A pre-European archaeology in Malvinas/Falkland Islands? A review

Abstract

The hypothesis of a pre-historic occupation of the Malvinas/Falkland Islands is reviewed. The strength of the different lines of evidence presented by different authors is discussed, and the main difficulties are pointed out. Previous analyses sustained a pre-European human presence on the basis of the recovery of macrofossil charcoal in peat bogs up to 10,500 cal BP, anecdotal evidence for the presence of canoes during the nineteenth century, the surface findings of lithic projectile points and one bone harpoon, the interpretation of sea mammal bone piles as resulting from the activities of native maritime nomads, and the presence of an extinct canid-like fox (Dusicyon australis) considered as transported to the islands by native groups. After the discussion of all these potential markers, our conclusion is that the evidence for a pre-European human presence in the islands is still insecure.

Keywords:

• Hunter-gatherers
• seafaring
• offshore islands
• European colonization
• Tierra del Fuego

Acknowledgements

We thank Martín Castro (SIAG-CADIC) for his help in preparing the map. Angélica Tivoli provided very helpful comments during the preparation of the manuscript. We also thank Luis A. Orquera and two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.