Understanding how human societies interacted with environmental changes is a major goal of archaeology and other socio-natural sciences. In this paper, we assess the human-environment interactions in the Pampa del Tamarugal (PDT) basin of the Atacama Desert over the last 13,000 years. By relying on a socioenvironmental model that integrates ecosystem services with adaptive strategies, we review past climate changes, shifting environmental conditions, and the continuities and discontinuities in the nature and intensity of the human occupation of the PDT. As a result we highlight the importance of certain key resources such as water, an essential factor in the long-term trajectory of eco-historical change. Without water the outcome of human societies becomes hazardous.

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In the past two decades, much has been learned about the late Quaternary climate history of the Atacama Desert with some details still unclear about the seasonality, timing and extent of wet and dry phases. Modern climate studies reveal that, far from exhibiting a unique pattern, seasonal precipitation originates from many sources and mechanisms. For the last 16 ka, we attempt to sort out these complexities in pollen records from four fossil rodent midden series spanning 22°–25°S in northern Chile. Widespread wet conditions prevailed during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, particularly between 13 and 9 ka, evidenced by <400 m lowering of pollen zones (plant communities) compared to today. Regional differences in the timing and magnitude of this displacement may be related to the prevailing source (tropical/extra‐tropical) or mode (NNW/SE) of tropical precipitation through time. Wet conditions persisted well into the early Holocene, lasting ∼1–1.5 ka longer than previously suggested. The pollen record suggests extreme drying ∼8 ka, possibly associated with a northward shift of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone, tracking minimum insolation values at subtropical latitudes during the austral summer. The establishment of conditions similar to today happened ∼4 ka. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

RESUMENEl norte de la provincia de Neuquén (Depto. Pehuenches, Argentina) es muy poco conocido a nivel arqueológico, a pesar de estar ubicado en una posición central en relación con distintos temas clave del poblamiento humano de Sudamérica, incluyendo la extinción de la megafauna y sus causas, el poblamiento humano inicial y la existencia de discontinuidades arqueológicas en el Holoceno medio. En este trabajo se presenta el primer cuerpo de resultados paleoecológicos y arqueológicos para el sitio Cueva Huenul 1, recientemente excavado, que ofrece una secuencia sedimentaria que se extiende durante los últimos 16.000 años calendáricos. Estas evidencias incluyen el desarrollo de un marco crono-estratigráfico para el sitio, que aporta novedosa información tefro-cronológica. A partir de este análisis, se definen cuatro componentes temporales, sobre los cuales se asienta el estudio de los materiales recuperados: evidencias faunísticas (paleontológicas y arqueológicas), arqueobotánicas, líticas, cerámicas y de arte rupestre. Estos resultados en escala de sitio proveen una primera instancia de evaluación de procesos en escala macro-regional, así como las bases para la continuación de este proyecto.PALABRAS CLAVE: Neuquén, fauna extinta, poblamiento humano temprano, cronología, tendencias temporales. ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR NORTHERN PATAGONIA:CUEVA HUENUL 1 SITE (NEUQUEN PROVINCE, ARGENTINA) ABSTRACT Northern Neuquén Province (Pehuenches Dept., Argentina) is barely known from an archaeological 138 R. BARBERENA et al. perspective, though it is centrally placed in terms of several large-scale key issues in the peopling of South America: the extinction of the megafauna and its causes, early human presence, and the existence of archaeological discontinuities during the Mid-Holocene. In this paper we present the first body of paleoecological and archaeological data for Cueva Huenul 1 site, recently excavated, which offers a sedimentary sequence extending during the last of 16.000 calendar years. Initially, we present a chronostratigraphic frame for the site, including new tephro-chronological information. On this basis, four temporal components are defined, providing the historical scheme for the analysis of the recovered evidences that include: archaeofaunas (paleontological and archaeological), archaeobotany, lithic and ceramic technology, and rockart. These results at a site scale provide a first approach to a discussion of macro-regional processes, as well as the basis for the continuation of our research.KEY WORDS: Neuquén, extinct fauna, early human peopling, chronology, temporal tendencies. INTRODUCCIÓN Y ANTECEDENTESEste trabajo se enmarca en un proyecto arqueológico recientemente iniciado en el extremo noroeste de Patagonia (Departamento Pehuenches, provincia del Neuquén, Argentina; Fig. 1; Barberena, 2013). Básicamente la región carece de información arqueológica, lo que ofrece tanto una limitación como un desafío para el desarrollo de este proyecto. En esta instancia inicial de acercamiento a la arqueol...

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