Plants and early hunter-gatherers at Taguatagua 3: Microfossil evidence from stone tools at a late Pleistocene lake shore site in central Chile

Godoy-Aguirre, Carolina ; Labarca, Rafael ; Blanco, José F. ; Frugone-Álvarez, Matías ; Alcolea, Marta (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: 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.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1007/s00334-025-01061-8

Año: 2025

Publicado en: VEGETATION HISTORY AND ARCHAEOBOTANY (2025), [17 pp.]
ISSN: 0939-6314

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RYC2021-031196-I

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Prehistoria (Dpto. Ciencias de la Antigüed.)