The deep-time dynamics of coupled socio-ecological systems at different spatial scales is viewed as a key framework to understand trends and mechanisms that have led to the Anthropocene. By integrating archeological and paleoenvironmental records, we test the hypothesis that Chilean societies progressively escalated their capacity to shape national biophysical systems as socio-cultural complexity and pressures on natural resources increased over the last three millennia. We demonstrate that Pre-Columbian societies intentionally transformed Chile’s northern and central regions by continuously adjusting socio-cultural practices and/or incorporating technologies that guaranteed resource access and social wealth. The fact that past human activities led to cumulative impacts on diverse biophysical processes, not only contradicts the notion of pristine pre-Industrial Revolution landscapes, but suggests that the Anthropocene derives from long-term processes that have operated uninterruptedly since Pre-Columbian times. Moreover, our synthesis suggests that most of present-day symptoms that describe the Anthropocene are rooted in pre-Columbian processes that scaled up in intensity over the last 3000 years, accelerating after the Spanish colonization and, more intensely, in recent decades. The most striking trend is the observed coevolution between the intensity of metallurgy and heavy-metal anthropogenic emissions. This entails that the Anthropocene cannot be viewed as a universal imprint of human actions that has arisen as an exclusive consequence of modern industrial societies. In the Chilean case, this phenomenon is intrinsically tied to historically and geographically diverse configurations in society-environment feedback relationships. Taken collectively with other case studies, the patterns revealed here could contribute to the discussion about how the Anthropocene is defined globally, in terms of chronology, stratigraphic markers and attributes. Furthermore, this deep-time narrative can potentially become a science-based instrument to shape better-informed discourses about the socio-environmental history in Chile. More importantly, however, this research provides crucial “baselines” to delineate safe operating spaces for future socio-ecological systems.

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Los 300 años que median entre 1550 y 1850 d.C. constituyen una gran incógnita respecto del devenir del trabajo de metales indígena en la Araucanía. Para abordar esto se definen dos tradiciones de trabajo de metales: la El Vergel y la Platería Mapuche. La primera corresponde a tiempos prehistóricos y es la existente hacia 1550 d.C., y la segunda alcanza su esplendor desde 1850 d.C. Los registros arqueológico (material) e histórico (escrito y gráfico) son usados para acceder al período entre estas dos fechas. Este a su vez fue evaluado siguiendo cuatro ejes: materias primas, piezas, individuos y contextos. Se plantea que ocurrió (a) un progresivo desplazamiento desde una tecnología mayormente basada en cobre a una casi exclusivamente en plata, y (b) un recambio completo de la morfología de las piezas manufacturadas. Sin embargo, las piezas metálicas continúan siendo usadas casi solo por mujeres. Por último, ocurre una tan alta valorización de la Platería Mapuche, que se imposibilita su incorporación en los contextos funerarios y se desvalorizan los adornos en cuentas. El devenir del trabajo de metales de tiempos históricos es así testimonio de los profundos cambios políticos, sociales y económicos que experimenta la sociedad indígena, desde la llegada europea hasta su incorporación al estado chileno.Palabras claves: trabajo de metales, metalurgia, El Vergel, Platería Mapuche, complejidad social, contacto cultural. The indigenous Araucanian metalworking development from AD 1550 to AD 1850 remains unknown. In order to approach this period two metalworking traditions are defined: the

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Public architecture emerged in conjunction with the development of early complex societies and is therefore a key feature for understanding them. Anthropogenic mounds and platforms in southern Chile dated to the Late Ceramic Period (AD 1000–1550), and historic indigenous inhabitants (AD 1550–present) are the southernmost manifestation of public architecture in the Americas. We report the results from excavation of an architectural complex on Mocha Island that covers an area of ~9.2 ha and a volume of ~43,000 m3. This paper describes its construction dynamics, placing its origin at around AD 1000, a moment of significant sociopolitical and economic changes in southern Chile. We then associate information obtained from this site with similar complexes on mainland southern Chile to locate this phenomenon within a more regional comparative context.