Ambiguity and Debates on the Early Peopling of South America

Abstract

An evaluation of recent claims for early human settlement of South America is presented. Some of the problems with these cases are reviewed, particularly the ways in which ambiguity weakens otherwise compelling evidence of early human presence in the continent. The roles of generalized adaptations and cobble industries, the most common explanations of claims of early occupations, are examined, and some new sites that present incomplete evidence but are deserving of further research are mentioned. The incorporation of studies of formation processes in the future may prove helpful in evaluating most of these cases as well as others that emerge in the future.

Keywords:

• South America
• ambiguity in archaeological evidence
• taphonomy

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Ted Goebel for his invitation to contribute this essay, as well as to Fabiana M. Martin and César Méndez for their assistance in its preparation. Comments by Ted Goebel and three anonymous reviewers are gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks also to Marion Coe who prepared Figure 1, and to Gustavo Politis who arranged for receipt of Figure 2.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Luis Alberto Borrero

Luis A. Borrero is a researcher at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, IMHICIHU), Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a professor in the Departamento de Investigaciones Prehistóricas y Arqueológicas at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has published extensively on the taphonomy, archaeology, and paleontology of ancient Patagonia, and in 2014 the Society for American Archaeology awarded him with the SAA Excellence in Latin American and Caribbean Archaeology Award.