Paleohydrological Changes in Highland Desert Rivers and Human Occupation, 7000‐3000 Cal. Yr B.P., South‐Central Andes, Argentina

Abstract

This article focuses on local paleohydrological changes experienced by the Las Pitas and Miriguaca Rivers in the south‐central Andes of Argentina and their impacts on hunter‐gatherers as they transitioned to food‐producing communities 7000–3000 cal. yr B.P. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on geomorphology, alluvial sedimentology, and diatom evidence indicates a dry phase of reduced streamflow between ca. 6700 and 4800 cal. yr B.P. for the Las Pitas River, and 6600 and 3000 cal. yr B.P. for the Miriguaca River. A phase of more humid environmental conditions commenced after ca. 4900 cal. yr B.P. along the Las Pitas River, and after 3000 cal. yr B.P. along the Miriguaca River. Differences in the chronology and magnitude of hydrological changes along both rivers are related to topographic and hydrological characteristics of their respective watersheds. Higher catchment elevation and enhanced orographic precipitation favored greater sensitivity for the Las Pitas River to short humid events during the middle‐to‐late Holocene. The archaeological evidence suggests that the paleohydrological changes within these catchments played a significant role in human occupational dynamics such that the Las Pitas River offered better environmental conditions for human occupation relative to the Miriguaca River as foragers increasingly relied on plant and animal domestication.

Environmental trends between 2400 and 1200 BP in Barrancas, Argentinean Puna: Impacts on local resource variability and socioeconomic organization

“…Multiproxy environmental research in the arid highlands of Catamarca supports the notion of a regional‐scale humid phase from 3500 to 1600 cal BP, followed by a drier period (Grana, Tchilinguirian, Hocsman, Escola, & Maidana, ; Tchilinguirian, Grana, & Olivera, ; Valero‐Garcés, Delgado‐Huertas, Ratto, Navas, & Edwards, ). Evidence from the western slope of the Andes range is consistent with this proposal, where a significant glacial advance in northern Chile between 3100 and 1700 cal BP suggests an increase in effective moisture input (Grosjean, Geyh, Messerli, Schreier, & Veit, ).…”

“…Latter observations in SEM were performed in the CMA ( Centro de Microscopía Avanzada ), FCEN, Buenos Aires University. Taxonomic determinations were obtained useing specific monographic works and several studies on diatom biodiversity in Argentinean Puna ecosystems (Grana et al, ; Krammer & Lange‐Bertalot ; Maidana & Seeligman, ; Maidana, Seeligman, & Morales, ; Maidana, Seeligman, & Morales, ; Round, Crawford, & Mann, ; Rumrich, Lange‐Bertalot, & Rumrich, ; Seeligman & Maidana, ; Seeligman, Maidana, & Morales, ). Ecological affinities of diatoms were obtained from Lowe (), De Wolf (), Vas and De Wolf () and Van Dam, Mertens, and Sinkeldam (), and specific papers about several taxa (e.g., Levkov, Metzeltin, & Pavlov, ).…”

La transición de cazadores-recolectores a sociedades agropastoriles en Antofagasta de la Sierra (Puna de Catamarca, Argentina): Perspectivas desde la agencia y las prácticas

“…El mejoramiento de las condiciones de humedad y una mayor estabilidad se generalizaron en el área hacia los 3.000 cal a.p. (Grana, Tchilinguirian, Olivera et al 2016;Grana, Tchilinguirian, Hocsman et al 2016). De este modo, las sociedades puneñas locales interactuaron con un entorno ambiental fluctuante; éste constituyó un elemento coyuntural o conformador de la coyuntura que nos ocupa, que será materia de discusión más adelante.…”

Highlands in Transition: Urbanization, Pastoralism, Mining, Tourism, and Wildlife in the Argentinian Puna

“…The extreme environmental conditions in the puna have determined the patterns of human settlement and land use, including a transition from a hunter-gatherer to an agropastoral society during the Holocene (Grana et al 2016). Since the beginning of human occupation around 11,000 years ago, the main wildlife resources were camelids (L opez and Restifo 2012).…”