A Late glacial – Holocene palaeoecological record, constrained by a robust chronology, from a peat bog near Punta Burslem (54°54′S, 67°57′W) on Isla Navarino, southernmost Patagonia documents the ...shifts in intensity and focus of the Southern Westerly Winds (SWWs) at these high latitudes. Such long-term records are required to reconstruct and better understand the likely regional impacts of a poleward shift and intensification of the SWWs predicted under global warming scenarios. Deglaciation at Punta Burslem occurs sometime before c. 17,000 cal a BP, and the post glacial landscape is dominated by cold tolerant pioneer species. Nothofagus woodland is established by c. 12,250 cal a BP, this moisture sensitive vegetation type retreats in the early to mid-Holocene from c. 9700 to 7050 cal a BP reflecting an intense and sustained drier phase associated with a prolonged poleward contraction of the SWWs. After c. 6000 cal a BP there is a regional trend to cooler and wetter climate. However, we identify at least five periods of rapid climate change (RCC) leading to drier conditions at this southern extreme of Patagonia: c. 5350-4750 cal a BP, c.4300-3300 cal a BP, c. 2600-1850 cal a BP, c. 1350-1100 cal a BP and c. 550-350 cal a BP. From a synthesis of our Isla Navarino records and a latitudinal spread (34°-64°S) of multiproxy records it is proposed that these periods of RCC and relatively drier conditions indicate latitudinal shifts in the location and intensity of the SWWs in response to climatic warming leading to reduced precipitation at the southern margins of Patagonia.
•A new Late glacial-Holocene palaeoenvironmental record from Isla Navarino.•Sustained drier period during the early Holocene between c.9.7 and c. 6.0 ka.•Increased humidity punctuated by drier periods during the mid-to late-Holocene.•A latitudinal synthesis of records from ∼34° to 64°S describes shifts of the SWWs.•Demonstrates pollen preservation as a robust index of climate change.
Las excavaciones arqueológicas y los registros bioantropológicos realizados en el archipiélago de los Chonos (entre 43° 50' y 46° 50' S), a lo largo de los canales occidentales de Patagonia, permiten ...definir la ocupación de este sistema insular por parte de cazadores recolectores marinos desde el Holoceno medio hasta el contacto europeo. Sus conjuntos tecnológicos y arqueofaunísticos señalan una dependencia de recursos del medio litoral y marítimo. La información de isótopos estables del carbono y nitrógeno en restos humanos asociados a estos contextos provee una herramienta de análisis independiente para evaluar las interpretaciones realizadas sobre la base de otros conjuntos de datos arqueológicos. Este trabajo presenta los resultados de análisis de δ13C y δ15N de 38 individuos con edades en el rango entre 2300 y 200 cal aP (fechamientos directos 14C por AMS), así como de muestras complementarias de arqueofauna. El análisis de los valores isotópicos respalda la interpretación de una adaptación cazadora recolectora fundamentada en un patrón de subsistencia enfocado principalmente en recursos litorales y marinos. Los valores de δ13C y δ15N son comparados con los obtenidos de otros grupos canoeros de los canales centrales y meridionales de Patagonia, poniendo de relieve las diferencias en trayectorias de subsistencia entre las regiones involucradas.
Data from archaeological excavations and bioarchaeological analysis in the Chonos archipelago (43°50' – 46°50'S), within the northern channels of Patagonia, have led scholars to conclude that this island system was occupied by marine hunter-gatherers since the middle Holocene until contact with Europeans. The data from the technological and archaeofaunal collections indicate dependence on littoral and marine resources. The information from carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of human remains associated with these contexts provides a powerful and an independent analytical tool, enabling us to evaluate the subsistence models based on other archaeological datasets. In this paper, we present the results of δ13C and δ15N analyses of 38 individuals with direct 14C AMS ages between 2300 and 200 cal BP, as well as that of archaeofaunal samples from the region. The analysis of isotopic values supports the interpretation of a subsistence pattern focused mainly on littoral and marine resources. We then compare the δ13C and δ15N values to those of other canoeist hunter-gatherers of the central and southern channels of Patagonia, highlighting the differences in subsistence trajectories between the regions involved.
In recent years, numerous archaeological remains of dogs (Canis familiaris) have been found in the Southern Cone of South America. In Patagonia, the pre‐Hispanic record was limited to the northeast. ...This article presents dog specimens recovered at archaeological site GUA‐010 Conchal located in the western Patagonian channels of Chile. Their presence is related to hunter‐gatherers showing marked marine adaptations. This study defines their chronology, characterizes them morphologically and morphometrically, estimates their body mass and age, and investigates their possible social roles. Our analyses indicates that the remains correspond to a pre‐Hispanic dog dated at 870 ± 20 years 14C bp (769–684 cal bp), thereby expanding the known geographic range of the species prior to European colonization. The dog was an adult animal, and its body size was approximately 3–4 kg, which represents the smallest individual recorded in the Southern Cone. Body size is consistent with the reports in ethnohistorical record, which indicated the use of dog fur as clothing and possibly its help in fishing. Archaeological evidence suggests that its function as a food source is unlikely.
La restauración patrimonial de monumentos históricos presenta particulares desafíos de implementación. En este escenario el trabajo arqueológico es parte fundamental de aquel proceso constructivo, ...legal, de conservación y comunitario. Presentamos los resultados de la documentación y excavaciones arqueológicas realizadas bajo el piso de la centenaria Iglesia de San Juan (Dalcahue, Chiloé) y del sitio arqueológico San Juan 1, en el archipiélago patagónico occidental. Las inhumaciones históricas (ca. 280 a 140 años cal AP) y los diversos materiales arqueológicos recuperados desde matrices sedimentarias formadas por una sucesión de ocupaciones por parte de cazadores recolectores marinos (desde ca. 6.000 AP), constituyen un conjunto de información que nutre la secuencia cultural del área. Así, los análisis bioantropológicos, cerámicos, líticos, arqueofaunísticos e históricos realizados nos informan sobre la subsistencia de los grupos humanos y parte de los conjuntos tecnológicos utilizados y descartados tanto en tiempos prehispánicos como históricos en la isla de Chiloé. Se espera que la implementación de este trabajo contribuya con estrategias futuras de restauración y puesta en valor que respeten los usos históricos y contemporáneos de diversas localidades patrimoniales.
Archaeological research on the settlement of the Patagonian archipelago in the extreme South of South America by groups of hunter-gatherers, fishers or canoeists involves both an understanding of the ...various modes of subsistence and the possible flows of goods and human interactions that could have occurred from the middle Holocene in this extensive territory. Therefore, the study of how the geographical barriers occurring in Western Patagonia operated is fundamental because it allows to evaluate and discuss not only the characteristics and particularities of the occupation of the archipelagic territory but also its role in the circulation and contact of canoe populations, their relevance in the settlement and occupation of the Patagonian archipelago and their possible impact on the differentiation of the cultural trajectories of the canoe groups that inhabited it. We review and discuss the archaeological record of the areas adjacent to the geographical barrier formed by the Taitao Peninsula and the Northeastern and Southern coast of the Gulf of Penas (47°S) in West Patagonia. This extensive geographical area acted as a permeable barrier, conditioning, over time, maritime mobility and circulation routes, channeling or limiting the access and contact between the canoe groups on both sides.
Fuego-Patagonia's marine and terrestrial groups were historically described as phenotypically distinct but, studies of these phenotypic differences have yet to be conducted. This study evaluates ...phenotypic variation in Fuego-Patagonia. Phenotypic disparities result from extrinsic and intrinsic factors and therefore can reveal differences in both long and short term adaptations as well as genetic differences. Fifty-one adults were assessed. A total of six post-cranial measurements were included: maximum length of the humerus (MHL); maximum length of the radius (MRL); Bicondylar length of the femur (BFL); Maximum length of the tibia (MTL); bi-iliac breadth (BIB), and; antero-posterior diameter of the femoral head (FHD). Brachial index, crural index, body mass, body mass index and stature were then calculated. In general, terrestrial individuals had longer lower limb bones and were the tallest and heaviest. Marine individuals had the shortest bones and were shorter and lighter. Mixed-economy individuals showed mostly intermediate values. The trends are more marked in males than in females. The results suggests the presence of an east-to-west phenotypic gradient in the region that may have resulted from intrinsic and/or extrinsic differences between the groups. But, the sample size of this study is small, and thus the results should be cautiously considered.
ABSTRACT As part of our research in the Chiloé archipelago, new contextual and chronological data are presented from three archaeological sites recorded on the east central coast of Chiloé Island. ...The described contexts and their chronology review occupations from the Middle and Late Holocene, and reflect the continuity of marine hunting and gathering traditions. Los sitios arqueológicos San Juan 1 y Tauco 1 y 2 fueron registrados entre los años 2017 y 2018 en el marco de prospecciones dirigidas con el fin de identificar situaciones de contacto de trayectorias culturales diferentes, donde contextos formados por cazadores recolectores pescadores marinos, en momentos finales de la secuencia de ocupación del área precontacto europeo, reflejaran cambios en la subsistencia (patrón de asentamiento, tecnológicos, dieta, entre otras variables) producto de la interacción cultural con grupos de tradición hortícola procedentes del sur de Chile continental, tal cual lo reseñan algunos investigadores (Cooper, 1917, 1946; Menghin, 1962; Aldunate, 1996) y la propia data etnohistórica (Goicueta, 1558; Bibar, 1979 1558; Ercilla, 2009 1569). Los análisis radiocarbónicos de los materiales recuperados fueron realizados en DirectAMS Lab. y en el Center for Applied Isotope Studies (CAIS), University of Georgia.
ABSTRACT The systematization of the concept of cultural geography and its usefulness in hierarchizing space according to cultural values and knowledge that have archaeological visibility and ...obstrusiveness, are reviewed. The work aims to transcend the ethnic boundaries recognized by historical observations and ethnographic studies, focuses on recent times and, also, it is integrated with different approaches and concepts of specialized fields within the archaeological record, archaeozoology or studies of techno-economic systems, among others. Fuegian, Patagonia, archaeology, adaptation, mobility, planning, hunter-gatherers organization. Sin embargo, el contraste entre homogeneidad y heterogeneidad es escalar, pues en alguna escala todos los ambientes son heterogéneos (Jochim, 1981, p. 49).
Se presenta en este trabajo los resultados del análisis del contenido microfósil del tártaro dental de 49 individuos procedentes de 17 sitios arqueológicos del archipiélago de Chiloé y de los Chonos ...con cronologías entre ~4400 a 300 años cal AP. Evaluamos la información obtenida anteriormente sobre los valores ôsup.13C y ósup.15N de isótopos estables en el que se revela una dieta eminentemente marina para estos grupos cazadores recolectores, señalando la invisibilización del uso/consumo de recursos vegetales en relación a la dieta predominante. La integración de esta línea de evidencia ha permitido registrar el consumo alimenticio de algas marinas, plantas silvestres y domesticadas, algunas con propiedades medicinales y psicoactivas, además del uso parafuncional de la cavidad bucal de acuerdo a la presencia de restos asignables a tallos de plantas usadas en la confección de cestería. Por último, la identificación de la ingesta de plantas domesticadas en el archipiélago septentrional, constituye un bio-indicador arqueológico que permite proyectar contactos entre diferentes trayectorias culturales, la de los grupos canoeros y hortícolas, a través de la secuencia temporal.
Subduction, isostatic rebound, and changes in global sea levels, combined with the last glaciation, have shaped the geography of the channels of Western Patagonia. Current archaeological research in ...this area includes some ten sites that allow us to characterize the occupation of this territory by marine hunter-gatherers. The studied archaeological sites also inform about the various geomorphological changes that the coastline has undergone. Archives dating back six thousand years ago and archaeological contexts yield new insights about the location, distribution, and position of the shoreline and its changes over time. We present a set of data, including new sites and AMS radiocarbon determinations, which supports the hypothesis that landforms have risen or subsided, and provide the bases for a working model in which archaeological ages can inform the chronology of changes in the region's coastal morphology. This paper suggest that human occupations between 6200 and 4400 cal BP recorded on high terraces of the Guiatecas Archipelago indicate higher local sea-levels, while the sites immediately on the waterfront are 2000 years younger. On the other hand, sites younger than 3300 cal BP on the modern coastline of the Chonos archipelago undergo permanent shaping, mainly due to local tectonics affecting vertical movement. Considering previously published and new data provided in this paper, we suggest preliminary uplift rates between 0.57 and 5.42 m/ka for the Guaitecas Archipelago, 0.31–1.48 m/ka for the northern sector of the Chonos Archipelago, and 0.85 m/ka in the central sector.
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