Paso Otero 5: a summary of the interdisciplinary lines of evidence for reconstructing early human occupation and paleoenvironment in the Pampean region, Argentina

MARTÍNEZ, G.; GUTIÉRREZ, M. A.

Peuplements et Préhistoire de l’Amérique

Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle

Lugar: Paris; Año: 2011; p. 271 - 284

Paso Otero 5 (Pampean region, Argentina) is characterized by the presence of extinct megamammals and modern species in association with fish-tail projectile points chronologically located ca. 10,450-10,200 yrs BP. The purpose of this paper is to summarize and discuss the results from several lines of evidence carried out for the last 10 years, particularly archaeological, chronological, geological, and paleonvironmental studies for the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. These results, integrated to regional information from other early sites, enable to highlight the main contributions of Paso Otero 5 to understanding hunter-gatherers adaptation and ways of life. In this sense, results indicate that a) human colonization occurred under cold, arid-semiarid, severe, and fluctuating climatic conditions; b) a great diversity of extinct species were recorded in a critical transitional period; c) megamammal bones were used as fuel; d) a planned and complex lithic technological strategy were developed; e) a good knowledge of the landscape and of resources distribution was acquired; f) wide home ranges and social interaction networks, both at a regional and extra-regional scale, were established by the Pleistocene-Holocene transition.