio atractivo para poblaciones de la transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno, dadas sus condiciones actuales de extrema aridez. Sobre la base de ciertos datos paleoecológicos generales, que sugerían condiciones de mayor disponibilidad de agua en la vertiente occidental de los Andes desde los 17 a 9,5 ka, se realizaron búsquedas sistemáticas de paleomadrigueras de roedores y paleohumedales en ambientes de precordillera y quebradas (1.000 a 3.000 msm). Esto permitió identificar hábitat específicos que presentaran condiciones favorables para el asentamiento humano temprano y de esta manera buscar sitios arqueológicos en forma dirigida. El modelo metodológico interdisciplinario de carácter predictivo, que se resume en este artículo, permitió identificar un conjunto de sitios entre los que destaca Quebrada Maní 12, donde se constataron las primeras evidencias de ocupaciones pleistocénicas tardías (~11,9 a 12,7 ka) en el desierto de Atacama Norte. Palabras claves: transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno, poblamientos tempranos, paleoambiente, Desierto de Atacama. In South America, evidence of human occupation dates back to 14,600 calibrated years BP (14.6 ka). Yet, important areas such as the Atacama Desert, between latitude 17° to 21° S (northern Atacama), lack occupations older than 11,5 ka. Current hyperarid conditions in the Atacama have dissuaded many researchers from considering this region as a possible territory for Pleistocene-Holocene peoples. Paleoecological data, however, have suggested increased availability of water along the western slope of the Andes from 17.5-9.5 ka. Thus, we systematically searched for rodent middens and paleowetlands in the large canyons of the Andean Precordillera as well as the interfluves (1,000-3,000 masl). As a result, we identified specific habitats favorable for early human settling. This interdisciplinary and predictive methodological model, summarized in this paper, allowed us to identify several sites. Among these, Quebrada Maní 12 is the first Pleistocene-Holocene human occupation (~11.9 a 12.7 ka) known from the northern Atacama.

The brief, terminal Pleistocene archaeological site at Santa Julia (SJ, 318 50 0 S; 718 45 0 W) is the only one with fluted projectile preforms and megafauna consumption known from the Chilean semiarid coastline. Here, we present the climatic history at SJ during the early Holocene reconstructed from pollen and charcoal analyses spanning 13.2-8.6 ka (¼10 3 calibrated 14 C yr BP). Elevated charcoal concentrations confirm human activity by 13.2 ka. Human occupation decreased in intensity and charcoal practically disappears from the record after 10.6 ka, followed by wetland expansion at SJ between 10.5 and 9.5 ka. Local dominance of coastal shrubland reveals that dry phases occurred between >11.2-10.5 and 9.5-9.0 ka. Overall, these findings imply that by modulating available resources at both local and landscape levels climate change may have played an important role in explaining the peopling of semiarid coastal Chile.

Sudamérica cuenta con evidencias de ocupación humana desde los 14.600 años calibrados a.p. (14,6 ka). Sin embargo, en el desierto de Atacama existe una notoria ausencia de ocupaciones pre-11,5 ka entre las latitudes 17° a 21° S (Atacama Norte). Esto debido, en parte, a que se ha desestimado como territorio atractivo para poblaciones de la transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno, dadas sus condiciones actuales de extrema aridez. Sobre la base de ciertos datos paleoecológicos generales, que sugerían condiciones de mayor disponibilidad de agua en la vertiente occidental de los Andes desde los 17 a 9,5 ka, se realizaron búsquedas sistemáticas de paleomadrigueras de roedores y paleohumedales en ambientes de precordillera y quebradas (1.000 a 3.000 msm). Esto permitió identificar hábitat específicos que presentaran condiciones favorables para el asentamiento humano temprano y de esta manera buscar sitios arqueológicos en forma dirigida. Modelo metodológico interdisciplinario de carácter predictivo, que se resume en este artículo, permitió identificar un conjunto de sitios entre los que destaca Quebrada Maní 12, donde se constataron las primeras evidencias de ocupaciones pleistocénicas tardías (~11,9 a 12,7 ka) en el desierto de Atacama Norte. Palabras claves: transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno, poblamientos tempranos, paleoambiente, Desierto de Atacama. In South America, evidence of human occupation dates back to 14,600 calibrated years BP (14.6 ka). Yet, important areas such as the Atacama Desert, between latitude 17° to 21° S (northern Atacama), lack occupations older than 11,5 ka. Current hyperarid conditions in the Atacama have dissuaded many researchers from considering this region as a possible territory for Pleistocene-Holocene peoples. Paleoecological data, however, have suggested increased availability of water along the western slope of the Andes from 17.5-9.5 ka. Thus, we systematically searched for rodent middens and paleowetlands in the large canyons of the Andean Precordillera as well as the interfluves (1,000-3,000 masl). As a result, we identified specific habitats favorable for early human settling. This interdisciplinary and predictive methodological model, summarized in this paper, allowed us to identify several sites. Among these, Quebrada Maní 12 is the first Pleistocene-Holocene human occupation (~11.9 a 12.7 ka) known from the northern Atacama.

The Southern Cone of South America (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Southeastern Brazil) was the last continental mass colonized by humans. Until recently, the discussion about the peopling of the Americas revolved around the Clovis First-Pre-Clovis debate. Nowadays, the axis of this debate has changed (it has been consistently proved that there were people in the Americas before Clovis) and the central debate is if humans were South of the Laurentide/Cordilleran Ice Sheet after or before the onset of deglaciation (ca. 18 to 19 ky) of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). However, while several models have been proposed to uphold the first hypothesis, the second one is only supported by isolated site reports and sparse data. With very few exceptions, no coherent models have been proposed to integrate the few suggested pre-LGM sites sprawled in the continent. In this scenario, a fine-grain study of the timing of the arrival and the spatial occupation sequences of the expansion process is significant to understand the pattern of colonization of Homo sapiens in the Americas. In this chapter, we summarize and discuss the evidence from some key sites in the Southern Cone with pre-and post-onset of LGM deglaciation ages. We present a compilation of the earliest 14 C dates as a proxy of human presence in the Southern Cone, both from samples (charcoal, faunal remains, etc.) associated with human presence as well from human skeletons. Based this data, we analyze the main chronological trends and spatial sequences in the region. Finally, we contrast our results from the Southern Cone with the new continental scale models of peopling of the Americas, based on ancient DNA. Resumen El Cono Sur de Sudamérica (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay y el sureste de Brasil) fue la última masa continental colonizada por los humanos. Hasta hace poco, la discusión sobre el poblamiento de América giró en torno al debate Clovis-Primero vs. Pre-Clovis. Actualmente el eje del debate ha cambiado ya que ha sido aceptado consistentemente que hubo gente en el continente americano antes de Clovis), concentrándose en si los humanos estuvieron en el sur de la escudo glacial Laurentino/Cordillerano antes o después del comienzo de desglaciación New Perspectives on the Peopling of the Americas, ed. by Katerina Harvati, Gerhard Jäger, Hugo Reyes-Centeno. Words, Bones, Genes, Tools: DFG Center for Advanced Studies Series.

This article is a response to Dillehay [2019.“Un ensayo sobre genética, arqueología y movilidad humana temprana.” Mundo de Antes 13 (2): 13–65] and Dillehay, Pino, and Ocampo [2020. Comments on Archaeological Remains at the Monte Verde Site Complex, Chile.” PaleoAmerica. https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2020.1762399], who criticized our comments about Monte Verde-I and Chinchihuapi-I as well as our suggestion of the tightening of the age of Monte Verde-II [Politis, G. G., and L. Prates. 2018.“ Clocking the Arrival of Homo sapiens in the Southern Cone of South America.” In New Perspectives on the Peopling of the Americas, edited by K. Harvati, G. Jäger, and H. Reyes Centeno, 79–106. Tübingen: Kerns Verlag]. They claimed that we purposefully ignored pertinent data to support our opinions, and that we made several mistakes when analyzing the evidence. In this article we demonstrate that we did not ignore any relevant data, and that the putative errors are in fact alternative interpretations based on the available data and recent studies about site formation processes.

Successive generations of hunter–gatherers of the Late Glacial and Early Holocene in Iberia had to contend with rapidly changing environments and climatic conditions. This constrained their economic resources and capacity for demographic growth. The Atlantic façade of Iberia was occupied throughout these times and witnessed very significant environmental transformations. Archaeology offers a perspective on how past human population ecologies changed in response to this scenario. Archaeological radiocarbon data are used here to reconstruct demographics of the region over the long term. We introduce various quantitative methods that allow us to develop palaeodemographic and spatio-temporal models of population growth and density, and compare our results to independent records of palaeoenvironmental and palaeodietary change, and growth rates derived from skeletal data. Our results demonstrate that late glacial population growth was stifled by the Younger Dryas stadial, but populations ...

This comment is a brief response to the opinion statement made by Politis and Prates in this issue of
PaleoAmerica. Some of their errors and misunderstandings are corrected. We maintain that the
psephites from Monte Verde-I and Chinchihuapi-I are allochthonous and cultural in origin.

ABSTRACT
In a review of the early archaeology of South America, Politis and Prates challenge certain data
presented for some early sites. In the process, they misrepresent information presented by
original investigators, including us for the Monte Verde and Chinchihuapi sites in Chile. We
respond to their critique and correct several errors made by these authors.

In a review of the early archaeology of South America, Politis and Prates challenge certain data presented for some early sites. In the process, they misrepresent information presented by original investigators, including us for the Monte Verde and Chinchihuapi sites in Chile. We respond to their critique and correct several errors made by these authors. KEYWORDS Monte Verde; Chinchihuapi; radiocarbon; Quaternary; unifaces […] las bandas tradicionales mudan de campamento entre 70 a 80 veces al año. […] Hay un patron de

This article is a response to Dillehay [2019. “Un ensayo sobre genética, arqueología y movilidad humana temprana.” Mundo de Antes 13 (2): 13–65] and Dillehay, Pino, and Ocampo [2020. “Comments on Archaeological Remains at the Monte Verde Site Complex, Chile.” PaleoAmerica. https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2020.1762399], who criticized our comments about Monte Verde-I and Chinchihuapi-I as well as our suggestion of the tightening of the age of Monte Verde-II [Politis, G. G., and L. Prates. 2018. “Clocking the Arrival of Homo sapiens in the Southern Cone of South America.” In New Perspectives on the Peopling of the Americas, edited by K. Harvati, G. Jäger, and H. Reyes Centeno, 79–106. Tübingen: Kerns Verlag]. They claimed that we purposefully ignored pertinent data to support our opinions, and that we made several mistakes when analyzing the evidence. In this article we demonstrate that we did not ignore any relevant data, and that the putative errors are in fact alternative interpretations based on the available data and recent studies about site formation processes.

A fundamental element of Upper Palaeolithic archaeological practice is cultural taxonomy—the definition and description of taxonomic units that group assemblages according to their material culture and geographic and chronological distributions. The derived taxonomies, such as Aurignacian, Gravettian and Magdalenian, are used as units of analysis in many research questions and interpretations. The evidential and theoretical bases defining these taxonomic units, however, are generally lacking. Here, the authors review the current state of Upper Palaeolithic cultural taxonomy and make recommendations for the long-term improvement of the situation.

The Southern Cone of South America (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Southeastern Brazil) was the last continental mass colonized by humans. Until recently, the discussion about the peopling of the Americas revolved around the Clovis First-Pre-Clovis debate. Nowadays, the axis of this debate has changed (it has been consistently proved that there were people in the Americas before Clovis) and the central debate is if humans were South of the Laurentide/Cordilleran Ice Sheet after or before the onset of deglaciation (ca. 18 to 19 ky) of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). However, while several models have been proposed to uphold the first hypothesis, the second one is only supported by isolated site reports and sparse data. With very few exceptions, no coherent models have been proposed to integrate the few suggested pre-LGM sites sprawled in the continent. In this scenario, a fine-grain study of the timing of the arrival and the spatial occupation sequences of the expansion process is significant to understand the pattern of colonization of Homo sapiens in the Americas. In this chapter, we summarize and discuss the evidence from some key sites in the Southern Cone with pre-and post-onset of LGM deglaciation ages. We present a compilation of the earliest 14 C dates as a proxy of human presence in the Southern Cone, both from samples (charcoal, faunal remains, etc.) associated with human presence as well from human skeletons. Based this data, we analyze the main chronological trends and spatial sequences in the region. Finally, we contrast our results from the Southern Cone with the new continental scale models of peopling of the Americas, based on ancient DNA. Resumen El Cono Sur de Sudamérica (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay y el sureste de Brasil) fue la última masa continental colonizada por los humanos. Hasta hace poco, la dis-cusión sobre el poblamiento de América giró en torno al debate Clovis-Primero vs. Pre-Clovis. Actualmente el eje del debate ha cambiado ya que ha sido acepta-do consistentemente que hubo gente en el continente americano antes de Clovis), concentrándose en si los humanos estuvieron en el sur de la escudo gla-cial Laurentino/Cordillerano antes o después del comienzo de desglaciación New Perspectives on the Peopling of the Americas, ed.

New archaeological studies on South American deserts have produced a fresh perspective on the characteristics and antiquity of the first human presence in these habitats, the continuity of populations over millennia of occupations facing varying degrees of aridity and the possibilities of learning lessons from recent ways of dwelling in deserts. These three topics represent innovative ways in which a new array of research projects have recently managed to assess old and new questions by yielding novel standpoints on previously understudied regions, especially, but not exclusively, in the southern deserts.

Se presenta los primeros fechados 14 C AMS para el sitio Cueva de los Catalanes (región de la Araucanía, Chile). Uno de ellos extiende la presencia de Phaseolus vulgaris L. al primer milenio d.C., constituyendo la evidencia más temprana de cultígenos en esta zona de Chile. Esto pudiera apuntar a un escenario de mayor variabilidad en cuanto a la implementación de prácticas agrícolas durante el periodo Alfarero Temprano. A su vez, hace notar la necesidad de implementar fechas-taxón de modo de poder evaluar adecuadamente la presencia de éstas y otras especies, en relación a los cambios sociales que implican.
The first 14 C AMS dates for Cueva de los Catalanes (Araucanía region, Chile) site are reported. One of these traces back the presence of Phaseolus vulgaris L. to the first millennium A.D., being the earliest evidence of cultigens for this area of Chile. This might point out to a higher variability scenario in relation to the implementation of agricultural practices during the Early Ceramic period. It also highlights the need to carry out taxon dates in order to properly assess the presence of these and other species, in relation to the social changes they entail.

In this paper, we present recent data on Early Holocene human occupations from Taltal, in the coast of the Atacama Desert. We focus on evidences of mobility and subsistence economy, discussing the data in terms of a concept of territoriality adapted from cultural geographers working with hunting-gathering societies. We attempt to show that the Huentelauqu en Cultural Complex, usually considered the earliest evidence of human occupation in the coast of northern Chile, exhibits an already consolidated territorialisation process. We question whether it represents the earliest phases of the peopling process or if such evidence are still lacking at a regional level. We try to go beyond the characterization of Huentelauqu en Cultural Complex as an early maritime adaptation, understanding it as the earliest socio-territorial identity known to date for the Arid Coast of northern Chile.

Current scientific evidence shows that humans colonized South America at least 15,000 years ago, but there are still many unknown aspects of this process, including the major and minor migratory routes involved, and the pattern of successive occupation of a diverse continental mosaic of ecosystems. In this context, the role of the Andean highlands (3400 meters above sea level) has been neglected, because of the supposedly harsh conditions for humans including hypoxia and cold climate. Nevertheless, the environmental and cultural resources available in the high Andes constitutes an important " megapatch " that should be assessed in terms of human settlement patterns. We review the evidence for late Pleis-tocene/early Holocene hunter-gatherer occupation of one part of this megapatch, the northern Chilean Dry Puna, in its palaeoecological context. We focus on lithic technology, faunal remains, radiocarbon dates, and other archaeological materials related to different social activities, which allow us to suggest that groups of hunter-gatherers organized and adapted their way of life to highland ecosystems through logistical mobility, and curatorial strategies for lithic tool kits that included projectile points and other formalized tools. The morphology and technological processes involved are recognized over vast territories along the high Andes. We identify this material expression as the high south central Andean Archaic hunter-gatherer tradition, which also featured long distance mobile settlement systems and communication processes over this broad and distinct megapatch. More speculatively, we outline the hypothesis that these highland ecosystems constituted a suitable migratory route that may have been key for the early peopling of the continent, and contrast it with the alternative hypothesis of the initially secondary and seasonally intermittent exploitation of this habitat by hunter-gatherers dispersing along the Pacific coastal corridor.

Attenbrow and Hiscock (2015) raise a series of concerns about the use of radiocarbon dates as data (sum probability distributions), including sample selection, taphonomic bias, and the relationship of charcoal and radiocarbon data to human activity. We show that these concerns have been widely acknowledged and addressed in the literature. We advocate the considered use of dates as data approaches as a heuristic tool for broad regional-and continental-scale questions, used in conjunction with other archaeological proxies, and within the constraints of documented and well-known methodological limitations.

Building on previous research at smaller scales, in this paper we assemble paleoecological data and archaeological time-series for deserts located in three latitudinal bands along the South American Arid Diagonal (16°–41°S, 1,236,000 km 2 of area). Diverse proxies suggest the existence of arid and extremely arid conditions in large parts of these deserts. Working with a database composed of 914 archaeological dates falling between the first human presence in each region and 3000 years BP, which produce a minimum number of 578 occupational events, we identify a series of patterns at a macro-regional scale: a robust increase in the temporal signal at the beginning of the mid-Holocene (8000–7600 years BP) followed by two troughs (7600–7200, 6800–6400 years BP) during this period. The spatial scope of the data presented provides an opportunity for disentangling processes of spatial re-localization from actual changes in population size. We present a demographic hypothesis at a macro-regional scale, which suggests the existence of mid-Holocene population bottleneck(s). This hypothesis would account not only for the mid-Holocene troughs, but also for the posterior record of an intense and relatively rapid population growth (release) observed in many regions of the arid diagonal. These mid-Holocene events provide the context for independent trajectories of economic intensification based on different sets of resources-marine foods, camelids, and also probably wetland resources-, some of which lead to domestication processes. These cases occur in association with a tendency towards reduced residential mobility in regions that may have acted as refugia during arid periods of the mid-Holocene. The analysis produces testable expectations for future research at different scales and for different research domains, including human DNA and morphometric evidence. We consider that these issues have a fecund comparative potential, since the analysis of the socio-demographic meaning of archaeological discontinuities in different continents shares a similar conceptual structure.

The human occupation of the Pacific Rim of the southern Andes during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition was concentrated near the coast. The Pichasquita rockshelter in the Semiarid North of Chile, however, shows evidence of an early Holocene occupation of the inland mountains. This rockshelter functioned as a residential camp from which local fauna was exploited and vegetal resources were processed. Current information suggests early coastal groups extended their mobility circuits inland after 11,000 cal yr BP.

The settlement of Patagonia has been the subject of extensive research, although key questions about the timing of arrival of the first humans and the subsequent patterns of dispersal and demographic changes within the region remain largely unresolved. In this study we evaluated the most probable date for the initial peopling of Patagonia and explored the temporal and spatial changes in population size along Late PleistoceneeHolocene by using robust statistical methods for the analysis of radiocarbon dates and molecular data. We suggest that the first humans probably arrived to Patagonia around 17,000 e14,000 years BP, a few thousands of years earlier than generally stated. Within the region, the populations experienced a sustained and slow growth until the transition PleistoceneeHolocene, when the population size started to increase, with a remarkable acceleration after 7000e5000 years BP and reaching its maximum at 1000 years BP. The spatial occupation was not homogeneous across the region though, changing from a more intense continental occupation to a coastal occupation in the Late Holocene. This pattern of peopling and population expansion, obtained here on the basis of a rigorous and comprehensive quantitative approach, will allow the future evaluation of formal models about the ecological and cultural processes that drove the evolution of the human populations from Patagonia.

Sudamérica cuenta con evidencias de ocupación humana desde los 14.600 años calibrados a.p. (14,6 ka). Sin embargo, en el desierto de Atacama existe una notoria ausencia de ocupaciones pre-11,5 ka entre las latitudes 17° a 21° S (Atacama Norte). Esto debido, en parte, a que se ha desestimado como territorio atractivo para poblaciones de la transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno, dadas sus condiciones actuales de extrema aridez. Sobre la base de ciertos datos paleoecológicos generales, que sugerían condiciones de mayor disponibilidad de agua en la vertiente occidental de los Andes desde los 17 a 9,5 ka, se realizaron búsquedas sistemáticas de paleomadrigueras de roedores y paleohumedales en ambientes de precordillera y quebradas (1.000 a 3.000 msm). Esto permitió identificar hábitat específicos que presentaran condiciones favorables para el asentamiento humano temprano y de esta manera buscar sitios arqueológicos en forma dirigida. Modelo metodológico interdisciplinario de carácter predictivo, que se resume en este artículo, permitió identificar un conjunto de sitios entre los que destaca Quebrada Maní 12, donde se constataron las primeras evidencias de ocupaciones pleistocénicas tardías (~11,9 a 12,7 ka) en el desierto de Atacama Norte.

It has been suggested that the expansion of farming in western Eurasia was paced by Holocene cooling phases. However, the immediate effects and the mechanisms could not be explained. Based on a fine-graded data set of the west-central European early Neolithic Linear pottery culture a refined model of the interaction between climate variability and both population growth as well as decline is presented. The changing interrelation between these fluctuations may more thoroughly explain the step-wise advance of farming in western Eurasia.