Human occupation in the North of the Argentine-chilean Central andes during the early Holocene (San Juan, Argentina)

CORTEGOSO, VALERIA; DURÁN, VÍCTOR; CASTRO, SILVINA; GASCO, ALEJANDRA; LUCERO, GUSTAVO; WINOCUR, DIEGO

Current Research in the Pleistocene

Texas University Press

Lugar: Texas; Año: 2012

8755-898X

The study area, located in northwestern San Juan Province, Argentina, extends from the western slopes of the Andes (4500 masl) to valleys immediately to the east (3700 masl). Farther east, in neighboring Argentina, another mountain range rises with higher elevations than that on the international border; in fact, the western slope of the Andes has very accessible routes from the valleys that reach the coast (Figure 1). The site Arq. 18 (3761 masl) is a cave/rockshelter located in a small glacial valley with a meadow and stream that drains into the Las Taguas River. Besides enjoying an environment rich in biotic and abiotic resources, the site is located along a natural access route to the Andean divide. The deposit that formed the cave and rockshelter, used as a natural refuge throughout the Holocene, is a conglomerate that likely was eroded in a glaciofluvial environment. Our 2-m2 excavation was on the slope below the cave’s eave and reached almost 50 levels deep, each level 5 cm thick. The chronological sequence was obtained from 18 conventional and AMS radiocarbon dates that fall between 9000 and 1500 rcybp, comprising five componentsof occupation, which are defined by very clear stratigraphic features and dates from the top and bottom of each component.