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Abstract A new Late glacial – Holocene palaeoenvironmental record from Cerro Benitez (51°33′S 72°35′W), Seno Ultima 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 Benitez. 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 Benitez 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.

The archaeological site La Marmotta (AnguillaraSabazia, Italy) is a singular place as regards the conservation and recovery of wood and plant remains. The exceptional preservation at the site allowed the recovery of five canoes and numerous objects related to navigation, house building, agriculture, hunting and craft activities. The wide range of artefacts found, and the time of the occupation between 5700 and 5300 cal BC, make La Marmotta a point of reference for the study of technology in wood during the early Neolithic in the Mediterranean basin. The specific objective of this study is the taxonomic identification of the ligneous species used as raw material to make artefacts for farming activities. An assemblage of complete and fragmented sickles has been studied. Deciduous Quercus sp. Is the most important taxonaccording to the number of sickles identified. However, other taxa were also used. Woodworking implies a profound knowledge of the natural environment and the characteristics of the wood. The assemblage of wooden objects found at the La Marmotta site reflects the significance of this raw material for Neolithic societies. They are undoubtedly the reflection of a technologically skilled society that will revolutionise our conception of Neolithic communities, which were much more advanced than we thought. Peer reviewed

Archaeology has been using stable oxygen as an isotopic tracer linked with water consumption for decades, and it has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool to assess paleomobility in bioarchaeology. Central-eastern North Patagonia (Argentina) is an especially appropriate region to apply it since it presents a high density of huntergatherer burials, it was a nodal zone criss-crossed by an extensive network of important routes, and it is characterized by a high environmental fragmentation due to the scarcity of fresh water sources. The aim of this paper is to build an empirical stable oxygen isotope baseline of terrestrial surface waters to assess the potentiality of tracing past human movement. We analyzed 46 water samples from 13 locations with permanent sources (rivers, springs, streams), compared it with predictions of precipitation and evaluated it considering seasonal variation, altitude and distance from the coast. Our results show that different post-precipitation processes change the isotopic signal from the sources with respect to the local precipitation, and highlight the relevance of analyzing terrestrial water sources. According to their oxygen isotope values we defined five hydrologic zones: Colorado River, Negro River, Closed Basins and Plains, Eastern and Western Somuncurá Foothills. Their identification shows the potential to address past human movement using stable oxygen water baselines in central-eastern North Patagonia. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo

Stable oxygen and carbon isotopes (18O and 13C) and the trace elements, manganese (Mn) and strontium (Sr) were analyzed in archaeological bivalve (Diplodon chilensis) shell fragments recovered from Parque Diana Cave, Patagonia, Argentina, to analyze the temporal trends of human occupation of the North Patagonia forest with climatic conditions recorded at regional scale but poorly known at local scale for this site. We established a stratigraphic sequence of thirteen 10 cm thick layers spanning the period c. 2370 BP to c. 580 BP and grouped these layers into three cultural components.According to this region´s climate, with rain and snow concentrated in winter and dry summers, our data suggest that these components are contemporary with three climatic periods. A dry period indicated by high values of δ18Oshell, δ13Cshell and Sr/Ca ratio (Mn/Ca ratio does not show any significant trend), in the Lower component is associated with brief incursions of hunter-gatherers from the eastern steppe. In the Middle component, low δ18Oshell, δ13Cshell and Sr/Ca ratios, suggest a humid climate with increased supply of meteoric and/or melt-water along with terrestrial plants organic matter and soil carbonates to the river. According to the archaeological evidence, in this period, hunter gatherers from the Pacific coast and forest started to colonize the area across the Andes cordillera. At the beginning of the Upper component, which is mostly contemporary with the expression of the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (MCA), the proxies are not totally coincident but a tendency to progressively drier conditions could be inferred. Except for layer 4 for δ18Oshell and layer 5 for Sr/Ca ratio, δ18Oshell, δ13Cshell and Sr/Ca ratio show consistently high levels in the Upper than in the Middle component. In layer 5, δ18Oshell and δ13Cshell are elevated with respect to the Middle component while Sr/Ca ratio remains low. In layer 4, δ13Cshell and Sr/Ca ratio are high while δ18Oshell shows a negative peak. In layers 3 to 1, δ18Oshell, δ13Cshell and Sr/Ca ratio remain at high levels, indicating an arid-warm climate with high aquatic plant productivity, in coincidence with the expression of the MCA reported for this region in a partially contemporaneous period (1080?1250 AD). At this time, the occupation of the site by groups of the same origin as those present in the Middle component became permanent. Extensive and intensive use of local resources in this period can be inferred from the quality and quantity of artifacts recovered. Fil: Perez, Alberto Enrique. Universidad Católica de Temuco; Chile Fil: Batres, Daniel Alejandro. Universidad Católica de Temuco; Chile Fil: Rocchetta, Iara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina Fil: Eppis, María. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina Fil: Bianchini, María Laura. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina Fil: Luquet, Carlos Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina

In landscapes that are extremely sensitive to small environmental changes, like some Mediterranean areas, archaeological contexts could present some problems to their interpretation and evolutionary reconstruction. This is the case of Los Pedregales archaeological site, located in the Hoya de Huesca (NE of Spain), where several stone mounds of unknown age and function were found in an extensive badland. The geomorphological, edaphological, and archaeological study, together with radiocarbon and OSL datings and contextualization into the geomorphological regional framework, made it possible to interpret these structures and to establish an evolutionary model. It was determined that they were silos excavated in Pleistocene sands and silts (Unit 1) during the Visigothic and Early Muslim epochs (6th-7th centuries), and that they were later filled with limestone blocks. Successive aggradational and degradational stages (Units 2, 3 and 4) during MCA (Medieval Climatic Anomaly) and LIA (Little Ice Age) periods covered and incised the area, leaving the shape of positive structures included in the badland. Fil: Peña Monné, José Luis. Universidad de Zaragoza; España Fil: Sampietro Vattuone, Maria Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Laboratorio de Geoarqueología; Argentina Fil: Picazo Millán, Jesús V.. Universidad de Zaragoza; España Fil: Longares, Luis Alberto. Universidad de Zaragoza; España Fil: Pérez Lambán, Fernando. Universidad del País Vasco; España Fil: Badia, D.. Universidad de Zaragoza; España

Los Batanes cave (1025 m.a.s.l.) is a karstic system formed by pressure ducts, near the locality of Biescas in the Upper Gallego Valley (Huesca, Spain). Many fossil remains were retrieved from the cave sediments. The minimum sediment calendar age was determined to be 12.770 ± 60 BP. This date indicates that the deposit was formed before the Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene transition at the Pyrenees. Here we analyze the faunal assemblage of the site that is only conformed by remains of Pyrenean wild goat (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica), which is a recently extinct subspecies of Iberian wild goat (C. pyrenaica). In the site, 1079 remains of Iberian wild goat have been recovered being one of the most numerous both in minimum number of individuals (MNI) and number of identified specimens (NISP) recovered until now in a natural trap in the Spanish Pyrenees. The population of Los Batanes shows a wide range of ages between juvenile and senile individuals and the MNI estimated from the number of right metatarsus is nine. The taphonomic features indicate that the cave acted as a trap for the goats which inhabited the vicinity of the cave. These goats probably stumbled and fell to the bottom of the pit and they could not get out, dying inside. Due to the origin of the accumulation numerous complete bones have been recovered. These fossil allow us to perform a biometric analysis that indicates that population of Los Batanes is in the range size of other goats from Late Pleistocene of Iberian Peninsula. The IEA (Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses) has partially subsidised the palaeontological activities, conceding us a grant, “Ayudas a la investigación del IEA, 2014”. The Government of Aragon granted us to develop the project “Recovery of paleontological, remains, cataloguing and dating of the Pleistocene-Holocene deposits of Huesca Pyrenees caves”. We also would like to thank the projects: CGL2012-38434-C03-01 and CGL2015-65387-C3-2-01. C. Núñez-Lahuerta and J. Galán are the recipients of Ph.D. fellowships from the Gobierno de Aragón (DGA), co-financied by the European Social Fund (FSE) of the European Union in the case of C. Núñez-Lahuerta. V. Sauqué is supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) of Argentina (Postdoctoral Fellowship) (Resolucion Nº4256). Peer reviewed

This work presents an updated revision of the information about Pleistocene fauna records in archeological sites of the Pampa and Patagonian regions of South America. The purpose is to assess the role played by humans within the extinction process of Pleistocene mammals in the South Cone and the effects that the disappearance of Pleistocene large mammals had in human populations which colonized both regions. This is based on the theory of “Broken Zig-Zag”, which considers that the process was gradual in time and in different species, taking place between 15 Ka BP and 8.5 Ka BP in Patagonia and during a longer period, until ca. 7.5 Ka BP in Pampa. For this aim it was considered all those sites with accurate chronological and taxonomic information about the presence of extinct species of mega and large mammals of xenarthrans, camelids, equids and carnivores. Thus, the work is focused on three analytical lines: regional analysis of radiocarbon records of first and last taxonomic appearance, ecology and etiology of species with archeological record and variability of associations of the archaeofauna with material culture. We discuss how the first humans took possession of Pampa and Patagonian regions during and after the last part of the continental extinction process. Thus, there is a contribution with new hypotheses about the differential use of the extinct fauna in both regions. This interdisciplinary approach of social and environmental agency has not been considered in the specialized bibliography so far; therefore novel information is given for interpreting the way in which humans took possession of the fauna, not only as subsistence resources but also as other important agents in the socio-economic and symbolic relationship of humans with the landscape. On the whole, the final result is that the gregarious species of large herbivores (camelids) were the most important resources for hunter-gatherers from the beginning of human colonization. The extinct fauna influenced subsistence complementarily, though it played an important role in the social and symbolic spheres. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo