Late Quaternary Ecosystems and Humans in Northern Patagonia (Neuquen, Argentina). Current Research in the Pleistocene

POMPEI, M.P.; BARBARENA, R.; DE PORRAS, M.E.; BORRAZZO, K.; RUGHINI, A.A.; GIL, A.F.

Current Research in the Pleistocene

C&C Wordsmiths

Lugar: Lenoir, North Carolina; Año: 2012 p. 187 - 190

8755-898X

The preliminary palynological analysis shows no major changes in plant communities with grass-shrub communities present since 13,800 RCYBP. Between ca. 13,800 and 9500 RCYBP the pollen assemblages point out the presence of a Patagonian grass-shrub steppe suggesting colder conditions. This would be consistent with the results of the analysis of the small mammals assemblage from CH1, revealing relative taxonomic stability during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (Fernández et al. 2011). As suggested by the authors, this may indicate a high ecologic resilience of the Monte ecosystem. Archaeological evidences indicate a very brief human use of the cave during the Early Holocene. The negative correlation between abundance of archaeological remains and carnivore scats provides an independent proxy of the low intensity of human use. The lithic assemblages suggest a logistic use of the site with tools being discarded in other contexts. A strategy of provisioning of individuals is consistent with this. The earliest date for human presence in CH1 is consistent with data available for northern Patagonia, clustering after 10,000 RCYBP. The macro-regional dataset shows a brief temporal pulse during which human occupations are first recorded at a number of distant places. This may suggest human radiation to ecologically marginal regions from areas that were colonized earlier.