BEFORE AND AFTER OF THE HUDSON VOLCANO ERUPTION: PALEOECOLOGICAL APPROACH BY MULTIDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS OF CAMELID COPROLITES

BENVENUTO, MARÍA LAURA; BURRY, LIDIA SUSANA; VELÁZQUEZ, NADIA; MARTÍNEZ TOSTO, ANA CECILIA; PETRIGH, ROMINA; CAMIOLO, IVANA; BOZZUTO, DAMIÁN; FERNÁNDEZ, NATALIA; MAVEROFF, NICOLÁS; GUICHÓN, RICARDO

Kiel

Encuentro; 27th EAA Annual Meeting (Kiel Virtual, 2021); 2021

The earliest human occupation evidence in the Pueyrredón-Posadas lake basin (Santa Cruz, Argentina) is dated to ca. 8,600 cal BP.However, there are no archaeological records between ca. 8,100-7,700 cal BP. This hiatus coincides with the H1 Hudson volcanoeruption about 7,900 cal BP, as indicated by the presence of tephra in the stratigraphy of two archaeological sites in the area. Thiseruption was recorded as the largest in the southern of the Andes during the post glacial period. The proposed hypothesis is thatthis event influenced the permanence of camelids and the human population in this region. Camelids were the main resource ofhunter-gatherer populations of Patagonia during the Holocene. At regional scale, archaeological studies showed variations in lithictechnology, styles of projectile points, instrument size and rock art among the sets recorded before and after the H1 eruption. The hypothesis will be tested in part through a multiproxy analysis of camelid coprolites collected from layers immediately below andabove the Hudson ash level at the Cueva Milodón Norte 1 site (47.30ºS 71.89ºW). Silicophytoliths, pollen, plant remains, stable isotopes(C and N) and aDNA of coprolites will be analyzed to evaluate changes in the frequency and abundance of these proxies thatmay be associated with paleodiet, seasonality in the use of the site before and after the H1 eruption. In the present work, results ofsilicophytoliths, pollen and plant remains in current guanaco feaces collected near the site are presented as a reference model forthe coprolites analyses. Forest taxa such as, Nothofagus spp. (Nothofagaceae) and steppe taxa such as, Caryophyllaceae, Cyperaceae,Poa ligularis (Poaceae subf. Pooideae), Empetrum rubrum (Empetraceae), Mulinum spinosum (Apiaceae), among others, wereidentified. These results will contribute to interpreting the changes and interactions in pre- and post-eruption scenarios