Browsing by Author "Quade, Jay"

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    High- and low-latitude forcings drive Atacama Desert rainfall variations over the past 16,000 years
    (2021) Gonzalez-Pinilla, Francisco J.; Latorre, Claudio; Rojas, Maisa; Houston, John; Ignacia Rocuant, M.; Maldonado, Antonio; Santoro, Calogero M.; Quade, Jay; Betancourt, Julio L.
    Late Quaternary precipitation dynamics in the central Andes have been linked to both high- and low-latitude atmospheric teleconnections. We use present-day relationships between fecal pellet diameters from ashy chinchilla rats (Abrocoma cinerea) and mean annual rainfall to reconstruct the timing and magnitude of pluvials (wet episodes) spanning the past 16,000 years in the Atacama Desert based on 81 C-14-dated A. cinerea paleomiddens. A transient climate simulation shows that pluvials identified at 15.9 to 14.8, 13.0 to 8.6, and 8.1 to 7.6 ka B.P. can be linked to North Atlantic (high-latitude) forcing (e. g., Heinrich Stadial 1, Younger Dryas, and Bond cold events). Holocene pluvials at 5.0 to 4.6, 3.2 to 2.1, and 1.4 to 0.7 ka B.P. are not simulated, implying low-latitude internal variability forcing (i.e., ENSO regime shifts). These results help constrain future central Andean hydroclimatic variability and hold promise for reconstructing past climates from rodent middens in desert ecosystems worldwide.
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    Mid-Holocene Climate in the South-Central Andes: Humid or Dry?
    (2001) Quade, Jay; Latorre H., Claudio
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    The first peoples of the Atacama Desert lived among the trees: A 11,600-to 11,200-year- old grove and congregation site
    (2024) Ugalde, Paula C.; Joly, Delphine; Latorre, Claudio; Gayo, Eugenia M.; Labarca, Rafael; Simunovic, Mikhaela; Mcrostie, Virginia; Holliday, Vance T.; Quade, Jay; Santoro, Calogero M.
    In deserts, water has been singled out as the most important factor for choosing where to settle, but trees were likely an important part of the landscape for hunter - gatherers beyond merely constituting an economic resource. Yet, this critical aspect has not been considered archaeologically. Here, we present the results of mapping and radiocarbon dating of a truly unique archaeological record. Over 150 preserved stumps around five Late Pleistocene/ Early Holocene archaeological campsites (12,800 to 11,200 cal BP) show that trees were key features in the creation of everyday habitats for the first inhabitants of the Atacama Desert. At two of these sites, QM12 and QM35, the spatial and chronological correlation between trees and hearths reveals that people located their homes under the tree canopy. At residential site QM35, artifact distribution coincides with a grove dated to - 11,600 to 11,200 cal BP. A third residential area (QM32) occurred along the grove margins - 12,000 to 11,200 cal BP. Based on the distinct cultural material of these two camps, we propose that two different groups intermittently shared this rich wetland - grove environment. The tree taxa suggest a preference for the native Schinus molle, a tree scarcely present on the landscape today, over the endemic, nitrogen - fixing Strombocarpa tamarugo , both for toolmaking and firewood and even though the S. tamarugo was locally more abundant. Together with the spatial and chronological coincidence of campsites, hearths, and trees, we propose that people spared the most abundant and resilient species to create their homes, in turn promoting fertility oases amid the Atacama's hyperaridity.