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Examples of lithic tools from KCH-20 including: AeC) endscrapers, DeG) knifes, and HeJ) sidescrapers.
Source publication
The Altiplano constitutes the most extensive, high-elevation terrain in South America. Most archaeological research on the earliest human occupation of this region in the Bolivian Andes derives from sites such as Viscachani where the emphasis has been on typological comparisons of projectile points, rather than on complete and radiometrically dated...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... non-local, dark cherts were also common and were used primarily for the manufacture of sidescrapers and endscrapers (Fig. 7). In fact, these tools were abundant in sectors beyond the trash pit, in Unit 6, as well as throughout KCH20 and other Archaic Period sites in the study area. Many of the scrapers show evidence of heavy wear. These tools were probably used in multiple activ- ities, including gear maintenance and hide preparation. Very few flakes show ...
Context 2
... partial agreement with expecta- tions derived from human behavioral ecology, the archaeological data from Iroco reveals the presence of a settlement system char- acterized by possibly seasonal residential mobility, broad resource utilization, and an emphasis on technological flexibility, rather than specialization. Given the evidence provided by the Iroco case study, seasonal inter-ecological mobility possibly fits best with the observed archaeological evidence (Osorio et al., 2017a). ...
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The Badegoulian technocomplex holds a special place among the West European Upper Paleolithic (UP) cultural traditions. Often understated or even bypassed by the main prehistorical overviews, caught between the fascinating Solutrean and the "classic" Magdalenian technocomplexes, it nonetheless probably marks a turning point in the evolving trajecto...
Citations
... This chronological proposal was based primarily on well-dated artifacts from the Asana open-air site in the Osmore Basin and Quelcatani rock shelter in the headwaters of the Huenque River, Titicaca Basin, but also included chronological information from other sites in the region (Klink and Aldenderfer, 2005). Since this projectile point typology was developed, a number of subsequent investigations have produced observations that independently validate the type assignments and date ranges with paired projectile points and radiocarbon dates from secure feature contexts (Capriles et al., 2018;Craig, 2005;Haas et al., , 2020Haas and Viviano, 2015;Herrera et al., 2015;Kitchel et al., 2022;Lefebvre, 2004;Osorio et al., 2011;Panczak, 2019;Rademaker et al., 2014;Sepúlveda et al., 2018). Thus, the projectile point typology offers a strong approach for assigning approximate temporal classifications to lithic artifacts. ...
... Archaeological sites at altitudes above 3500 m. a.s.l. that have been dated to the Late Pleistocene reflect complex processes of exploration and colonisation in the Andes highlands, and reveal different tempos, cultural traditions and types of occupation for each region (Núñez et al. 2001(Núñez et al. , 2002Grosjean et al., 2005;Aldenderfer, 2006;Moreno et al., 2009;Albarracin-Jordan and Capriles, 2011;Osorio et al., 2011Osorio et al., , 2017aOsorio et al., , 2017bRademaker et al., 2012Rademaker et al., , 2014Rademaker et al., , 2016Capriles and Albarracin-Jordan, 2013;Capriles et al., 2016aCapriles et al., , 2016bCapriles et al., , 2018Ortiz and Lynch, 2016;Jodry and Santoro, 2017;Loyola et al., 2017Loyola et al., , 2018De Souza et al., 2021;L opez et al., 2021a, 2021bPitblado and Rademaker, 2011b, 2017, 2017, 2017Santoro et al., 2011aSantoro et al., , 2011bSantoro et al., , 2017. There are ecological obstacles to human settlement in the highlands, associated with their low primary productivity, large temperature fluctuations during day and night, hypoxia and an extremely cold winter. ...
This article presents the results of excavations at the Infieles-1 site, located at 3529 m. a.s.l. in the Salar de Infieles (25 S), highlands of the Chile's southern Puna ecoregion. An initial human occupation was discovered next to an ignimbrite rock-shelter at a depth of 70e80 cm on top of a volcanic ash deposit, dated between 10,798 and 12,440 cal yr BP. The archaeological record consists of lithic wasted-flakes and knapping debris, an ultra-marginal andesite side-scraper, vicuña bone fragments and traces of red mineral pigment. As far as now, this event is the first human occupation recorded in the southern Puna. It is a camp associated with more favourable environmental conditions during the late Central Andean Pluvial Event II (CAPE II).
... La exploración humana de los ACS implicó alta movilidad desde el Pleistoceno Tardío (Latorre et al., 2013;Santoro et al., 2017), lo que habría consolidado rutas de larga distancia puneñas al 10.000 AP (Santoro et al., 2016) contemporáneas con claras estrategias de movilidad residencial y logística en la costa (Núñez et al., 2010) pero también en la puna seca (Capriles et al., 2018). La domesticación de los camélidos, acontecida en torno al 7000-6000 AP, y su uso como animal de carga desde aproximadamente el 5000 AP en la región, fortaleció rutas, estrategias y un modo de vida Formativo de fuerte cuño pastoralista (Capriles, 2016;Clarkson et al., 2017;Núñez et al., 2006). ...
Este artículo discute la implementación de los modelos mercantiles del transporte en el caso de la ruta Potosí-Cobija a la luz de las evidencias de la propia praxis nativa. Primero, la ruta colonial es localizada en base a documentos del XVIII e inicios del XIX para ser objeto de teledetección e inspección arqueológica. Los resultados demuestran la prominencia del trabajo nativo como motor de los flujos mercantiles, lo que es observado en un sistema de lugares tradicionales de descanso (pascanas) y asentamientos de pastores. La continuidad en las prácticas indígenas de transporte incluye la independencia de infraestructuras oficiales incluso en épocas Inca y Borbónica, aunque un sistema de postas arqueológicas representa la materialización del modelo ilustrado español en la ruta. Se propone que la ruta es fruto del movimiento nativo pero que su biografía responde a la fusión de modelos y prácticas mercantiles y andinas de transporte. La síntesis de datos arqueológicos e históricos sugiere un movimiento temprano bajo cánones Inca en caminos y tambos, seguido por la parcial mercantilización post-Toledana de arrieros y trajines y de la implementación andina de los deseos borbónicos después de la independencia.
... Here, we attempt to identify patterns of mobility and site occupation through analysis of the stone artifact assemblages using Human Behavioral Ecology (HBE) models. Drawing on established relationships between lithic technology and forager mobility (Capriles et al., 2018;Hiscock, 1994;Kuhn et al., 2016;Kuhn, 1994Kuhn, , 2004Kuhn and Miller, 2015;Seong, 2008Seong, , 2015Shott, 1986), we hypothesize that the appearance of the new hunting tool might reflect a preference for more portable and efficient technologies, that were part of a broader strategy of moving frequently and further, possibly as an adaptation to environmental or population changes. ...
We use models from human behavioral ecology to examine stone artifacts from 23 sites in Korea to investigate mobility and site occupation patterns during the Late Pleistocene. This is an important period because new tools, such as stemmed points and blades, appeared in the archaeological record. We focus on two questions: what changes in foragers’ landscape use were associated with the introduction of new tools? And what changes in mobility and the way people used habitation sites were associated with the new technology? To answer these questions we present quantitative analyses of artifact volumetric density, retouch frequency, composition of toolkits, and artifact raw materials. We explore environmental and demographic contexts by applying paleoclimate simulations and summed probability distribution models. We find that quartz and side scrapers, in addition to cores and choppers, remain dominant in assemblages before and after the introduction of stemmed points throughout the Late Pleistocene. Our results show that forager groups using stemmed points may have been associated with occupation of marginal or extreme environments. Groups with stemmed points were associated with expedient technologies, indicating residential and less mobile behaviors. The environmental context of this technological innovation was a gradual decrease in temperature into the LGM. Population increased before the appearance of stemmed points.
... Here, we attempt to identify patterns of mobility and site occupation through analysis of the stone artifact assemblages using Human Behavioral Ecology (HBE) models. Drawing on established relationships between lithic technology and forager mobility (Capriles et al., 2018;Hiscock, 1994;Kuhn et al., 2016;Kuhn, 1994Kuhn, , 2004Kuhn and Miller, 2015;Seong, 2008Seong, , 2015Shott, 1986), we hypothesize that the appearance of the new hunting tool might reflect a preference for more portable and efficient technologies, that were part of a broader strategy of moving frequently and further, possibly as an adaptation to environmental or population changes. ...
We use models from human behavioral ecology to examine stone artifacts from 23 sites in Korea to investigate mobility and site occupation patterns during the Late Pleistocene. This is an important period because new tools, such as stemmed points and blades, appeared in the archaeological record. We focus on two questions: what changes in foragers’ landscape use were associated with the introduction of new tools? And what changes in mobility and the way people used habitation sites were associated with the new technology? To answer these questions we present quantitative analyses of artifact volumetric density, retouch frequency, composition of toolkits, and artifact raw materials. We explore environmental and demographic contexts by applying paleoclimate simulations and summed probability distribution models. We find that quartz and side scrapers, in addition to cores and choppers, remain dominant in assemblages before and after the introduction of stemmed points throughout the Late Pleistocene. Our results show that forager groups using stemmed points may have been associated with occupation of marginal or extreme environments. Groups with stemmed points were associated with expedient technologies, indicating residential and less mobile behaviors. The environmental context of this technological innovation was a gradual decrease in temperature into the LGM. Population increased before the appearance of stemmed points.
... Cabe destacar que la distribución geográfica de este tipo es aún mayor, pues también está presente en tierras altas a lo largo de Perú en los sitios Cueva del Guitarrero, Lauricocha, Pikimachay, Pachamachay y Telarmachay (Aldenderfer 1998;Lavallée et al. 1995;Lynch 1980;Rick 1980), aunque descritas como puntas romboidales. Incluso la distribución geográfica de las puntas Patapatane se extiende al altiplano boliviano en Iroco, donde se han observado en el sitio KH20 (Capriles et al. 2018). El descubrimiento de las puntas Patapatane en la PdT con edades entre 12.800 y 11.480 cal a.p. se vuelve importante en tres sentidos. ...
Resumen La extraordinaria conservación del desierto de Atacama, permite observar hallazgos arqueológicos de los primeros grupos humanos en la Pampa del Tamarugal (PdT) hace 13.000 años. Estos hallazgos señalan un sistema de movilidad aún desconocido, de largo alcance que incluyó la costa del Pacífico, los Andes y la selva tropical y subtropical. El reporte presenta una síntesis de los marcadores líticos (puntas de proyectil) hallados en la PdT, que dan cuenta de la conexión entre la pampa y los Andes, específicamente con las tierras altas de Arica y cuenca del Salar de Atacama. Palabras Clave: tecnología lítica, cazador recolector, poblamiento humano, marcadores líticos Abstract The extraordinary preservation of remains in the Atacama desert, allows to observe archaeological findings of the first human populations that came into the Pampa del Tamarugal (PdT) around 13,000 years ago. These findings point to a still unknown, long-range mobility system that included the Pacific coast, the Andes, and the tropical and subtropical forest. The report presents a synthesis of the lithic markers (projectile points) found in the PdT, which account for the connection between the pampa and the Andes, in particular, with the highlands of Arica and the Salar de Atacama basin.
... Humans have been present in the Andes since at least 12,000 calibrated 14 C years before present (hereafter cal yr BP) (Capriles et al., 2016;Grosjean et al., 2005;Jolie et al., 2011;Latorre et al., 2013;Pag an-Jim enez et al., 2020;Rademaker et al., 2014;Stothert and Mosquera, 2011). Soon after their first arrival humans began altering Neotropical landscapes, causing extinction, creating novel communities, and increasing the probability of climate-inducing ecological shifts hence reducing ecological resilience to environmental change (Capriles et al., 2018;Dillehay et al., 2008;Pires et al., 2015;Raczka et al., 2019;Vecino et al., 2015;Villavicencio et al., 2016;White, 2013). A shift from hunting and gathering to plant cultivation in the Andes began c. 10,000 cal yr BP (Aceituno and Loaiza, 2015;Dillehay et al., 2007;Larson et al., 2014;Piperno, 2011). ...
Humans have been present in the Andes since about 12,000 calibrated years before present (cal yr BP), transitioning from hunter-gatherers to agropastoralist societies in the mid-Holocene. Yet, the timing and effects of this change in behavior on the ecosystem are largely unknown. Using titanium from XRF analysis, loss-on-ignition (LOI), fossil pollen, Sporormiella, and charcoal, we present a high-resolution 12,000-yr paleoecological history of Lake Llaviucu, a mid-elevation lake in the Ecuadorian Andes. For the entire period of study, humans were active in this landscape, with signs of agropastoralism being present since c. 6100 cal yr BP. Apparent ENSO activity, inferred from titanium inputs to the sediment is also heightened at c. 6100 cal yr BP. A trajectory of increasing landuse seems to have peaked in terms of maize production between c. 2900 and 800 cal yr BP. Thereafter, larger abundances of Sporormiella spores suggest that pastoralism was of increasing importance; a pattern disrupted by European arrival. Apparent peaks in El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) appears to be linked to fire and maize frequency. We investigated the relationship between the Lake Llaviucu record and that of nearby Lake Pallcacocha, which is often cited as providing a regional ENSO history.
... Our current understanding is that humans were settled in southern Peru, northern Chile and the highland of Bolivia ca. 13,000 years ago (B earez et al., 2015;Capriles et al., 2018;Disspain et al., 2017;Marquet et al., 2012;Santoro et al., 2020), which coincide with the decline of an extreme drought. At the end of the CAPE I (ca. ...
... Human populations would have likely stayed along the coast and utilized maritime resources along perennial streams, but no contemporaneous archaeological sites have been found there. In contrast, higher elevation ecosystems toward mountain settings were settled by people by 13 ka (Capriles et al., 2018;Loyola et al., 2017;Osorio et al., 2017;Rademaker et al., 2014). ...
As with most living organisms, human populations respond to climatic, environmental, and population pressures by transforming their range and subsistence strategies over space and time. An understanding of human ecology can be gained when the archaeological record is placed within the context of dynamic landscape changes and alterations in natural resource availability. We reconstructed the landscape evolution of the Quebrada Maní fan complex, situated along the west-facing slope of the Central Andes in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert, an area that contains an archaeological record that spans almost 13,000 years. Surficial geologic mapping and dating of three 2–12 km² study sites, in conjunction with archaeological records and analysis of remotely sensed data for the ∼400 km² fan complex, was conducted to reconstruct the landscape evolution and the way of life of Paleoindian (ca. 12.8–11.5 ka) and early/late Formative (ca 2.5 to 0.7 ka) social groups.
Just prior to any known human occupation, a large pluvial event in the high Andes, regionally referred to as CAPE I, impacted the Quebrada Maní fan complex from ca.18–16.5 ka. During CAPE I, the Maní fan complex was dominated by perennial stream systems that deposited well-sorted conglomerates in the upper reaches of the fan (Unit T2) and perennial wetlands (Unit B1). This pluvial period was followed by the onset of an extreme drought sometime after 15 ka, but before 13 ka, when wetlands desiccated and the distal reaches of the fan deflated. Sand sheets and sand dunes were deposited across broad reaches of the landscape and Quebrada Maní incised 3–5 m into its floodplain. This drought had profound implications for the distribution of natural resources during the subsequent pluvial event (CAPE II) that ensued from ca. 12.5–9.5 ka. Incision along the upper reaches of the fan caused a more restricted floodplain and allowed the deposition of extensive wetlands along the more distal central reaches of the fan where groundwater emerged. Paleoindian residential open-air camps were placed in these areas. Wetlands were replaced by a tree-covered floodplain during the latter portion of this pluvial event (ca. 10.5–9 ka).
We found no archaeological evidence for human occupations between ∼8–2.5 ka, suggesting a lack of natural resources and/or very low hunter-gatherer population densities. During this time, Quebrada Maní incised up to 8 m into the floodplain. Mudflow deposition – typical of the present-day fan complex – initiated around 2.5 ka, likely responding to an increase in precipitation. This triggered a re-population of the fan surface by Formative agricultural groups that irrigated and extensively farmed these floodplains. By the end of the Formative, these socio-cultural groups became increasingly vulnerable to climatic changes as cut-and-fill cycles in the drainage necessitated major infrastructure adjustments, until the technologies and social-cultural convention of the epoch could not cope with environmental change and investments were abandoned by ∼0.8 ka.
... The most frequent raw material was black basalt (62 %), followed by two types of chert (23 %), and other less frequent raw materials, including obsidian. Black basalt probably originated from Querimita, from the formerly mentioned quarry located at the southwestern shore of Lake Poopó Capriles & Albarracín-Jordan 2013;Capriles et al. 2017). ...
The motivation of this paper was given by some basalt artefacts found at Pueblo Sajama (Department of Oruro, Bolivia). This small assemblage consists mainly of flakes and does not contain culture-specific artefacts at all. In the absence of the latter, it is unreasoning to focus on the possible cultural affiliation of the assemblage. However, there are some typological characteristics, which suggest rather an elder origin of the artefacts. The detailed review of the lithic assemblage is in progress. Since, according to the available archaeological information on the study area, the environment of the Nevado Sajama is little-known, this attempt of the authors should be regarded as a sort of awareness-raising. Apart from the utilization of various types of obsidians, very little is known about the basalt utilization in the Archaic Period of this territory. This fact is especially surprising as there seems to be numerous evidence of the use of basalt as a lithic raw material. In this summary, the authors try to gather the available facts on the basalt utilization concerning this period. The authors would like to emphasize the fact that this paper does not contain any new results either in a geological or an archaeological point of view. It reflects only the results of the performed data collection.
... Generally made of sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz called chert or sometimes of volcanic obsidian, these tools have been an essential line of evidence regarding the dispersal of humans in the Americas, the transmission of cultural knowledge, and human responses to changing environments. In both NA and South America (SA) archaeological specialists have used changes in bifacial stone tools as one indicator of human adaptation to ecological diversity, linking technological features to regionally distinct cultural responses and food sources and exchange networks [9][10][11][12][13][14]. ...
From the perspective of Central and South America, the peopling of the New World was a complex process lasting thousands of years and involving multiple waves of Pleistocene and early Holocene period immigrants entering into the neotropics. These Paleoindian colonists initially brought with them technologies developed for adaptation to environments and resources found in North America. As the ice age ended across the New World people adapted more generalized stone tools to exploit changing environments and resources. In the neotropics these changes would have been pronounced as patchy forests and grasslands gave way to broadleaf tropical forests. We document a late Pleistocene/early Holocene stone tool tradition from Belize, located in southern Mesoamerica. This represents the first endogenous Paleoindian stone tool technocomplex recovered from well dated stratigraphic contexts for Mesoamerica. Previously designated Lowe, these artifacts share multiple features with contemporary North and South American Paleoindian tool types. Once hafted, these bifaces appear to have served multiple functions for cutting, hooking, thrusting, or throwing. The tools were developed at a time of technological regionalization reflecting the diverse demands of a period of pronounced environmental change and population movement. Combined stratigraphic, technological, and population paleogenetic data suggests that there were strong ties between lowland neotropic regions at the onset of the Holocene.
