Monte Verde II: an assessment of new radiocarbon dates and their sedimentological context

Abstract

Monte Verde II in southern Chile is one of the most important, and debated, sites for understanding of the early peopling of the Americas. The authors present 43 radiocarbon measurements based on cores of sediments that overlie the archaeological deposits adjacent to the site. Statistical analysis of these dates narrows the deposition of the earliest sediments sealing the occupational layer to c. 14 550 cal BP. The consistency between the dates of the site's archaeological strata and its adjacent deposits allows not only consolidation of the site's chronology, but also illustration of how a multi-pronged approach can inform debates surrounding the peopling of new lands—in the Americas or elsewhere.

Revised pre-Younger Dryas chronocultural sequence at the Pilauco site, north-western Patagonia (40°–44°S)

“…Archaeological evidence and palaeogenetic studies suggest human presence between 16 600 and 15 100 cal BP (Prates et al 2020). Sites such as Monte Verde I and II (Dillehay et al 2015;Pino & Dillehay 2023) and Pilauco (Pino & Astorga 2020) provide evidence of pre-Holocene human activity and extinct fauna during late Pleistocene-early Holocene transition.…”