CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Taphonomic research focused on the recovery and study of faunal remains at Cueva del Puma was initiated in October, 2002. The cave is located at the Estancia Brazo Norte, Chile, at about 2 km fron the Chico River. Its small entry opens toward the North on the external wall of an extinct crater. Cueva del Puma is a large cave, whose maximum length is 49 m, with a variable width. Several lateral chambers of varied shape and size define a complex tunnel system. A 16 m long passage, almost full whith sediments, leads to a large and complex dark chamber.The topography of this chamber is irregular and its height is variable, reaching a maximum of ca. 6 m. Both surface and stratigraphic samples were collected. An important bone accumulation of both modern and extinct species was recorded on the surface. Modern faunas also included introduced species, which are particularly abundant in the main chamber. Their study clearly point to carnivores as the agents involved in their accumulation. The abundance of puma skeletons and scats, as well as the marks on the bones, strongly suggest the recent involvement of pumas. Other surface accumulations incluye Lama sp., horse (Hippidion saldiasi), large felids (Puma concolor. or Panthera sp.), bear (Pararctotherium sp.) and large foxes (Pseudalopex culpaeus or Dusicyon avus.) remains.All the evidence suggest that it is basically a paleontological accumulation. It must be underlined that Cueva del Puma, whith a temporal span of some 10,300 radiocarbon years, presents an impresive example of averaged faunas on the surface. Effectively, modern faunas -including both native and exotic species- are physically associated with extinct species on the surface of the cave. Preliminary results suggest that panthers and other carnivores were implied in the accumulation of Pleistocene faunas at other patagonian regions.

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