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Site GNL Quintero 1 (GNLQ1), located on the central coast of Chile, is the only documented Late Pleistocene drowned terrestrial site along the Pacific Coast of South America. Faunal evidence at the site is varied, and so far, remains of the following taxa have been found: extinct Camelidae, Cervidae, Equidae, Mylodontidae, Xenarthra, but also Myocastoridae, Canidae and Octodontidae. Both geological and paleoenvironmental data indicate that GNLQ1 developed in a floodplain or low-energy environment during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Prior to the post-glacial rising of the sea level, the site would have been located several kilometres inland as the paleoshoreline was farther out on the continental shelf. In accordance with this background, the present study addresses the analysis of the spatial distribution of the bone deposits of GNLQ1 by considering both scenarios, the terrestrial phase related to the formation and modification of the fossil assemblage prior to the transgression, and the marine phase, subsequent to inundation. Results indicate modifications related to low-energy flow environment and carnivore activity dominated during the terrestrial phase and the action of marine organisms during the marine phase. Other taphonomic modifications are not easily attributable to either one or the other environmental context.GNL Quintero S.A

Resumen Se presentan los resultados del análisis tafonómico del sitio GNLQ1 (32º S -71º O, Chile) descubierto a 13 m de profundidad bajo el mar. El sitio corresponde a un contexto primario conformado por una serie de restos de fauna continental extinta (familias Camelidae, Cervidae, Cricetidae, Artiodactyla, Equidae, Mylodontidae, Canidae, así como del Orden Xenarthra) recuperados en concentraciones dispuestas sobre una unidad estratigráfica asignada al Pleistoceno final. En este trabajo se abordan la determinación taxonómica y representación anatómica, además de las características superficiales del material, con el fin de conocer las condiciones paleoecológicas y delimitar los factores tafonómicos en contextos terrestres y subacuáticos.