Past human populations and landscapes in the Fuegian Archipelago, southernmost South America

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-322
Author(s):  
Ivana Laura Ozán ◽  
María Cecilia Pallo
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Beagle Channel ◽  
Environmental Deterioration ◽  
European Colonization

AbstractThis contribution discusses possible relationships between human populations and Holocene environmental deterioration phenomena (cold/arid pulses and volcanic eruptions) in the Fuegian Archipelago (South America), based on summed probability distributions of archaeological dates, paleoenvironmental information, geospatial data, and archaeological evidence. During the first millennia after peopling, only the Hudson (ca. 7700 cal yr BP) and the first Monte Burney (ca. 8600 cal yr BP) eruptions might have played a role in human dispersion. Particularly, a more intense human occupation around the Beagle Channel and long-distance interactions are proposed as risk-buffer strategies related to the Hudson eruption. A cooling phase and a demographic growth at ca. 5500 cal yr BP might have favored more dispersed spatial occupations and a subsistence diversification in the Beagle Channel. In the northern steppes, the second Monte Burney eruption (ca. 4300 cal yr BP) and an arid episode (ca. 2600 cal yr BP) are proposed as the main triggers for changes in land-use patterns, long-network interactions, and subsistence strategies. Even though occupation changes in the Fuegian Archipelago coexist with environmental deterioration episodes after 1500 cal yr BP, demographic processes and the European colonization most likely explain this trend. Similarities between the steppe/ecotone and forest occupation curves suggest common behavioral patterns across the Holocene.

scholarly journals Population Dynamics and Human Strategies in Northwestern Patagonia

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 2-21
Author(s):  
Gustavo Neme ◽  
Marcelo Zárate ◽  
María de la Paz Pompei ◽  
Fernando Franchetti ◽  
Adolfo Gil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequence ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Middle Holocene

In this paper we evaluate the role of human strategies in the Andean Piedmont from northern Patagonia across the Holocene. Specifically, we present the analysis of the Early Holocene-Late Holocene archaeological record of Salamanca cave (Mendoza-Argentina). We identified technological changes that occurred during the Late Holocene and the implications of a human occupation hiatus in the Middle Holocene. We follow a multiproxy approach by the analysis of radiocarbon dates, archaeofaunal remains, ceramic, lithics and XRF obsidian sourcing. We also discuss a detailed stratigraphic sequence by geomorphological descriptions, the construction of a radiocarbon sequence model and summed probability distributions, compared with other archaeological sites in the region. We conclude that after the Middle Holocene archaeological hiatus, human populations grew while guanaco populations dropped. The imbalance between demography and resources boosted the incorporation of new technologies such as ceramics and the bow and arrow, allowing people to exploit lower-ranked resources.

scholarly journals Memoirs of a frequent flier: Phylogenomics reveals 18 long-distance dispersals between North America and South America in the popcorn flowers (Amsinckiinae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 1717-1728 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Matt Guilliams ◽  
Kristen E. Hasenstab-Lehman ◽  
Makenzie E. Mabry ◽  
Michael G. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
South America ◽  
Long Distance

Preliminary results of the first assessment of 20 years of dust activity in the Patagonia desert (South America) with aerosol products from the MODIS sensors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Gassó ◽  
Pawan Gupta ◽  
Paul Ginoux ◽  
Robert Levy
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
South America ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Dust Storms ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Aerosol Transport ◽  
Deep Blue ◽  
Fire Activity ◽  
Analysis Of Time Series

<p>Aerosol transport processes in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) have been the center of renewed attention in the last two decades because of a number of major geophysical events such as volcanic eruptions (Chile and Argentina), biomass burning (Australia and Chile) and dust storms (Australia and Argentina).<br><br>While volcanic and fire activity in the SH have been the focus of several studies, there is a dearth of satellite assessments of dust activity. The lack of such analysis impairs the understanding of biological processes in the Southern Ocean and of the provenance of dust found in snow at the surface of East Antarctica.<br><br>This presentation will show an analysis of time series of Aerosol Optical Depths over the Patagonia desert in South America. Data from two aerosol algorithms (Dark Target and Deep Blue) will be jointly analyzed to establish a timeline of dust activity in the region. Also, dust proxies from both algorithms will be compared with ground-based observations of visibility at different airports in the area. Once an understanding of frequency and time evolution of the dust activity is achieved, first estimations of ocean-going dust fluxes will be derived.</p>

Driftwood on Heard Island

Polar Record ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 25 (154) ◽  
pp. 223-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. B. Smith ◽  
P. Rudall ◽  
P. L. Keage
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
South American ◽  
Long Distance Dispersal ◽  
South American Species ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Heard Island

AbstractSamples from 73 pieces of non-structural driftwood on Heard Island (53°06′S, 73°30′E) were identified to genus or species. Thirty-one belonged to South American species of Nothofagus. The remainder, consisting mostly of conifers especially Picea and Larix, probably came from ships' cargoes. The assemblage is similar to those reported, from smaller samples, on other southern islands. Other items of flotsam, including fishing buoys and drift-cards, are also reported from Heard Island. The significance of driftwood transport from South America to the island in accounting for long-distance dispersal of terrestrial and intertidal organisms is discussed.

scholarly journals A description and summary of the Antarctic Humpback Whale Catalogue

2020 ◽  
pp. 95-99
Author(s):  
Judith Allen ◽  
Carole Carlson ◽  
Peter T. Stevick
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Western Coast ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Dorsal Fin ◽  
Feeding Area ◽  
The Antarctic

The Antarctic Humpback Whale Catalogue (AHWC) is an international collaborative project investigating movement patterns of humpback whales in the Southern Ocean and corresponding lower latitude waters. The collection contains records contributed by 261 researchers and opportunistic sources. Photographs come from all of the Antarctic management areas, the feeding grounds in southern Chile and also most of the known or suspected low-latitude breeding areas and span more than two decades. This allows comparisons to be made over all of the major regions used by  Southern Hemisphere humpback whales. The fluke, left dorsal fin/flank and right dorsal fin/flank collections represent 3,655, 413 and 407 individual whales respectively. There were 194 individuals resighted in more than one year, and 82 individuals resighted in more than one region. Resightings document movement along the western coast of South America and movement between the Antarctic Peninsula and western coast of South America and Central America. A single individual from Brazil was resighted off South Georgia, representing the first documented link between the Brazilian breeding ground and any feeding area. A second individual from Brazil was resighted off Madagascar, documenting long distance movement of a female between non-adjacent breeding areas. Resightings also include two matches between American Samoa and the Antarctic Peninsula, documenting the first known feeding site for American Somoa and setting a new long distance seasonal migration record. Three matches between Sector V and eastern Australia support earlier evidence provided by Discovery tags. Multiple resightings of individuals in the Antarctic Peninsula during more than one season indicate that humpback whales in this area show some degree of regional feeding area fidelity. The AHWC provides a powerful non-lethal and non-invasive tool for investigating the movements and population structure of the whales utilising the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. Through this methodical, coordinated comparison and maintenance of collections from across the hemisphere, large-scale movement patterns may be examined, both within the Antarctic, and from the Antarctic to breeding grounds at low latitudes.

scholarly journals Evolution of andrenine bees reveals a long and complex history of faunal interchanges between the Americas during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelli S Ramos ◽  
Aline C Martins ◽  
Gabriel A R Melo
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
South America ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Distributional Pattern ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Early Diversification ◽  
Palearctic Region ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Times ◽  
Dated Phylogeny

Bees are presumed to have arisen in the early to mid-Cretaceous coincident with the fragmentation of the southern continents and concurrently with the early diversification of the flowering plants. Among the main groups of bees, Andreninae sensu lato comprise about 3000 species widely distributed with greatest and disjunct diversity in arid areas of North America, South America, and the Palearctic region. Here, we present the first comprehensive dated phylogeny and historical biogeographic analysis for andrenine bees, including representatives of all currently recognized tribes. Our analyses rely on a dataset of 106 taxa and 7952 aligned nucleotide positions from one mitochondrial and six nuclear loci. Andreninae is strongly supported as a monophyletic group and the recovered phylogeny corroborates the commonly recognized clades for the group. Thus, we propose a revised tribal classification that is congruent with our phylogenetic results. The time-calibrated phylogeny and ancestral range reconstructions of Andreninae reveal a fascinating evolutionary history with Gondwana patterns that are unlike those observed in other subfamilies of bees. Andreninae arose in South America during the Late Cretaceous around 90 Million years ago (Ma) and the origin of tribes occurred through a relatively long time-window from this age to the Miocene. The early evolution of the main lineages took place in South America until the beginning of Paleocene with North American fauna origin from it and Palearctic from North America as results of multiple lineage interchanges between these areas by long-distance dispersal or hopping through landmass chains. Overall, our analyses provide strong evidence of amphitropical distributional pattern currently observed in Andreninae in the American continent as result at least three periods of possible land connections between the two American landmasses, much prior to the Panama Isthmus closure. The andrenine lineages reached the Palearctic region through four dispersal events from North America during the Eocene, late Oligocene and early Miocene, most probably via the Thulean Bridge. The few lineages with Afrotropical distribution likely originated from a Palearctic ancestral in the Miocene around 10 Ma when these regions were contiguous, and the Sahara Desert was mostly vegetated making feasible the passage by several organisms. Incursions of andrenine bees to North America and then onto the Old World are chronological congruent with distinct periods when open-vegetation habitats were available for trans-continental dispersal and at the times when aridification and temperature decline offered favorable circumstances for bee diversification.

scholarly journals Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 124004 ◽  
Author(s):  
V De Sy ◽  
M Herold ◽  
F Achard ◽  
R Beuchle ◽  
J G P W Clevers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
South America ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Carbon Losses

Is the ‘Environment’ Good to Eat or Good to Paint? Faunal Consumption and Avoidance among Hunter-Gatherer-Fishers in the Beagle Channel Region (Tierra del Fuego, South America)

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dánae Fiore ◽  
Angélica Tivoli
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Tierra Del Fuego ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Beagle Channel ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Hypothetical Scenario ◽  
Human Practices ◽  
Industrial Societies ◽  
Optimality Models ◽  
Channel Region

This chapter discusses some aspects of the multi-dimensional nature of human–environment relationships. It focuses on the interaction established between people and animals in the Beagle Channel region (Tierra del Fuego, South America; Figure 5.1) through an analysis of taxon selection or avoidance in two inter-related spheres: subsistence and ceremonial art. The selection or avoidance of a particular species can be related to environmental, economic, political, and ideological factors, and our aim is to point out which of these factors influenced the high exploitation of certain taxa and the low representation of others. We achieve this by comparing archaeological data with spatially and temporally contemporaneous ethnographic information about the representation of animal species in ceremonial body paintings. Thus, we seek to explain whether the selection of some species and the avoidance of others in the subsistence sphere was being reinforced by or forbidden according to symbolic values that stemmed from the ceremonial sphere. Such questions derive from a theoretical premise that dismisses the notion of absolute optimality in human practices. It proposes instead that people’s actions and decisions are not guided only by rational principles and cost-minimizing aims: they can also be non-rational and non-optimal, and yet can make a socio-economic system function and reproduce efficiently through time and space without collapse. We argue that archaeological techniques and data have much to contribute to an understanding of the complexity of human–environment relations—particularly the ability to critique the overly simplistic economic models that often feed into popular and bureaucratic approaches to human environments. During the last fifteen years, one of the most popular approaches to subsistence in prehistoric and non-industrial societies has been the application of optimality models (e.g. Broughton 1994; Grayson and Delpech 1998; Nagaoka 2002, among others). In principle, these models were conceived as methodological tools through which the researcher lays out a hypothetical scenario of how resources should be consumed if people were trying to minimize costs and maximize benefits towards reaching an optimal result.

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