RESUMENEvidencia estratigráfi ca de moluscos terrestres (Endodontidae) y dulceacuícolas (Sphaeridae, Amnicolidae y Succineidae) procedente de contextos arqueológicos de la Isla Mocha, sugieren una marcada tendencia a condiciones más húmedas hacia fi nales del Holoceno Tardío (post-900 A.P.), en coherencia con antecedentes polínicos previamente conocidos. Estos moluscos proporcionan relevante información para discutir el proceso colonizador de micro-moluscos en esta Isla.
PALABRAS CLAVES:Arqueología, Biogeografía, Isla Mocha, Moluscos, Paleoclima.
ABSTRACTArchaeological excavations on Mocha Island yielded stratigraphic evidence for terrestrial (Endodontidae), and freshwater (Sphaeridae, Amnicolidae, Succineidae) mollusks. It suggests wet conditions by the end of the Late Holocene (post-900 BP), what coincide with previous palinological studies. These mollusks provide relevant information to discuss the micromollusks colonization process in this island.
Use of Patagonia's forests by hunter-gatherers remains relatively poorly understood. Regional archaeological records indicate initial forest colonization during the middle Holocene, infrequent use until late prehistory, and, even then, fairly sparse occupation, likely in conjunction with use of the adjacent steppe. Recent excavations at Río Ibáñez-6 West in Aysén, Chile, provide a new perspective for understanding the prehistoric use of Patagonian forests, particularly regarding timing of the initial occupation and the potential for development of a forest-specific adaptation. We provide chronological, lithic, archaeofaunal, and macrobotanical data that show use of the Ibáñez River valley at least a millennium earlier than previously documented. These data indicate increased dietary breadth in late prehistory, supporting the established hypothesis that the valley became a closed system at that time. From our data we develop hypotheses regarding prehistoric forest use in Aysén that have implications for the broader understanding of the suitability of the forest for prehistoric human foragers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.