Nuevas excavaciones en Cueva del Medio: Procesos de formación de la cueva y avances en los estudios de interacción entre cazadores-recolectores y fauna extinta (Pleistoceno Final, Patagonia Meridional)

Abstract

RESUMENSe presentan los resultados de nuevos trabajos realizados en la cueva del Medio, Ultima Esperanza, Chile. Algunos de los principales procesos de formación de la cueva y de acumulación de sus sedimentos han sido identificados. Nuevas excavaciones mostraron evidencias de fauna extinta utilizando la cueva desde aproximadamente 14,000 años radiocarbónicos AP. Las ocupaciones humanas finipleistocenas han sido confirmadas con nuevos hallazgos y fechados, aunque la importancia de la fauna extinta en la subsistencia humana parece ser inferior a lo sugerido con anterioridad.PALABRAS CLAVE: Cueva del Medio, Última Esperanza, Pleistoceno, geomorfología, tafonomía ABSTRACT New studies at cueva del Medio, Ultima Esperanza, Chile, are presented. Some of the main cave formation and sediment accumulation processes were identified. New excavations indicated that extinct fauna was using the cave at least since 14,000 radiocarbon years BP. Human occupations at the end of the Pleistocene were confirmed with new findings and radiocarbon dates. The importance of extinct fauna in the human subsistence was less important than previously sustained.

Assessment of an east-west phenotypic variation in body height, body form and body mass among prehistoric hunter-gatherers of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, chile

“…yrs. BP) and correspond to terrestrial hunter-gatherers, who lived on the pampas (eastern slopes), and exploited modern and extinct fauna (Bird 1993(Bird , 1946Borrero 2002;Borrero and Martin 2012;Martin et al 2015;Massone 1989Massone , 2004McCulloch and Morello 2005). After the Last Glacial Maximum, a gradual rise in sea levels resulted in a shoreline modification (12,000-8,000 BP) that led to the establishment of modern marine environments (Borrero 1999;McCulloch et al 2005;Morello et al 2012).…”

Climate change, availability of territory, and Late Pleistocene human exploration of Ultima Esperanza, South Chile

“…Only one of these sites, Cueva del Milod on, contain minimal evidence of human activities, in the form of cut marks on Hippidion bones (Martin, 2013: 263). In contrast, the findings at Cueva del Medio and Cueva Lago Sofía 1 include hearths, lithic and bone tools, and butchered bones of both extinct and modern fauna all in good stratigraphic position (Nami, 1987(Nami, , 1994aPrieto, 1991;Nami, 2010;Martin et al, 2014). The faunal lists are dominated by camelids (Lama sp.)…”

“…Cueva del Medio (CM) and Cueva Lago Sofía 1 (CLS1) (Nami, 1987(Nami, , 1989(Nami, -1990Prieto, 1991;Jackson and Prieto, 2005;Martin et al, 2014) (Fig. 2).…”

“…Particularly ambiguous is the case of ground sloths whose association with humans appears doubtful (Borrero and Martin, 2012). AMS radiocarbon dating indicates that the human occupations at Cueva del Medio occurred between 10,930 and 10,410 BP, and at Cueva Lago Sofía 1 between 10,780 and 10,140 BP (Nami and Nakamura, 1995;Massone and Prieto, 2004;Steele and Politis, 2009;Martin et al, 2014). If we consider standard radiocarbon dates, the chronological range is wider and older (Table 1).…”

“…The earliest evidence for human presence in Fuego-Patagonia is concentrated in four southern regions, the central plateau in Santa Cruz (Miotti, 1998;Paunero, 2000), the Pali Aike Lava Field (Bird, 1988), Tierra del Fuego (Massone, 2004) and Ultima Esperanza (Nami, 1987;Prieto, 1991;Martin et al, 2014) (Fig. 1).…”