Distribution parameters of guanaco (Lama guanicoe), pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) and marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) in Central Argentina. Archaeological and paleoenvironmental implications

GUSTAVO POLITIS; LUCIANO PRATES; MERINO, M.; TOGNELLI, L.

JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE

ACADEMIC PRESS LTD-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: London; Año: 2011 vol. 28 p. 1405 - 1416

0305-4403

In this paper we use non-ambiguous collections and sightings data from the 18th century to generate potential distribution models of three species of South American ungulates. These ungulates (Lama guanicoe -guanaco-; Ozotoceros bezoarticus -pampas deer- and Blastocerus dichotomus -marsh deer-) have different and specific environmental requirements. Through MaxEnt software, twenty environmental variables that characterize the distribution area of each species are definied. Once the models are generated, they are compared with the faunal associations found at Late Holocene archaelogical sites in order to infer paleoenvironmental conditions. We also discuss the role played by humans in the faunal associations which are "anomalous" or inconsistent with those models, like the spatial overlap of guanaco and marsh deer.