Plants and early hunter-gatherers at Taguatagua 3: Microfossil evidence from stone tools at a late Pleistocene lake shore site in central Chile

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dc.catalogadoraba
dc.contributor.authorGodoy Aguirre, Carolina Soledad
dc.contributor.authorLabarca Encina, Rafael
dc.contributor.authorBlanco, José F.
dc.contributor.authorFrugone Álvarez, Matías
dc.contributor.authorAlcolea, Marta
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-26T19:18:05Z
dc.date.available2025-09-26T19:18:05Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractThe early occupation of wetlands and lake shores in South America was crucial for the subsistence of human groups during the late Pleistocene. However, the interaction of these early hunter-gatherers and plant resources remains one of the least understood aspects of these occupations. In this context, the Taguatagua 3 site (TT-3) in central Chile (ca. 12,500 cal bp) provides one of the few records to explore plant use in early subsistence strategies. In this study, we analysed the microfossils adhering to the earliest stone tools recovered from the site, revealing a broad diversity of taxa, including grasses, sedges, floating plants, tubers and roots, palms and woody plants from sclerophyllous (tough leaved, mostly evergreen) and Andean forests. Additionally, the presence of ochre pigment (ferric oxide) on several of the tools suggests mineral uses that need further research. These findings support the interpretation of a short-term campsite, where megafauna hunting or scavenging as well as small fauna consumption coexisted with use of plants and the management of local resources, albeit with evidence of exchange or mobility on a large scale, particularly towards the Andean forests. Overall, the evidence shows that individual tools were used for several different purposes, demonstrating the versatility of a limited stone toolkit for processing animal and plant products, and pigments. Thus, TT-3 provides a comprehensive view of the social and ecological dynamics and subsistence strategies of the first settlers of the wetlands of central Chile during the late Pleistocene. Finally, this study shows the need for more integrated analyses of macro- and microbotanical remains from early South American contexts.
dc.description.funderANID/FONDECYT Posdoctoral; Folio: 3230700
dc.description.funderFONDECYT Regular; Folio: 1230860
dc.description.funderFondecyt Iniciación; Folio: 11220930
dc.description.funderMCIN/AEI/https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033-European Union “NextGenerationEU”/PRTR ; Folio: RYC2021-031196-I
dc.format.extent17 páginas
dc.fuente.origenORCID
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s00334-025-01061-8
dc.identifier.eissn1617-6278
dc.identifier.issn0939-6314
dc.identifier.scopusid105015523982
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-025-01061-8
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/105793
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:001567674900001
dc.information.autorucFacultad de Ciencias Biológicas; Godoy Aguirre, Carolina Soledad: S/I; 1049785
dc.information.autorucEscuela de Antropología; Labarca Encina, Rafael; S/I; 1219111
dc.language.isoen
dc.nota.accesocontenido parcial
dc.revistaVegetation History and Archaeobotany
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectLithic residue analysis
dc.subjectStone tools
dc.subjectPlant microremains
dc.subjectWetland archaeology
dc.subjectLate pleistocene
dc.subjectCentral Chile
dc.subjectEarly hunter-gatherers
dc.subject.ddc570
dc.subject.deweyBiologíaes_ES
dc.subject.ods15 Life on land
dc.subject.odspa15 Vida de ecosistemas terrestres
dc.titlePlants and early hunter-gatherers at Taguatagua 3: Microfossil evidence from stone tools at a late Pleistocene lake shore site in central Chile
dc.typeartículo
sipa.codpersvinculados1049785
sipa.codpersvinculados1219111
sipa.indexSCOPUS
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadORCID;2025-09-22
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