Pre-pottery farmers on the Pacific coast of southern Mexico

Large island-like shell mounds along the southern coast of Mexico are the earliest known archaeological sites on the Pacific margin of Mesoamerica. These aceramic deposits date to between 7500 and 3800 cal BP and have been interpreted as locations where foragers, living elsewhere seasonally on the coastal plain, harvested shellfish and other estuarine resources. Based on an accumulation of paleoecological data from elsewhere in the lowland Neotropics of Mesoamerica, southern Central America and South America we pose and provide a first test of an alternative subsistence model: that the Archaic Period populations in this area were slash and burn farmers. Burned maize phytoliths first appear in these sedimentary records at 6500 cal BP in association with macroscopic charcoal and forest disturbance plant taxa. Periodic burning and forest disturbance, consistent with farming activities, are also evident in the macroscopic charcoal record between 6500 and 4700 cal BP. Pollen, phytolith and charcoal records all point to sustained burning, forest disturbance and the cultivation of maize between 4700 and 3800 cal BP. These data suggest that people were slash and burn farming during the Archaic Period prior to the adoption of pottery and the proliferation of Early Formative Period villages and full-fledged agriculture based on near or total reliance on crop plants after ∼3800 cal BP.     

Late Holocene subsistence and social integration in Sierras of Córdoba (Argentina): the South-American ostrich eggshells evidence

Zooarchaeological research carried out on South-American ostrich eggshells from late pre-Hispanic site Arroyo Talainín 2 (ca. 1100–300 BP, Sierras of Córdoba, Argentina) is presented in this paper. The resource importance has been assessed focusing mainly on its economic and political dimensions for social-unit integration rather than its classical use as a seasonal indicator. Eggshells taxonomic identification was performed by quantifying shell-pore density, and determining two Rheidae species: greater rhea (Rhea americana) and lesser rhea (Rhea pennata). High frequencies of burned eggshell fragments indicate an unequivocal association between this resource and the human occupations recorded at this site. Regional-scale data suggests that egg consumption took place disassociated from the main-residential camps. These locations were rock-shelters occupied by small-dispersed household groups or large-group food processing and consumption sites such as Arroyo Talainín 2. Thus, a flexible approach for a food-consumption study is required to account for its spatial dimension. Only a regional-scale archaeological research will allow advances to be made in our understanding of the subsistence patterns and socio-political organization of late pre-Hispanic human societies.     

The oldest mongoose of Europe

The Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, has no Pleistocene record in Europe. Consequently, it has been suggested that this animal was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by the Arabs, who employed it for eliminating rodents and reptiles, as in the case of the genet, Genetta genetta. Here we describe a subfossil mongoose skull from the Cave of Nerja, southern Spain, which has been AMS dated 885 ± 40 years BP. This specimen constitutes the oldest record of mongooses in Europe, providing evidence that these animals were introduced during historical times in the South of the Iberian Peninsula.     

Examining dispersal mechanisms for the translocation of chicken (Gallus gallus) from Polynesia to South America

DNA sequencing and radiocarbon dates from the archaeological site of El Arenal-1 (Arauco Peninsula, south central Chile) suggest that Polynesians may have introduced chicken (Gallus gallus) to South America prehistorically (A.D. 1300–1420). The Chilean specimen identified has the exact same amplified mtDNA pattern as samples recovered from archaeological sites in Samoa and Tonga, but is only one base different from prehistoric chicken samples from Tonga (n = 1), Niue (n = 1), Easter Island (n = 1 of 6), and Hawai'i (n = 1). To examine the possible dispersal mechanisms of chicken between Polynesian islands and the Americas, we conducted computer simulations of seafaring from these six island groups and the Tuamotus, as well as return voyages. Simulation results from sailed vessels suggest that in certain months, landfall on the Pacific Coast of South America from Samoa and Tonga was fairly successful at around 40% (particularly in March for the former and January/February for the latter). For Niue, sailed vessels were 21% successful in January with only 2% success in December. Sailed vessels from the Tuamotus (a proxy for closer island groups to the west with evidence for chicken such as the Cook Islands) were successful in January and December, with 15% and 23% of the vessels making landfall in South America. Vessels sailing from all simulations heading east from Easter Island resulted in landfall. Hawai'i had only a 1% success rate if sailing in January, but high numbers of vessels reached southern Mexico and Central America in August and September. Most landfalls occurred much farther north than Chile, in Ecuador and Peru. Unsuccessful voyages from all of the islands other than Easter Island and Hawai'i often made landfall on islands to the east. Return voyages from Chile were not possible or extremely rare during most times of the year. Overall, seafaring simulations suggest that Polynesians may not have initially landed in close proximity to El Arenal-1—contemporaneous or even earlier archaeological evidence of translocated chicken remains may indeed be found further north. In addition, if Polynesians found it difficult or impossible to return to their homeland, the possibility exists that co-mingling between Polynesians and South American groups resulted in offspring that carried an admixture of genetic traits.     

New dates from Ushki-1, Kamchatka,confirm 13,000 cal BP age for earliest Paleolithic occupation

For many years cultural layer 7 at the Ushki sites, Kamchatka was considered to represent the earliest human occupation of Beringia, because four radiocarbon dates indicated an age of 16,000–17,000 calendar years ago (cal BP). In 2003, however, Goebel et al. reported that layer 7 more likely formed only 13,000 cal BP, nearly 4000 years later than N.N. Dikov, the site’s primary excavator, originally reported. Some researchers have downplayed the significance of the new dates, continuing to regard Dikov’s early dates as evidence that at least some of the hearth and dwelling features previously excavated at Ushki-1 date to as early as 17,000 cal BP. Here we present four new radiocarbon dates (and two previously unpublished dates) on curated charcoal from hearth features excavated at Ushki-1 more than 20 years ago. They indicate that these hearths and associated dwelling features date to about 13,000 cal BP. We now know 15 radiocarbon dates on charcoal from a variety of features and profiles across Ushki-1 and Ushki-5 that indicate the age of layer 7 is about 13,000 cal BP. We discount the four 16,000–17,000 cal BP dates, first, because two of them came from a deeply dug human burial pit and were likely secondarily introduced into the burial; second, because provenience data for the other two dated samples were never reported and do not exist in the records of the radiocarbon laboratories that produced them; and, third, because sediments immediately underlying layer 7 at Ushki-1 are only a few centuries earlier than 13,000 cal BP, providing an important lower-limiting age for the layer-7 occupation. We conclude that the age of all of the layer-7 features at Ushki-1 and Ushki-5 should be considered to be about 13,000 cal BP, at least until the earlier obtained old dates of 16,000–17,000 cal BP can be replicated.     

The origin and construction of pre-Hispanic mounds in the Upper Delta of the Paraná River (Argentina)

Pre-Hispanic mounds, known as “cerritos,” “cerritos de indios,” or “aterros” across southeastern South America, are one of the most conspicuous and well-studied cultural manifestations in lowlands archaeology. Nevertheless, in the Upper Delta of the Paraná River, mounds are rarely studied, and even their anthropic origin is under debate. This could be related to the fact that anthropogenic mounds are located on a floodplain where other “mound-like” natural geoforms (generated by fluvial processes) are also present. In addition to this, the natural geoforms also contain evidence of Holocene human occupation (sherds, bones, charcoal, humans burials, etc.), which can lead to interpretive errors of their origin and formation. Thus, this project set out to determine the genesis and evolution of these mounds and also to identify the cultural occupation and transformation of natural landforms found in the area. In this article, natural and anthropogenic systems and processes were identified and characterized through the application of proxy record analysis (i.e., sediment composition, stratigraphy, micromorphology, silica bodies and chronological analysis) at the Los Tres Cerros archaeological locality in the Upper Delta of the Paraná River of Victoria County, Entre Ríos Province, Argentina. This analysis allowed for the recognition of natural anthropogenic interfaces, such as the “pre-mound” occupation as well as evidence of cultural activities such as mound construction, between 1,000 and 500 ¹⁴C years bp. These findings were integrated into current research on the variability of mound construction during the Late Holocene in the lowlands of South America.     

Faunal exploitation and agricultural transitions in the South American agricultural limit

The southern Mendoza Province of Argentina constitutes the southernmost limit of Andean agriculture in South America. Archaeofaunal assemblages from sites in this region show a pattern of changing taxonomic diversity concomitant with the first appearance of domesticated plants. This pattern is characterised by an increase in prey diversity before the appearance of the first cultigens and a decrease in diversity after their arrival. Furthermore, the animal taxa exploited when domesticated plants entered the diet indicate a focus on big game. The pattern observed in southern Mendoza is in accord with ethnographic and archaeological models generated by faunal research worldwide. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Earliest hunters and gatherers of South America

Traditional syntheses of the archaeology of the late Pleistocene period in South America have focused primarily on the peopling of the continent by North American cultural groups and on identifying associations among regional sites. This focus has tended to ignore the widespread culture diversity of the period and the possible effects of different paleolandscapes on human migration and colonization, such as the presence of unglaciated tropical and temperate environments in the northern lowlands, the gateway to the interior. The earliest known cultural assemblages are characterized by various unifacial and bifacial lithic industries that may represent regional processes reminiscent of an Archaic lifeway. The major archaeological sites and associated artifact assemblages are examined in terms of regional and continental patterns of environmental and cultural change. Results suggest that the Pleistocene archaeological record of South America must be explained in its own terms and that the events and processes producing this record either occurred earlier than previously thought or are very different from those in North America.     

The Neolithic site of Maddalena di Muccia (Umbria–Marche Apennine,Italy): a tip to reconstruct the geomorphological evolution and human occupation during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene

The geomorphological evolution of the upper Chienti river basin, during the late Pleistocene and the Holocene, was characterized mainly by numerous landslides, strongly affecting the river dynamics, that produced falls, deviations and in some cases total obstructions with the formation of lakes sometimes extending for some kilometres. Moreover, particularly during the Holocene, phytoclastic and phytohermal travertine deposits were deposited in correspondence of steps along the river bed; one of these deposits, by means of radiocarbon dating, has been dated between 8260 ± 100 yr BP and 7740 ± 80 yr BP. Stromatolithic travertine is also present at the base of Holocene channels, slightly incised on the top of the upper Pleistocene alluvial plain.     

Dating North Asian surface assemblages with ostrich eggshell: implications for palaeoecology and extirpation

East Asian ostrich (Struthio anderssoni Lowe) was thought to have become extinct sometime in the Late Pleistocene. Petroglyphs portray ostrich with Pleistocene animals, and ostrich eggshell (OES) fragments and ornaments from Holocene sites were considered to be older fossils. Here we summarize previous radiometric dates for ostrich eggshell (OES) and present 15 new calibrated accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates, indicating that ostrich survived in Mongolia and northern China until at least 8.9 ka BP. The dates in our sample population suggest a correlation between Struthio and warm steppe environments, with extirpation probably related to essential changes in Holocene steppe ecosystems including human expansion. This study assesses the usefulness of Asian OES for archaeological dating by AMS, constrains the date of Asian ostrich extirpation, and investigates palaeoenvironmental implications of ostrich survival and extinction.     

Acrocomia chunta (Arecaceae) raw material for cord making in the Argentinean Puna

The analysis of cords recovered in the archaeological sites Peña de las Trampas 1.1, c. 8400 years BP, and Inca Cueva 7, c. 4080–4030 years BP, allowed us to discuss the hypothesis that vascular bundles of palm leaves from distant sources were used in the Northern and Southern Puna during the Holocene in different archaeological sites. In this paper we contribute data from two sites. The first is situated at the locality of Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca, Southern Argentinean Puna; the other at the Quebrada de Inca Cueva, Jujuy, Northern Argentinean Puna. The goals in this paper were to identify the raw materials used in making cords, the differences in cord fabrication between the two samples and the temporal and spatial distribution of Puna data with reference to the palm species habitat.     

A new crustacean clam shrimp (Spinicaudata: Eosestheriidae) from the Upper Triassic of Argentina and its importance for ‘conchostracan’ taxonomy

A new species of a fossil crustacean clam shrimp (Spinicaudata: Eosestheriidae) Menucoestheria wichmanni is described from the lower Upper Triassic Vera Formation (Los Menucos Complex) in Río Negro Province, southern Argentina. This discovery represents the first record of this family in the Triassic of Argentina and the southernmost record of South American Triassic ‘conchostracans’ (Spinicaudata). The new species shows close affinities with Middle Jurassic faunas from Antarctica and offers important data on the taxonomy (notably the use of ornamentation characters), palaeobiogeography (as South America hosts the oldest-known fossils of this family) and evolution of the Gondwanan faunas. Other South American eosestheriid species are tentatively recognized. Menucoestheria is hypothesized to be the ancestral form of the Triassic–Jurassic Gondwanan eosestheriids. Relationships between European and Gondwanan eosestheriids remain unresolved.     

Morphological,chemical and physical changes during charcoalification of wood and its relevance to archaeological contexts

Wood exposed to a heat source can be transformed into charcoal if subject to conditions of carbonisation (in the absence of air) or charring (in restricted air). Charcoal recovered from archaeological sites can yield fundamental information to our understanding of human economic and cultural development over time and (ecological) setting. This work describes the morphological (anatomy, degree of shrinkage), physical (reflectance) and chemical (elemental, molecular composition) properties of charcoal in relation to heat source and wood variables. In this study charcoal and charcoal fuel were experimentally produced whereby temperature (160–1200 °C), time of exposure (2–1440 min), heating rate (high and low) and wood type (angiosperm and conifer) were varied. The results show that charcoal, often described as an inert, black material, has different chemical and physical properties in relation to the investigated variables. By using these different properties it is possible to distinguish between the different types of fires (domestic and industrial) exploited by humans in the past. Morphological analyses and reflectance measurements are effective tools for this purpose and can be used in wood exposed to temperatures of 300 °C and above—temperatures which are relevant to archaeological research. Angiosperm and conifer wood react in different ways when exposed to heat and thus the taxonomic identity of archaeological material needs to be known. Chemical analyses can be used for wood exposed to temperatures below 400 °C whereas elemental analyses of the carbon content can be used for wood exposed to temperatures up to a maximum of 650 °C.     

Taphonomic study in Argentinian Patagonia: analysis of variability through time and space in the Central Plateau (Santa Cruz Province)

The basin of the Zanjón Rojo and Blanco is located in the northeast of the Central Plateau of Santa Cruz province (Argentina). Each sector of the basin has specific characteristics which represent different microenvironments. We have studied two different archeological contexts in the period from the Final Pleistocene to Late Holocene in each of these sectors. In this paper, we analyze the effects of different taphonomic processes and agents on the zooarcheological assemblages in order to evaluate the role played by those that can redeposit or move bones pre- and post-depositionally during site formation in this sector of Patagonia. The bone specimens that were analyzed come from two stratigraphic contexts with wide sequences of human occupation; one is AEP-1 at Piedra Museo and the other is Cueva Maripe at La Primavera, located in the lower and upper sectors of the basin, respectively. The comparison between both sites was based on different modification patterns identified on bone surfaces for the different phases of settlement in Patagonia. The results showed complex and different taphonomic histories in both sites, and while the main processes involved in bone movement were roots and rodents, both had little significance in comparison with others, such as manganese and carbonate.     

Early Maritime Desert Dwellers in Namaqualand,South Africa: A Holocene Perspective on Pleistocene Peopling

ABSTRACT

South Africa's northern Namaqualand coastal desert is the southern extension of the Namib. Today, this region is semi-desert with patchy subsistence resources and scarce, unpredictable rainfall. Yet this ancient desert landscape possesses residues of human activity stretching back into the Middle Pleistocene, evidenced by heavily weathered surface finds, including handaxes and Victoria West cores. Such old finds in so harsh an environment raise important questions: how do human movements into this area relate to local palaeoenvironmental changes, and how has this relationship changed through time? While no dated Middle Pleistocene sites presently exist to reconstruct the earliest hominin dispersals, several late Pleistocene sites now have chronostratigraphic sequences that can be brought to bear on these questions. This article presents chronological and subsistence-settlement data for one such site, Spitzkloof A Rockshelter in northern Namaqualand's rugged Richtersveld. Humans are shown to have visited the site very sporadically between ～50,000 and 17,000 cal BP. Unlike most of the subcontinent, the most intensive occupations occur during early Marine Isotope Stage 2, when multiple proxies suggest enhanced humidity associated with intensified winter rainfall. We examine these data using the region's better-developed Holocene archaeological record to create predictions about the earliest coastal desert dwellers.     

Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene Plant Movements in Southern Kyushu, Japan

From the late Pleistocene to early Holocene in Japan, subtropical and temperate forest elements moved northwards. This affected human choices and access to food sources. More settled patterns of living spread northwards gradually, and northern hunting-gathering-fishing people began cultivating vegetables and cereal crops. This poster reports the presence of ancient starch residues on stone artefacts in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Kyushu. The oldest residues recovered are dated by context to about 30,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. If such residues can be identified, it may be possible to detect a hypothesized early phase of tropical plant movement northwards during warmer climate peaks in the late terminal Pleistocene, as well as during the long period of Holocene warming that followed. As an initial step towards identification, the morphological characteristics and condition of the starch granules are described and compared to those of other sites in early Japan.     

Tongan and Samoan volcanic glass: pXRF analysis and implications for constructs of ancestral Polynesian society

A provenance study of volcanic glass specimens from 12 archaeological sites in the Kingdom of Tonga is carried out employing pXRF (portable X-ray fluorescence) analysis. To accomplish this, volcanic glass samples from previously identified sources in northern Tonga and the adjacent islands of Samoa are analyzed. Results indicate inter-island voyaging and interaction over a 600 km linear distance along the Tongan island chain from first Lapita settlement ca 2900 BP throughout later prehistory. Tongan volcanic glass, however, is not found in Samoa and, with the exception of one late prehistoric specimen, Samoan volcanic glass is not present in Tonga. This distribution challenges current concepts of an integrated ancestral society and homeland common to Tonga and Samoa from the Lapita period onward.     

Chemical analyses of the earliest pigment residues from the uttermost part of the planet (Beagle Channel region,Tierra del Fuego,Southern South America)

This paper presents the results of chemical analyses of the organic and inorganic fractions of pigment residues found in three archaeological sites located in the Beagle Channel region, Tierra del Fuego, Southern South America. Twenty-one archaeological samples have been analysed through XRD, SEM–EDX, FT-IR and GC–MS in order to characterise their inorganic colouring components and to search for the presence of organic substances used as binders. Lipids found in some samples are considered as potential binders. These organic components are compared to those found in archaeological sediment samples from the same layers where the pigments have been found, in order to search for potential taphonomic contaminations of the latter by the former. Results show that such contaminations are unlikely, hence the lipid contents are deemed of anthropic origin. The pigment sample results are also compared to data from analyses of natural sediment samples collected in several localities of the Beagle Channel in order to search for potential natural pigment sources. Results show that organic and inorganic components of these sediments are not the same than those present in the archaeological pigment samples, hence the pigment raw material sources have not been yet located. All these data provide for the first time evidence of the existence of ancient activities of pigment sourcing and paint preparation with organic binders which range from 6000 BP to 1900 BP in the southernmost region of the planet.     

Muricid boreholes in Pleistocene acorn barnacles from the Beagle Channel: trophic interactions during the Last Interglacial in southern South America

Gordillo, S., 2013. Muricid boreholes in Pleistocene acorn barnacles from the Beagle Channel: trophic interactions during the Last Interglacial in southern South America. Alcheringa 37, 1–8. ISSN 0311-5518.

Acorn barnacles with boreholes were recovered from a Pleistocene marine deposit on Navarino Island, on the southern coast of the Beagle Channel. Balanomorph shells were identified as Balanus laevis (Bruguière, 1789 Bruguière, J.G., 1789. Encyclopédie méthodique. Histoire naturelle des vers 1, 158–173, pis. Paris, 164–166. [Google Scholar]), and a few bear small round holes located generally on the middle or apical part of the parietal plates, thus suggesting that they represent the work of small muricid predators. If so, this study is the first record of drilling predation on fossil barnacles reported in southern South America.

[Sandra Gordillo [sgordillo@cicterra-conicet.gov.ar], Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CICTERRA, CONICET-UNC); Centro de Investigaciones Paleobiológicas (CIPAL), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Av. Vélez Sársfield 1611 X5016GCA Córdoba, Argentina. Received 8.1.2013; revised 26.3.2013; accepted 2.4.2013     

Human corpse manipulation and the body as symbol: A case study from the Eastern Pampa–Patagonia transition (Argentina) during the Final Late Holocene

Human body manipulation and secondary burials are widespread funerary practices in many areas of the world. The archaeology of the Pampas and North-Eastern Patagonia, Argentina, is no exception. In this paper, archaeological case studies from the lower basin of the Colorado River during the Final Late Holocene (ca. 1000–250 years BP) are presented and discussed. Secondary burials were recovered that indicated an intentional manipulation of bodies. Evidences of cut marks and the coloring of bone surfaces were recorded. The bundles were composed of individuals of both sexes and diverse age categories. The Pampean region and North-Eastern Patagonia witnessed significant hunter–gatherer population dynamics during the last 1000 years BP. Climatic, ecologic, demographic, and economic explanations have been proposed as the background to these changes. In this paper, it is argued that accompanying these factors, as part of a broader socio-cultural scenario, were significant social interaction networks and processes of social complementarity between groups. In this context, it is proposed that the complexity observed in relation to the handling of bodies is part of a worldview in which the body was seen as material culture – as a symbol – that played an important role for the community in group identity maintenance in a cultural context undergoing significant organizational changes.