Browsing by Author "Santana-Sagredo, Francisca"

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    Chronological sequence (early and late Holocene) and cultural trajectories in Quebrada Pedernales, southern Puna, Chile (26°S-3,456-3,730 masl)
    (2023) Mendoza, Patricio Lopez; Carrasco, Carlos; Loyola, Rodrigo; Mendez, Victor; Varas, Daniel; Diaz, Pablo; Santana-Sagredo, Francisca; Quiroz, Luciana; Soto, Angelica; Flores-Aqueveque, Valentina; Maldonado, Antonio; Vera, Francisca; Bravo, Alvaro; Hernandez, Daniel; Alamos, Ignacio; Orrego, Vanessa
    This article presents the results of the interdisciplinary investigation in Quebrada Pedernales (26 degrees S-69 degrees W, Chile 3456 masl), in the highlands of northern Chile. The excavations and surveys carried out revealed a great diversity of pre-Hispanic evidence in an area of the Andes that has been little investigated. This evidence allowed us to reconstruct a sequence of continuous occupation between 11,201-11,612 and 539-634 cal. BP. Zooarchaeological, radiocarbon, technological, geochemical, and carpological analyses suggest wide mobility circuits between the coast and the puna on both slopes of the Andes at the start of the Holocene, coinciding with improved environmental conditions in this area and greater aridity on the coast. A severe lack of human occupation is observed during the mid-Holocene, a phenomenon associated with extreme arid environmental conditions. These trends indicate that the southern limit of influence of this environmental event, which has been recorded in a large part of the south-central Andes, extended into the study area, with a direct impact on the settlement and mobility of human groups. Towards ca. 3000 cal. BP, environmental conditions similar to those of today are associated with the reappearance of archaeological evidence and greater complexity in the formation of settlements, especially in terms of hunting activities.
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    Gastrointestinal parasites in ancient South American camelid feces from the Atacama Desert (Pampa del Tamarugal, Tarapaca, northern Chile)
    (2023) Ramirez, Dario Alejandro; Herrera-Soto, Maria Jose; Andreu, Josefina Gonzalez; Santana-Sagredo, Francisca; Uribe Rodriguez, Mauricio; Nores, Rodrigo
    Faunal remains from archeological sites worldwide, especially feces and regurgitated pellets, are usually subjected to paleoparasitological examination, allowing the identification of past animal parasites. In this study, we analyzed 10 samples of South American camelid dung, which played an important role for the ancient human groups in the South-Central Andes, dated between 341 and 1635 calCE, from the Iluga Tumulos site (Pampa del Tamarugal, Tarapaca region, Atacama Desert, Chile). Microscopy examination revealed parasite remains in seven samples, in which oocysts of Eimeria macusaniensis and eggs of Lamanema chavezi/Nematodirus lamae, Trichuris sp., Moniezia sp., capillariids, strongylids, and unidentified nematodes were found. Although some of these species pose a potential health risk to camelids, most are not considered to be of major zoonotic importance, which could explain the absence of these parasites on human coprolites from this site analyzed previously. This first paleoparasitological study on camelid fecal remains from northern Chile sheds light on the occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites and its relationship with Andean ancient human populations and the environment.
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    Holocene interactions between marine nomads and their coastal landscape in the Strait of Magellan, southern Patagonia: Ichthyoarchaeological and isotopic evidence
    (2024) Torres, Jimena; Gonzalez, Karina; Santana-Sagredo, Francisca; Andrade, Claudia; Roman, Manuel San; Harrod, Chris
    Marked environmental changes occurred in the southern Patagonian archipelago during the middle and late Holocene, including increased variability in glacial coverage and marine productivity. Those changes likely impacted the lives of marine hunter gatherers and their exploitation of faunal resources. Here, we examine temporal trends in fishes captured during the mid- and late Holocene, including variation in stable isotope values (delta 13C and delta 15N) of the most commonly exploited taxa to explore potential changes in fishing strategies due to environmental and cultural causes. We examined fish remains from eight archaeological sites and cultural periods in the Strait of Magellan. The ichthyoarchaeological results indicate drastic changes in the assemblages of fishes captured, with demersal species dominating catches before 2700 cal. yr BP and a subsequent switch to coastal fishes associated with subtidal kelp forests afterwards until 500 cal yr BP, both in the Strait of Magellan and adjacent seas. Although limited by sample sizes, our isotopic data show little obvious variation in Eleginops maclovinus over the different periods. However, Patagonotothen sp. and Salilota australis displayed significant isotopic shifts during the Holocene, but followed distinct, taxon-specific trajectories. This suggests that responses to the late Holocene environmental changes differed between species. This study also contributes to the baseline ecological information prior to the impact of modern industrial fishing practices with data from native fishes that are important components in kelp forests (Macrocystis pyrifera) ecosystems of the sub-Antarctic region.
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    Late Pleistocene human occupations in the southern puna, Chile (12,4-10,7 ka cal. BP): Primary results from the Salar de Infieles (25°S, 3529 m. a.s.l.)
    (2023) Mendoza, Patricio Lopez; Carrasco, Carlos; Loyola, Rodrigo; Mendez, Victor; Blanco, Elvira Latorre; Diaz-Jarufe, Pablo; Flores-Aqueveque, Valentina; Varas, Daniel; Santana-Sagredo, Francisca; Orrego, Vanessa; Soto, Angelica; Maldonado, Antonio; Maturana-Fernandez, Anahi
    This article presents the results of excavations at the Infieles-1 site, located at 3529 m. a.s.l. in the Salar de Infieles (25 degrees S), highlands of the Chile's southern Puna ecoregion. An initial human occupation was discovered next to an ignimbrite rock-shelter at a depth of 70-80 cm on top of a volcanic ash deposit, dated between 10,798 and 12,440 cal yr BP. The archaeological record consists of lithic wasted-flakes and knapping debris, an ultra-marginal andesite side-scraper, vicuna bone fragments and traces of red mineral pigment. As far as now, this event is the first human occupation recorded in the southern Puna. It is a camp associated with more favourable environmental conditions during the late Central Andean Pluvial Event II (CAPE II). (C) 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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    MODELING LONG-TERM HUMAN POPULATION DYNAMICS USING KERNEL DENSITY ANALYSIS OF 14C DATA IN THE ATACAMA DESERT (18°-21°S)
    (2023) Mendez-Quiros, Pablo; Barcelo, Juan A.; Santana-Sagredo, Francisca; Uribe, Mauricio
    Food production is one of the most significant achievements in Andean history. The domestication of plants and animals presented an enormous challenge, relating to changing technologies, settlement patterns, and social organization. This paper aims to assess Atacama Desert population dynamics and their relationship to the domestication of plants and animals through chronological modeling using kernel density estimation on radiocarbon (C-14) dates, assuming that a higher C-14 probability density is related to more intense human occupation. The analysis is based on a C-14 dataset comprising 1003 C-14 dates (between 11,000 and 150 BP) from 243 archaeological sites in the Arica and Tarapaca regions of northern Chile, collected from published data. We observed two population-dynamics inflection points for these regions. First, starting at ca. 3000 BP, constant population growth occurred, which was related to horticulture in the Arica region and to agriculture in the Tarapaca region. Second, between ca. 1000 and 400 BP, a general population rise occurred due to the consolidation of intensive agriculture in the lowlands and precordillera altitudinal belts in both regions and the integration of the coast and the altiplano into macro-regional population dynamics.
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    Parasites in the Atacama Desert: New insights into the lifestyles of ancient human populations (3000-500 BP)
    (2021) Alejandro Ramirez, Dario; Jose Herrera-Soto, Maria; Santana-Sagredo, Francisca; Uribe-Rodriguez, Mauricio; Nores, Rodrigo
    Paleoparasitological studies have provided insights into ancient parasite occurrence and its relationship to the health, lifestyle, and cultural practices of past populations. We analyzed 26 human coprolites and digestive tract contents, most of them contained in mummified human bodies, from coastal and inland archaeological sites in the Atacama Desert (3000-500 BP), to test for gastrointestinal parasites. We rehydrated and sedimented the samples to concentrate the micro-remains and then conducted light microscopy examination and paleogenetic analysis. The microscopy analysis allowed us to recover helminth eggs of five different taxa in seven samples, attributed to Diphyllobotrium sp., Dipylidium caninum, Enterobius vermicularis, Trichuris sp., and possible strongylid. PCR amplification yielded negative results in all cases. Results suggest a low parasite burden relating to infection with pinworms, whipworms, and possible strongylids, as well as an absence of infection in most of the individuals. The presence of Diphyllobotrium sp. in coastal sites is associated with the consumption of insufficiently cooked fish resources. The occurrence of D. caninum in an inland site may indicate cohabitation with dogs and/or wild canids. These findings contribute to knowledge of parasite occurrence in human groups from the southern Andes and its relationship with the environment and the cultural practices involved.
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    Physical Violence and Social Tension in the Atacama Desert: Osteobiography of a Woman from the Tarapaca 40 Formative Period Cemetery
    (2024) Herrera-Soto, Maria Jose; Gonzalez-Ramirez, Andrea; Diaz, Pablo; Pacheco, Aryel; Retamal, Rodrigo; Saez, Arturo; Santana-Sagredo, Francisca; Uribe, Mauricio
    Physical violence and social conflict have been widely studied in the ancient societies of the Andes. However, studies about violence are scarce for the Formative period of northern Chile (1000 BC-AD 900). Evidence from these investigations is generally interpreted as interpersonal violence, whose protagonists are mostly men. Here, we present the case of an adult female recovered from the Tarapaca 40 cemetery (Tarapaca region, Chile) displaying lesions suggestive of trauma. We reconstruct her life and death in the context of this era's social and political conditions. Results of our bioanthropological characterization, cranial trauma analysis, carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, and recording of the funerary offerings suggest she was a local member of the Formative community buried in the Tarapaca 40 cemetery and that she suffered intentional lethal lesions. Her death is unusual because there are no previous bioarchaeological records of lethal violence against women in the Tarapaca region. The osteobiography of this woman reflects a context characterized by an increase in inequality and social complexity, whereby physical violence could be used as a mechanism of internal regulation and exercise of power during the Formative period.
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    'White gold' guano fertilizer drove agricultural intensification in the Atacama Desert from ad 1000
    (2021) Santana-Sagredo, Francisca; Schulting, Rick J.; Mendez-Quiros, Pablo; Vidal-Elgueta, Ale; Uribe, Mauricio; Loyola, Rodrigo; Maturana-Fernandez, Anahi; Diaz, Francisca P.; Latorre, Claudio; McRostie, Virginia B.; Santoro, Calogero M.; Mandakovic, Valentina; Harrod, Chris; Lee-Thorp, Julia
    The archaeological record shows that large pre-Inca agricultural systems supported settlements for centuries around the ravines and oases of northern Chile's hyperarid Atacama Desert. This raises questions about how such productivity was achieved and sustained, and its social implications. Using isotopic data of well-preserved ancient plant remains from Atacama sites, we show a dramatic increase in crop nitrogen isotope values (delta N-15) from around ad 1000. Maize was most affected, with delta N-15 values as high as +30 parts per thousand, and human bone collagen following a similar trend; moreover, their carbon isotope values (delta C-13) indicate a considerable increase in the consumption of maize at the same time. We attribute the shift to extremely high delta N-15 values-the highest in the world for archaeological plants-to the use of seabird guano to fertilize crops. Guano-'white gold' as it came to be called-thus sustained agricultural intensification, supporting a substantial population in an otherwise extreme environment.