Paleoecology of the sub-Antarctic marine ecosystem of southern South America in the last 6500 years

ZANGRANDO, ATILIO FRANCISCO J.; KOCHI, SAYURI; RICCIALDELLI, LUCIANA; TESSONE, AUGUSTO; TIVOLI, ANGÉLICA MONTSERRAT; NEWSOME, SETH; FOGEL, MARILYN

San Rafael

Congreso; 12th International Conference of Archaeozoology - International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ); 2014

International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ)

The coastal archaeological record of Tierra del Fuego contains an abundance of bones and shells that span the past ~6500 years, providing a unique archive of ecological information. Long-term changes in the structure and function of sub-Antarctic marine ecosystems can be explored with stable isotope analysis to evaluate how both climate and humans have affected species and their geographic distribution. In this paper we present preliminary results using carbon (d13C) and nitrogen (d15N) values in bone collagen from animal bones preserved in archaeological sites from the north coast of Beagle Channel. Thus far, samples (N=90) include southern fur seals (Arctocephalus australis), albatrosses (Diomedea spp.) cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp.), hakes (Merluccius spp., Macruronus magellanicus) and snoeks (Thyrsites atun). Albatrosses had the highest mean (±SD) d15N values (18.6 ± 0.9 ?) and the lowest d13C (-13.1 ± 0.5 ?), cormorants had the lowest mean d15N values (15.4 ± 0.6 ?), and the southern fur seals had the highest d13C values (-11.8 ± 0.5 ?). Past distribution and behaviour of marine animals are evaluated and the implications for archaeology will be discussed.