The introduction of domesticated plants into ancient hunting and gathering economic systems expan... more The introduction of domesticated plants into ancient hunting and gathering economic systems expanded and transformed human societies worldwide during the Holocene. These transformations occurred even in the oases and hyperarid environments of the Atacama Desert along the Pacific coast. Human groups inhabiting this desert incorporated adjacent habitats to the semi-tropical valleys through transitory or logistic camps like Morro Negro 1 (MN-1), in the Lluta valley (~12 km from the littoral in northernmost Chile), into their settlement patterns. During the earliest occupation (Late Archaic period, 5140-4270 cal yr BP) people collected and consumed wild plants, although crops such as Lagenaria were present. Following a gap of more than 2000 years between 4270 and 1850, people returned and introduced new domesticated plants at the site (Gossypium, Zea mays, Capsicum), which displaced the use of wild reed (Schoenoplectus) rhizomes as the chief staple during the first occupation. This change in food consumption was linked to the transformations that took place during the Archaic-Formative transition, but did not entirely shift the ways of life of these coastal marine huntergatherers.
Few archeological sites in South America contain uncontroversial evidence for when the first peop... more Few archeological sites in South America contain uncontroversial evidence for when the first peopling of the continent occurred. Largely ignored in this debate, extreme environments are assumed either as barriers to this early wave of migration or without potential for past habitability. Here, we report on a rare 12–13 ka human occupation from Quebrada Maní (site QM12), a plantless, near rainless landscape (1240 m asl and 85 km from the Pacific Ocean) located in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert. This location harbored wetlands and riparian woodlands that were fed by increased rainfall further east in the central Andes during the latest Pleistocene. Excavations at QM12 yielded a diverse cultural assemblage of lithics, burned and cut bones, marine gastropods, pigments, plant fibers, and wooden artifacts alongside a prepared fireplace. Sixteen radiocarbon dates from site QM12 on charcoal, marine shells, animal dung, plant remains and wood reveal that the occupation took place between 12.8 and 11.7 ka. These results demonstrate that the Atacama Desert was not a barrier to early American settlement and dispersal, and provide new clues for understanding the cultural complexity and diversity of the peopling of South America during the Last Glacial–interglacial transition.
"In South America, evidence of human occupation dates back to 14,600 calibrated years BP (14.6 ka... more "In South America, evidence of human occupation dates back to 14,600 calibrated years BP (14.6 ka). Yet, important areas
such as the Atacama Desert, between latitude 17° to 21° S (northern Atacama), lack occupations older than 11,5 ka. Current
hyperarid conditions in the Atacama have dissuaded many researchers from considering this region as a possible territory for
Pleistocene-Holocene peoples. Paleoecological data, however, have suggested increased availability of water along the western
slope of the Andes from 17.5-9.5 ka. Thus, we systematically searched for rodent middens and paleowetlands in the large canyons of the Andean Precordillera as well as the interfluves (1,000-3,000 masl). As a result, we identified specific habitats favorable for early human settling. This interdisciplinary and predictive methodological model, summarized in this paper, allowed us to identify several sites. Among these, Quebrada Maní 12 is the first Pleistocene-Holocene human occupation (~11.9 a 12.7 ka) known from the northern Atacama."
Chungara, Revista de Antropología Chilena , Jan 1, 2004
En la cordillera de los Andes de Chile Central, evidencias arqueológicas indicarían que una serie... more En la cordillera de los Andes de Chile Central, evidencias arqueológicas indicarían que una serie de aleros rocosos fueron ocupados probablemente de manera ocasional y eventual. En búsqueda de inferir las actividades que se llevaron a cabo en dichos espacios y así contrastar tal hipótesis, se realizó un estudio integral de estos contextos desde una perspectiva comparativa tanto a nivel intra como intersitio. De este modo, se esclarece el rol funcional que cumplió este tipo de sitios en los patrones de asentamiento cordilleranos durante los períodos Arcaico IV y Agroalfarero Temprano.
The introduction of domesticated plants into ancient hunting and gathering economic systems expan... more The introduction of domesticated plants into ancient hunting and gathering economic systems expanded and transformed human societies worldwide during the Holocene. These transformations occurred even in the oases and hyperarid environments of the Atacama Desert along the Pacific coast. Human groups inhabiting this desert incorporated adjacent habitats to the semi-tropical valleys through transitory or logistic camps like Morro Negro 1 (MN-1), in the Lluta valley (~12 km from the littoral in northernmost Chile), into their settlement patterns. During the earliest occupation (Late Archaic period, 5140-4270 cal yr BP) people collected and consumed wild plants, although crops such as Lagenaria were present. Following a gap of more than 2000 years between 4270 and 1850, people returned and introduced new domesticated plants at the site (Gossypium, Zea mays, Capsicum), which displaced the use of wild reed (Schoenoplectus) rhizomes as the chief staple during the first occupation. This change in food consumption was linked to the transformations that took place during the Archaic-Formative transition, but did not entirely shift the ways of life of these coastal marine huntergatherers.
Few archeological sites in South America contain uncontroversial evidence for when the first peop... more Few archeological sites in South America contain uncontroversial evidence for when the first peopling of the continent occurred. Largely ignored in this debate, extreme environments are assumed either as barriers to this early wave of migration or without potential for past habitability. Here, we report on a rare 12–13 ka human occupation from Quebrada Maní (site QM12), a plantless, near rainless landscape (1240 m asl and 85 km from the Pacific Ocean) located in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert. This location harbored wetlands and riparian woodlands that were fed by increased rainfall further east in the central Andes during the latest Pleistocene. Excavations at QM12 yielded a diverse cultural assemblage of lithics, burned and cut bones, marine gastropods, pigments, plant fibers, and wooden artifacts alongside a prepared fireplace. Sixteen radiocarbon dates from site QM12 on charcoal, marine shells, animal dung, plant remains and wood reveal that the occupation took place between 12.8 and 11.7 ka. These results demonstrate that the Atacama Desert was not a barrier to early American settlement and dispersal, and provide new clues for understanding the cultural complexity and diversity of the peopling of South America during the Last Glacial–interglacial transition.
"In South America, evidence of human occupation dates back to 14,600 calibrated years BP (14.6 ka... more "In South America, evidence of human occupation dates back to 14,600 calibrated years BP (14.6 ka). Yet, important areas
such as the Atacama Desert, between latitude 17° to 21° S (northern Atacama), lack occupations older than 11,5 ka. Current
hyperarid conditions in the Atacama have dissuaded many researchers from considering this region as a possible territory for
Pleistocene-Holocene peoples. Paleoecological data, however, have suggested increased availability of water along the western
slope of the Andes from 17.5-9.5 ka. Thus, we systematically searched for rodent middens and paleowetlands in the large canyons of the Andean Precordillera as well as the interfluves (1,000-3,000 masl). As a result, we identified specific habitats favorable for early human settling. This interdisciplinary and predictive methodological model, summarized in this paper, allowed us to identify several sites. Among these, Quebrada Maní 12 is the first Pleistocene-Holocene human occupation (~11.9 a 12.7 ka) known from the northern Atacama."
Chungara, Revista de Antropología Chilena , Jan 1, 2004
En la cordillera de los Andes de Chile Central, evidencias arqueológicas indicarían que una serie... more En la cordillera de los Andes de Chile Central, evidencias arqueológicas indicarían que una serie de aleros rocosos fueron ocupados probablemente de manera ocasional y eventual. En búsqueda de inferir las actividades que se llevaron a cabo en dichos espacios y así contrastar tal hipótesis, se realizó un estudio integral de estos contextos desde una perspectiva comparativa tanto a nivel intra como intersitio. De este modo, se esclarece el rol funcional que cumplió este tipo de sitios en los patrones de asentamiento cordilleranos durante los períodos Arcaico IV y Agroalfarero Temprano.
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Papers by Carolina Salas Egaña
such as the Atacama Desert, between latitude 17° to 21° S (northern Atacama), lack occupations older than 11,5 ka. Current
hyperarid conditions in the Atacama have dissuaded many researchers from considering this region as a possible territory for
Pleistocene-Holocene peoples. Paleoecological data, however, have suggested increased availability of water along the western
slope of the Andes from 17.5-9.5 ka. Thus, we systematically searched for rodent middens and paleowetlands in the large canyons of the Andean Precordillera as well as the interfluves (1,000-3,000 masl). As a result, we identified specific habitats favorable for early human settling. This interdisciplinary and predictive methodological model, summarized in this paper, allowed us to identify several sites. Among these, Quebrada Maní 12 is the first Pleistocene-Holocene human occupation (~11.9 a 12.7 ka) known from the northern Atacama."
such as the Atacama Desert, between latitude 17° to 21° S (northern Atacama), lack occupations older than 11,5 ka. Current
hyperarid conditions in the Atacama have dissuaded many researchers from considering this region as a possible territory for
Pleistocene-Holocene peoples. Paleoecological data, however, have suggested increased availability of water along the western
slope of the Andes from 17.5-9.5 ka. Thus, we systematically searched for rodent middens and paleowetlands in the large canyons of the Andean Precordillera as well as the interfluves (1,000-3,000 masl). As a result, we identified specific habitats favorable for early human settling. This interdisciplinary and predictive methodological model, summarized in this paper, allowed us to identify several sites. Among these, Quebrada Maní 12 is the first Pleistocene-Holocene human occupation (~11.9 a 12.7 ka) known from the northern Atacama."