162891 20260218132341.0 doi 10.1007/s00334-025-01061-8 sideral 145445 ART-2025-145445 eng Godoy-Aguirre, Carolina Plants and early hunter-gatherers at Taguatagua 3: Microfossil evidence from stone tools at a late Pleistocene lake shore site in central Chile 2025 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted The early occupation of wetlands and lake shores in South America was crucial for the subsistence of human groups during the late Pleistocene. However, the interaction of these early hunter-gatherers and plant resources remains one of the least understood aspects of these occupations. In this context, the Taguatagua 3 site (TT-3) in central Chile (ca. 12,500 cal bp) provides one of the few records to explore plant use in early subsistence strategies. In this study, we analysed the microfossils adhering to the earliest stone tools recovered from the site, revealing a broad diversity of taxa, including grasses, sedges, floating plants, tubers and roots, palms and woody plants from sclerophyllous (tough leaved, mostly evergreen) and Andean forests. Additionally, the presence of ochre pigment (ferric oxide) on several of the tools suggests mineral uses that need further research. These findings support the interpretation of a short-term campsite, where megafauna hunting or scavenging as well as small fauna consumption coexisted with use of plants and the management of local resources, albeit with evidence of exchange or mobility on a large scale, particularly towards the Andean forests. Overall, the evidence shows that individual tools were used for several different purposes, demonstrating the versatility of a limited stone toolkit for processing animal and plant products, and pigments. Thus, TT-3 provides a comprehensive view of the social and ecological dynamics and subsistence strategies of the first settlers of the wetlands of central Chile during the late Pleistocene. Finally, this study shows the need for more integrated analyses of macro- and microbotanical remains from early South American contexts. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RYC2021-031196-I info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess All rights reserved http://www.europeana.eu/rights/rr-f/ info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion Labarca, Rafael Blanco, José F. Frugone-Álvarez, Matías Alcolea, Marta Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-4280-3971 3000 695 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ciencias de la Antigüed. Área Prehistoria (2025), [17 pp.] Veg. hist. archaeobot. VEGETATION HISTORY AND ARCHAEOBOTANY 0939-6314 526938 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/162891/files/texto_completo.pdf Postprint info:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2026-09-10 757809 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/162891/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Postprint info:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2026-09-10 oai:zaguan.unizar.es:162891 articulos driver 2026-02-18-12:27:26 ARTICLE