New Archaeological Evidence for an Early Human Presence at Monte Verde, Chile

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dc.contributor.authorDillehay, Tom D.
dc.contributor.authorOcampo, Carlos
dc.contributor.authorSaavedra, Jose
dc.contributor.authorSawakuchi, Andre
dc.contributor.authorVega, Rodrigo
dc.contributor.authorPino, Mario
dc.contributor.authorCollins, Michael B.
dc.contributor.authorScott Cummings, Linda
dc.contributor.authorArregui, Ivan
dc.contributor.authorVillagran, Ximena
dc.contributor.authorHartmann, Gelvam
dc.contributor.authorMella, Mauricio
dc.contributor.authorGonzalez, Andrea
dc.contributor.authorDix, George
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-10T19:57:04Z
dc.date.available2021-08-10T19:57:04Z
dc.date.issued2015-11-18
dc.description.abstractQuestions surrounding the chronology, place, and character of the initial human colonization of the Americas are a long-standing focus of debate. Interdisciplinary debate continues over the timing of entry, the rapidity and direction of dispersion, the variety of human responses to diverse habitats, the criteria for evaluating the validity of early sites, and the differences and similarities between colonization in North and South America. Despite recent advances in our understanding of these issues, archaeology still faces challenges in defining interdisciplinary research problems, assessing the reliability of the data, and applying new interpretative models. As the debates and challenges continue, new studies take place and previous research reexamined. Here we discuss recent exploratory excavation at and interdisciplinary data from the Monte Verde area in Chile to further our understanding of the first peopling of the Americas. New evidence of stone artifacts, faunal remains, and burned areas suggests discrete horizons of ephemeral human activity in a sandur plain setting radiocarbon and luminescence dated between at least ~18,500 and 14,500 cal BP. Based on multiple lines of evidence, including sedimentary proxies and artifact analysis, we present the probable anthropogenic origins and wider implications of this evidence. In a non-glacial cold climate environment of the south-central Andes, which is challenging for human occupation and for the preservation of hunter-gatherer sites, these horizons provide insight into an earlier context of late Pleistocene human behavior in northern Patagonia.
dc.description.departmentAnthropology
dc.formatText
dc.format.extent27 pages
dc.format.medium1 file (.pdf)
dc.identifier.citationDillehay, T. D., Ocampo, C., Saavedra, J., Sawakuchi, A. O., Vega, R. M., Pino, M., Collins, M. B., Scott Cummings, L., Aggregui, I., Villagran, X. S., Hartmann, G. A., Mella, M., González, A., & Dix, G. (2015). New archaeological evidence for an early human presence at Monte Verde, Chile. PLoS One, 10(11), e0141923.
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141923
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/14265
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science
dc.rights.licenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
dc.sourcePLoS One, 2015, Vol. 10, No. 11, Article e0141923.
dc.subjectarchaeology
dc.subjectarchaeological dating
dc.subjectpaleoanthropology
dc.subjectradioactive carbon dating
dc.subjectculture
dc.subjectsediment
dc.subjectpetrology
dc.subjectstratigraphy
dc.subjectAnthropology
dc.titleNew Archaeological Evidence for an Early Human Presence at Monte Verde, Chile
dc.typeArticle

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