Environmental Stability During the Pleistocene- Holocene Transition in Northwestern Patagonia? The Small Mammals of Cueva Huenul 1 as Evidence

F. FERNÁNDEZ; U. PARDIÑAS; P. TETA; R. BARBERENA

Current Research in the Pleistocene

Texas A&M University

Año: 2011 vol. 28 p. 154 - 156

8755-898X

Paleoenvironmental studies in northwestern Patagonia are mostly focused on forest and ecotone forest-steppe areas. The obtained data indicate dry and cold conditions for the late-Pleistocene/Holocene transition. For the steppic and hilly ranges east of the Andes in northern Neuquén province there are no studied paleoclimatic records, despite the potential interest of this region, because it has the highest elevations in Patagonia and is situated near the western limit of the South American Arid Diagonal. Recent excavations at Cueva Huenul 1 (Neuquén province, Argentina) yielded a rich sequence spanning the late-Pleistocene/early-Holocene, and reaching the late Holocene. In this note we briefly address the taphonomy and paleoenvironmental significance of the micromammal remains obtained in CH1.