INVESTIGADORES
PREVOSTI Francisco Juan
artículos
Título:
LAND OF THE GROUND SLOTHS: RECENT RESEARCH AT CUEVA CHICA, ULTIMA ESPERANZA, CHILE
Autor/es:
FABIANA MARTIN; MANUEL SAN ROMAN; FLAVIA MORELLO; DOMINIC TODISCO; FRANCISCO J. PREVOSTI; LUIS BORRERO
Revista:
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
Editorial:
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Referencias:
Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2013 vol. 305 p. 56 - 66
ISSN:
1040-6182
Resumen:
Ultima Esperanza is a region known worldwide, where some of the best preserved remains of latePleistocene ground sloths were found. Cueva del Milodón produced a large piece of Mylodon darwini skinin 1895 as well as extensive deposits of ground sloth dung that were sampled several times during the20th Century. These deposits are dated within 13,500 and 10,200 radiocarbon years. At Cueva del Medio,not far from Cueva del Milodón, evidence of human exploitation of extinct fauna was discovered. Also, atnearby Dos Herraduras rockshelter, several ground sloth elements were found within a tephra layerregionally dated ca. 12,600 BP. This paper presents new data derived from stratigraphic work at CuevaChica, a site located near Cueva del Milodón, which in spite of its obvious potential was not studiedpreviously. The work revealed more than one layer of Late Pleistocene fauna, where remains of groundsloth, a large felid and other species were preserved. Radiocarbon studies produced some of the oldestevidence for the presence of Mylodon sp. in the region. The integration of these results within the contextof the paleoecology of Late Pleistocene Ultima Esperanza is presented.