Huentelauquén coastal groups in the Andean highlands? An assessment of human occupations of the Early Holocene in Salar de Pedernales, Chile (26°S, 3356 masl)

ABSTRACT

We present new evidence obtained in archaeological surveys in Quebrada Pedernales (3356 masl), in the southern puna of Chile (26°S; 69°W). A series of surface findings such as large lanceolate stemmed projectile points and geometric stones, together with chronostratigraphic and artifactual data recovered in excavations at the Pedernales-38 site, suggest that the coastal Huentelauquén groups explored and inhabited the Andean highlands between 10,151 and 9695 cal yr BP. The archaeological record is discussed as it relates to the known evidence for this cultural complex, recognized principally on the Pacific coast. The archaeological findings allow us to broaden the diversity of environments exploited by coastal populations of the Early Holocene, and provide new data on their mobility and settlement strategies.

KEYWORDS:

• Early Holocene
• southern puna
• Huentelauquén Cultural Complex

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank our colleague Alethia Quirgas for her help in the fieldwork.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Date calibrations were performed using Oxcal 4.4.4, Interface Build 132 software (Bronk Ramsey 2021). The SHCal20 curve (Hogg et al. 2020) was used to date charcoal, while Marine20 (Heaton et al. 2020) was used for shells and otoliths, with Delta R values (31 yr ± 156) taken from Carré et al. (2017). The dates were separated according to the calibration curve used, considering a confidence interval of 95.4% and a minimum A-index value of 60. The sum of probabilities was also calculated to plot the distribution of the samples used.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by ANID, Fondecyt Project 1190197: “Ocupaciones humanas y paisajes de altura. Marco paleoambiental y geoarqueológico durante el poblamiento humano inicial en la Puna Meridional del Desierto de Atacama (26-28°S, 3.200-4.500 m.s.n.m).”

Notes on contributors

Patricio López

Patricio López Mendoza is an independent archaeologist whose research areas focus on zooarchaeology and taphonomy. He has carried out research work in the arid and semiarid north of Chile.

Carlos Carrasco

Carlos Carrasco is an independent archaeologist. His lines of investigation focus on the study of lithic evidence, especially in sites in the arid north of Chile.

Rodrigo Loyola

Rodrigo Loyola is a researcher associated with Universidad Católica del Norte. His area of research is the lithic technology of the first human groups to settle the puna.

Valentina Flores-Aqueveque

Valentina Flores-Aqueveque is a geologist, academic of Universidad de Chile, whose studies focus on paleoenvironmental reconstruction with a geoarchaeological approach. She has carried out studies in different regions of Chile.

Antonio Maldonado

Antonio Maldonado is resident researcher of the Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA). His lines of investigation include paleoclimatology, paleoecology, and geoarchaeology.

Francisca Santana-Sagredo

Francisca Santana-Sagredo is an academic of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, specializing in the study of stable isotopes in human and animal remains.

Víctor Méndez

Víctor Méndez is an independent archaeologist, focusing on the visual recording and digital reconstruction of archaeological sites.

Pablo Díaz

Pablo Díaz is an independent physical anthropologist. He has analyzed the mortuary contexts of the coast and foothills of the study area.

Daniel Varas

Daniel Varas is conservator and restorer in archaeology.

Angélica Soto

Angélica Soto is a geologist. Her work is based on the determination of sources of lithic raw materials.