Paleoecology of the sub-Antarctic marine ecosystem of southern South America in the last 6500 years

ZANGRANDO, A. F.; KOCHI, S.; RICCIALDELLI, L.; TESSONE, A.; TIVOLI, A.; NEWSOME, S.; FOGEL, M.

San Rafael

Congreso; ICAZ 2014. 12a International Conference of Archaeozoology; 2014

ICAZ

The coastal archaeological record of Tierra del Fuego contains an abundance of bones and shells that span the past ~6500 years, providing a unique archive of ecological information. Long-term changes in the structure and function of sub-Antarctic marine ecosystems can be explored with stable isotope analysis to evaluate how both climate and humans have affected species and their geographic distribution. In this paper we present preliminary results using carbon (d13C) and nitrogen (d15N) values in bone collagen from animal bones preserved in archaeological sites from the north coast of Beagle Channel. Thus far, samples (N =90) include southern fur seals (Arctocephalus australis), albatrosses (Diomedea spp.), cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp.), hakes (Merluccius spp., Macruronus magellanicus) and snoeks (Thyrsites atun). Albatrosses had the highest mean (±SD) d15N values (18.6±0.9 ?) and lowest d13C (-13.1 ± 0.5 ?), cormorants had the lowest mean d15N values (15.4 ± 0.6?), and the southern fur seals had the highest d13C values (-11.8 ± 0.5?). Past distribution and behavior of marine animals are evaluated and the implications for archaeology will be discussed.