Browsing by Author "Latorre, Elvira"

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    Human dynamics in the Southern Puna of Chile (25°-27°s) during the Late Holocene: abandonment, re-occupation and diversification
    (2024) López Mendoza, Patricio; Loyola, Rodrigo; Carrasco, Carlos; Latorre, Elvira; Méndez Muñoz, Victor Andrés
    We discuss the process of human re-occupation of the Southern Puna (25°-27°S) during the Late Holocene through a variety of lines of evidence, such as ceramics, faunal bones, lithic technology, sources of raw materials like obsidian, and rock art, and their integration with spatial analyses using least-cost paths. Our results indicate a process in which niches were formed in the puna, focused on a variety of activities such as vicuña hunting; exploitation of lithic sources, minerals and pigments; camelid grazing; symbolic manifestations, and inter-Andean circulation. This suggests that human dynamics in the highlands of the Southern Puna toward the Late Holocene were motivated by a range of biotic and abiotic resources, and different modes of occupation, which tended to become diversified in the long term; nevertheless, they retained a common base in vicuña hunting and obsidian procurement, circulation and exchange.
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    Pedernales-5: An enclave for flamingo (Phoenicopteridae) exploitation during the Early Holocene in the Chilean southern Puna (26°S-69°W)
    (SAGE Publications, 2024) López, Patricio; Loyola, Rodrigo; Carrasco, Carlos; Roa Solís, Constanza; Varas, Daniel; Santana Sagredo, Francisca; Méndez Muñoz, Víctor Andrés; Bravo, Gabriela; Latorre, Elvira; Sáez, Alina; Orrego, Vanessa; Sperling, Ariel
    We present the results of an interdisciplinary study conducted at the Pedernales-5 site, situated in the Salar de Pedernales basin (26°S; 3356 masl), dated from 10,510−10,749 to 11,201−11,612 cal. BP. Unlike other Late Pleistocene and Holocene sites in the Andean Puna, where vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) were the primary prey, at Pedernales-5, the zooarcheological assemblage consists almost exclusively of flamingo (Phoenicopteridae) and bird remains. Through the analysis of lithic and bone artifacts, archeobotanical remains, pigment composition, and paleoenvironmental data, we propose that the emphasis on flamingo exploitation cannot be solely explained by alimentary consumption but also served cultural and symbolic purposes related to the acquisition of feathers, hides, and bones. The unique archeological context of Pedernales-5 offers a distinctive perspective on human dynamics in the Andean highlands during the Early Holocene.