The nature and timing of landscape change at Cerro Benítez, Última Esperanza, southern Patagonia (52°S): New insights into the history of megafaunal extinctions and human occupation

McCulloch, R. D., Mansilla, C. A., Martin, F., Borrero, L., Staff, R. A. and Tisdall, E. W. (2021) The nature and timing of landscape change at Cerro Benítez, Última Esperanza, southern Patagonia (52°S): New insights into the history of megafaunal extinctions and human occupation. Quaternary International, 601, pp. 116-129. (doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2021.07.018)

Abstract

A new Late glacial – Holocene palaeoenvironmental record from Cerro Benítez (51°33′S 72°35′W), Seno Última Esperanza, is presented. A pollen and spore record, from a closed basin mire, provides insight into the dramatic landscape changes spanning the past ~16,000 years. AMS radiocarbon dating, supplemented by the application of tephrochronology, provides robust age constraint. Our record of landscape change is set alongside a summary of the archaeofaunal records from the suite of caves and rock shelters that surround Cerro Benítez. Our record begins c. 16.3 ka, sometime after glacier retreat from the area, and describes a treeless landscape favoured by large grazing animals. At c. 14.9 ka, southern beech trees began to migrate into the area, but the landscape remained open with sufficient open ground for grazers. At c. 12.0 ka there was a dramatic expansion of woodland, but the decline of large mammals appears to have started some ~700 years earlier and is coincident with the arrival of hunter-gatherers in the area c. 12.7 ka. However, there is no archaeological evidence for human induced mass killing events, and it is likely that Cerro Benítez was a marginal resource area for early hunters that fell in and out of favour as the landscape changed during the Holocene; initially, less favourable during the early Holocene dry period (c. 11.0–8.0 ka) and more in favour during the mid-to late Holocene, although increasingly supplemented by more distant (~5–10 km) materials, including marine resources from the Golfo Almirante Montt.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research was supported by the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development (Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo de Chile (ANID)): FONDECYT 1150845 and FONDECYT 1180272. RMcC is supported by ANID R20F0002 (PATSER) and R17A10002 (Lab. Eco Climatico) and CAM is supported by ANID SIA/PAI 77180002.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Staff, Dr Richard
• Authors: McCulloch, R. D., Mansilla, C. A., Martin, F., Borrero, L., Staff, R. A., and Tisdall, E. W.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Quaternary International
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1040-6182
• ISSN (Online): 1873-4553
• Published Online: 01 August 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA
• First Published: First published in Quaternary International 601: 116-129
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy