Preface Mid-Holocene Paleoenvironments and human occupation in

MARCELO ZARATE; ADOLFO GIL; GUSTAVO NEME

QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL

Elsevier

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2005 vol. 132 p. 1 - 3

1040-6182

During recent years, increasing attention has been devoted to the role of past climatic changes as driving forces for human responses. Consequently the collaboration between earth scientists and archaeologists has grown significantly with the goal of analyzing the connections between climate and culture. Worldwide, among the different time intervals examined, the mid- Holocene period from circa 8000–3000 BP was characterized by a profound cultural transition and a highly variable climate (Sandweiss et al., 1999). This is also registered at distant and diverse areas of southern South America that show significant changes of cultural patterns, indicated by either a decrease of human occupation, or the advent of new strategies to obtain natural resources. Simultaneously, diverse paleoclimate archives including, among others, ice cores, lake cores, fluvial sequences and eolian deposits, were studied documenting high variable environmental responses across southern South America.Sandweiss et al., 1999). This is also registered at distant and diverse areas of southern South America that show significant changes of cultural patterns, indicated by either a decrease of human occupation, or the advent of new strategies to obtain natural resources. Simultaneously, diverse paleoclimate archives including, among others, ice cores, lake cores, fluvial sequences and eolian deposits, were studied documenting high variable environmental responses across southern South America.