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the first settlers of Patagonia and several extinct species: Hemiauchenia cf. paradoxa, Lama gracilis, Panthera onca mesembrina, Hippidion saldiasi, Megatherium americanum cf. and Arctotheirum sp. Present fauna such as Lama guanicoe, Rhea sp., Lycalopex griseus and Lycalopex sp. is also contemporary. All the information points to the fact that southern Patagonia had paleoenvironmental diversity, plurality of sites and different use patterns of wildlife during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. The use and consumption of the three species of camelids and the survival of Hippidion saldiasi in specific environments of the plateau is also highlighted. These issues are discussed taking into account available information relating to the early human occupation of the Southern Cone, as part of a growing methodological improvement that seeks to integrate different research avenues.

In this work we uncovered a well-supported pattern of the demographic change in the populations from South-Central Andes and Patagonia, obtained on the basis of different data and quantitative approaches, which suggests that the incorporation of domestic resources was paramount for the demographic expansion of these populations during the Holocene.

We study the isotopic variability of modern social groups of guanacos (Lama guanicoe) and discuss the implications of these results for the analysis of archaeofaunas from archaeological sites of Patagonia. The aim of this work is to evaluate whether the study of the isotope composition of carbon and nitrogen from collagen (δ13C and δ15N) is a methodology that allows the discussion of hunting strategies – individual versus mass – carried out by human populations in this particular case of the guanaco from southern Patagonia. Samples come from five modern assemblages of guanacos located in the west margin of the Cardiel Lake and are the result of a catastrophic mortality episode produced by winter stress. The isotopic variability of these samples is compared with that of a mesoregional attritional assemblage built from multiple sites and chronologies. The results indicate, in the first place, that there is no differentiation between males and females, second, that the offspring show no increase of signals when compared to the other age categories and finally, juveniles recorded the lowest δ15N values. In relation to the main purpose of this research, measurements of variability from modern assemblages and the attritional groups have been compared. The three assemblages with lower variability are modern ones. However, the two remaining modern assemblages record a variability higher than or equal to the attritional groups. Thus, for southern Patagonian guanacos, the hypothesis that proposes that the isotopic variability of a herd would be lower than the one obtained from multiple populations and different hunting events is rejected. Finally, we analyze the possible causes for these results together with situations in which δ13C and δ15N can be used in the study of the guanaco hunting strategies in southern Patagonia. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Este trabajo busca generar un aporte al conocimiento de la dinámica poblacional de cazadores, en Patagonia meridional, durante el Holoceno medio y tardío en el marco de condiciones climáticas altamente fluctuantes. Para este fin se analizaron distintas líneas de evidencias arqueológicas provenientes de diferentes ambientes del centro-oeste de la provincia de Santa Cruz, Argentina. Se identificó una interesante variabilidad del registro arqueológico, en estrecha relación con las modificaciones ambientales registradas en el Holoceno.Palabras claves: Patagonia, cazadores-recolectores, Holoceno.this article seeks to generate a contribution to the knowledge of the peopling dynamics of hunters in southern Patagonia during the middle and late holocene within fluctuating climatic conditions. in order to do this, different archaeological evidences were analyzed from diverse environments in Santa cruz province (Argentina). An interesting variability in the archaeological record was identified, in close relation with the environmental modifications registered in the holocene.

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