Chapter 8

Quaternary Environments and Landscape Evolution

Claudio Latorre1*, Patricio I. Moreno2 , Gabriel Vargas3 , Antonio

Maldonado4, Rodrigo Villa-Martínez5 Juan J. Armesto1 , Carolina
Villagrán2 , Mario Pino6 , Lautaro Núñez7 and Martin Grosjean8

1) Centre for Advanced Studies in Ecology and Biodiversity (CASEB), Pontificia

Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda 340, Casilla 114-D, Santiago, Chile
2) Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile,,
Las Palmeras 3425, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile
3) Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad
de Chile, Plaza Ercilla 803, Casilla 13518, Santiago, Chile
4) Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Departamento de
Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Serena, Casilla 599, La Serena,
Chile
5) Centro de Estudios del Cuaternario de Fuego-Patagonia (CEQUA), Universidad de
Magallanes. Avenida Bulnes 01855, Punta Arenas.
6) Instituto de Geociencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Independencia 641, Valdivia,
Chile
7) Instituto de Investigaciones Arqueológicas y Museo, Universidad Católica del Norte,
San Pedro Atacama, Chile
8) NCRR Climate, Bern University, Switzerland

*Chapter coordinator and corresponding author

Email: [email protected], 56-2-6862610 (0ffice); 56-2-6862621 (Fax)
Edited Manuscript Version 19 December 2005, Barcelona

Chile possesses one of the most pronounced climate gradients in the world,
extending from the world’s driest desert in the north of the country, where precipitation
is measured in mm per decade, down to the Channel and Fiords region in southern
Patagonia where rainfall can average up to 7 m/ yr or more. In contrast, thermal
buffering by the Pacific Ocean contributes to ameliorating temperature extremes,
generating a latitudinal temperature gradient that is considerably less pronounced than
in other parts of the world (Axelrod et al. 1991; Miller 1976). When coupled with
millions of years of geographic isolation due to the barrier imposed by the Andes
Cordillera, Chile today possesses a highly endemic fauna and flora tightly linked to
these gradients (Arroyo et al. 1996; Hinojosa & Villagrán 1997). Considering its
position and tectonic setting, it is perhaps not surprising that the geomorphology of
Chile over the last two million years or so (i.e. the “Quaternary”, see Gradstein et al.
2004) of climate change has been strongly influenced by the latitudinal gradient. The
ancient landscapes preserved for millions of years in the hyperarid Atacama are in stark
contrast with the many glaciations that covered the country from Andes to the coast
south of Chiloé over the last few hundreds of thousands of years. Elucidating the
precise chronology of Quaternary events affecting Chile is of great relevance to a
number of other science disciplines including ecology, evolutionary biology,
population genetics, phylogeography, biogeography and conservation.
Given this importance, records of past climate and landscape change in Chile
have been developed and described by researchers from different countries since the
beginning of the 20th C. The vast majority of such scientific endeavours have used either
palaeoecological or geological/sedimentological evidence to elaborate mostly
descriptive studies regarding palaeoclimate, geomorphology, neotectonics,
biogeography and evolution. Over the past 20 years or so, however, the pace of research
has quickened, following a worldwide demand for ever increasing and more detailed
paleoclimate data. Following this trend, recent developments in high-resolution ice core
and marine records from the mid- and high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere have
led to new studies of climate linkages and controlling mechanisms at the
interhemispheric level during and since the last ice age (Denton et al. 1999; Kim et al.
2002; Lowell et al. 1995; Mayewski et al. 2004). Quaternary research in Chile has thus
produced a truly vast amount of data: here we provide an overview of the current
situation written by active researchers from a range of different disciplines including
geology, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, biogeography and archaeology. Starting
with a consideration of offshore influences (see also Chapter 7), we move onland
though Chile from north to south, including special sections on the rich flora of the
Chiloé Archipelago and the prominent terraces around Valdivia. Finally there is an
account of the earliest colonisation of Chile by humans.
For the sake of consistency, all radiocarbon ages younger than 26,000 14C yr BP
in this chapter have been converted into calendar years before 1950 using the software
CALIB version 5.1 (available at http://www.calib.org). CALPAL (www.calpal.de, using
2004 SFCP) was used for radiocarbon ages between 26,000-50,000 yr 14C yr B.P. Ages
older than 50,000 were left uncalibrated. All ages are expressed either in calendar years
B.P. (cal yr BP) or thousands of calendar years B.P. (cal kyr BP).

Past Quaternary Research in Chile

Ever since the discovery of Mylodon Cave in southernmost Patagonia during the
late 1800’s, the Quaternary period in Chile, and in particular the late Pleistocene, has
received worldwide attention. Thus, excellent summaries of past Quaternary research in
Chile have already been published in the literature (Heusser 2003; Ortlieb 1995; Paskoff
1977; Villagrán 1995a). It is not our intention to attempt such a detailed synthesis in just
one chapter of a book, but rather to provide an overview that highlights specific areas of
research currently being done in Chile.
The first major review paper was by Paskoff (1977) who focussed on several
different aspects of the Quaternary, with a strong emphasis on coastal geomorphology
together with his work on the geomorphology of semiarid lands in north-central Chile
(“norte chico”) (Paskoff 1970). A synthesis of the paleoclimate of northern Chile
(“norte grande”) was later provided by Ortlieb (1995), although a considerable amount
of research has taken place since this publication and a recent update has been published
by Latorre et al. (2005) (see section 8.4). Several highly focussed syntheses on the
impacts of Quaternary change on vegetation have been written by Carolina Villagrán
(1990, 1995a, b; Villagrán et al. 1998), and palynologist Calvin Heusser has produced
an excellent account of decades of research in southern Chile ( Heusser 2003).
Quaternary impacts and distribution of past fauna have been summarized in a review by
Moreno et al.(1994) and more recently by Frassinetti & Alberdi (2000; 2001).

Late Pleistocene-Holocene Paleoceanography of the Peru-Chile Current *GV

The Peru-Chile (or Humboldt) Current is a complex oceanographic system that
modulates continental climate along the Chilean coastal margin. Off central and
northern Chile, northward advection of cold Subantarctic Waters along its oceanic and
coastal branches dominates the surface circulation, whereas a countercurrent transports
warm subtropical water masses poleward (Chaigneau & Pizarro 2005a; Chaigneau &
Pizarro 2005b; Chaigneau & Pizarro 2005c; Strub et al. 1998). The subsurface Poleward
Undercurrent transports nutrient-rich and oxygen-depleted Equatorial Subsurface
Waters (Brandhorst 1971; Morales et al. 1996), and constitutes a main source of
nutrients for the photic zone during upwelling processes, supporting not only primary
production in the ocean surface layer, but also strong CO2 outgassing particularly off
central and northern Chile (Torres et al. 2002). South of approximately 42º S the West
Wind Drift or Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) intercepts the Chilean margin and
flows southward into the Cape Horn Current (Chaigneau & Pizarro 2005a, b, c; Strub et
al. 1998). The distribution of surface sediment properties off Chile confirm this
oceanographic pattern, suggesting that upwelling processes are dominant as a key factor
for primary production in central and northern Chile, whereas the ACC and nutrient
fluvial input become dominant along the margin of southernmost Chile, (e.g. south of
40ºS ; Hebbeln et al. 2000).
Detailed paleoceanographic work on sediment cores collected between 23º S and
41º S all seem to indicate that oceanographic variations along coastal Chile during the
Late Pleistocene, and particularly during the last glacial period, have been driven by
high latitude climate change. These mostly include changes around Antarctica and
implied latitudinal shifts of the Southern Westerlies and the ACC, following
precessional-driven changes in insolation, major changes in thermohaline circulation
and global climate change.
Proxy analysis of terrigenous material present in sediment cores from central Chile
(at 27º S and 33º S) (Lamy et al. 1998, 1999, 2000) suggest strong precession-driven
cyclic recurrences of more humid climates in both the high Andes, through increased
snowfall, and in the Coastal Range, with increased local rainfall, during austral summer
insolation maxima due to northward latitudinal shifts of the Southern Westerlies by ~5º
coupled with increased influence of subpolar air masses. The intensified runoff in most
of these records has been linked to an increase in fluvial input of continental iron
together with heightened biological productivity (Dezileau et al. 2004).
During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM: 23,000 to 19,000 calendar years before
present or 23-19 cal kyr BP), sedimentary records at 33º S and 41º S suggest Sea
Surface Temperatures (SSTs) of about 12º C and 9º C lower, respectively, than those
present during the Holocene (Kim et al. 2002; Lamy et al. 2004; Lamy et al. 2002).
This has been associated with a northwardly displacement of the position of the ACC
and the Southern Westerlies, generating a considerably wetter climate in central Chile
(Heusser 1990; Lamy et al. 1999, 2000) as well as inducing high primary production
rates off central Chile at 33º S (Hebbeln et al. 2002; Mohtadi & Hebbeln 2004) (also see
below). According to these records, Termination 1 began at 18.5 cal kyr BP at 33° S and
at 19.2 cal kyr BP sensu the record at 41° S, with a warm pulse most evident at 33ºS
occurring at ~15 cal kyr BP, culminating in maximum SSTs of 19º C at 13 cal kyr BP
and 15º C at 12.1 cal kyr BP (41º S), respectively (Kim et al. 2002; Lamy et al. 2004).
The similar timing and direction present between the record of SSTs at this last site
18
with the oxygen isotope ( O) record of the Byrd ice core in Antarctica (Blunier &
Brook 2001), have led Lamy et al. (2004) to propose an Antarctic influence on the onset
of the deglaciation and the maximum extension of glaciers in the Patagonian Ice Sheet
(PIS), which occurred at 18-17.7 cal kyr BP (Denton et al. 1999), some 1000 years after
the increase of the SSTs at 41º S. A close dependence between ice sheet extent along the
western slope of the Andes and offshore SSTs during regional ice maxima has been
suggested through model results by Hulton et al. (2002). The apparent inertia, however,
of the PIS to ocean-climate forcing, which could have exerted a variable influence on
continental environments, might explain the differences in timing between terrestrial
records of the glacial and deglacial periods (Denton et al. 1999; Lowell et al. 1995;
Moreno et al. 2001). According to Lamy et al. (1998, 1999, 2000) increasing SSTs
during deglaciation reflect a southward migration of the ACC and the Southern
Westerlies, inducing overall more arid conditions at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition
in central-southern Chile (Heusser 1990; Lamy et al. 1998, 1999, 2000; Veit 1996;
Villagrán & Varela 1990). The fact that only a weak signal is seen in the planktonic
foraminifera record at 33ºS (Marchant et al. 1999), which is absent in the alkenone-
based SST reconstruction from the same core (Kim et al. 2002), also provides
insufficient evidence for any major impacts of a purported Younger Dryas event
offshore the Chilean margin at this latitude.
In contrast, the Holocene is characterized by lower primary production and
increased climate variability from tropical sources such as El Niño events (Hebbeln et
al. 2002; Lamy et al. 1999, 2001, 2002; Marchant et al. 1999; Mohtadi & Hebbeln
2004). A strong cooling event characterized by SSTs ca. 1ºC lower than present at 33º
S, occurred at ca. 11 cal kyr BP, at a time of reduced summer insolation and seasonality,
followed by SST values similar to or slightly warmer than present (ca. 17º C) until ~8
cal kyr BP (Kim et al. 2002). This possibly may have supported coastal fogs and more
local humid conditions in restricted water catchments along the semiarid coast of Chile
(e.g. ( Maldonado & Villagrán 2002). Afterwards, a strong warm pulse occurred
between 8 and 7.5 cal kyr, reaching a mid-Holocene maximum SST of about 19º C at
~6 cal kyr BP (Kim et al. 2002). This Holocene optimum closely matches the highest
SST values of about 17º C at ~5.5 cal kyr BP recorded south at 41º S (Lamy et al.
2002). Despite a trend towards lower temperatures, high SSTs persisted during the mid-
Holocene in both regions, probably associated with a southward shift of the ACC and
the Southern Westerlies and strengthened South Eastern Pacific Subtropical
Anticyclone (SEPSA) (Kim et al. 2002; Lamy et al. 2002), roughly contemporaneously
with warm phases and landward recession of ice sheets at coastal sites around
Antarctica (Finocchiaro et al. 2005; Steig et al. 1998), and strong aridity in central Chile
( Heusser 1990; Jenny et al. 2002; Lamy et al. 1998, 1999; Villagrán & Varela 1990;
Villa-Martínez et al. 2003). Increasing paleoproductivity and oceanographic variability
during the late Holocene reported in sediment cores from central and southern Chile
(Lamy et al. 2001; Lamy et al. 2002; Marchant et al. 1999), occurs concomitantly with
trends towards decreasing SSTs particularly during the last four millennia at 33º S and
41º S (Kim et al. 2002; Lamy et al. 2002). This downward trend in temperatures is also
coeval with more humid climate conditions in central Chile and with decreasing
temperatures and increased sea-ice formation and ice-rafted debris around Antarctica
(Domack et al. 2001; Steig et al. 1998). One probable cause is increased influence of
ENSO variability beginning at ~5 cal kyr BP (Rodbell et al. 1999). This caused
poleward advection of warm subtropical water along the Chilean margin (Marchant et
al. 1999), increased soil formation, runoff and clastic sedimentation in central-northern
Chile ( Jenny et al. 2002; Lamy et al. 1999; Veit 1996; Villa-Martínez et al. 2003),
more frequent debris flow events due to heavy rainfall episodes along the coastal
Atacama Desert in northern Chile and southern Peru (Vargas et al. 2000), as well as
also probably controlling the behaviour of the extent of Antarctic sea-ice (Clement et al.
1999). Recent work on drilling sites off coastal northern and southern Chile suggest
significant ocean-climate variations during the last few centuries, as demonstrated by
increased primary production and interdecadal variability in the coastal upwelling
system off northern Chile (Vargas et al. 2004) and in the Chilean fjords (Rebolledo et
al. 2005; Sepúlveda et al. 2005).
A major unsolved problem for these records remains in the changes associated with
the Regional Radiocarbon Reservoir Effect, R, especially during the last deglaciation
and the Holocene, when intense global changes in the ventilation rates of seawater
masses are supposed to have occurred (Bard et al. 1994; Southon et al. 1990; Stuiver et
al. 1998; Van Beek et al. 2002). This could imply that significant time lags may be
present in the pattern of ocean-climate evolution. It also may explain to some extent the
lack of agreement between ocean cores and continental records of climate change, in
particular those from northern Patagonia (see below). For the Peru-Chile current system,
recent work indicates that the equatorward advection of anomalously 14C-depleted water
masses from the Southern Ocean during the early Holocene, combined with intensified
coastal upwelling during this time, were probably responsible for higher R values of
up to around 1000 years, with a mean ∆R= 496 ±304 years in northern Chile and
southern Peru (Fontugne et al. 2004). In comparison, Mid Holocene values
characterized by a mean ∆R= 175 ±101 were considerably less. This view implies that
the chronostratigraphy of some sedimentary records from central-northern Chile and
also from southern Chile, should be revised at least for these specific time periods.

Hyperarid northern Chile or “Norte Grande” (18-27º S) *CL

Northern Chile is well known throughout the world as home to the Atacama Desert,
the driest and perhaps the oldest of the major subtropical deserts found in the Southern
Hemisphere (Dunai et al. 2005; Hartley et al. 2005). The Atacama extends along the
Pacific Andean slope from the southern border of Peru (18°S) to Copiapó, Chile (27° S)
(Figure 1). The region's hyperaridity is due to a combination of the extreme rainshadow
of the high Andes, which blocks the advection of tropical/subtropical moisture from the
east; the blocking influence of the semi-permanent South Pacific Anticyclone, which
limits the influence of winter storm tracks from the south; and the generation of a
temperature inversion at ~1000 m by the cold, north-flowing Humboldt Current, which
constrains inland (upslope) penetration of Pacific moisture. The South Pacific
Anticyclone has been anchored against the westward bend in the South American
continent throughout the Neogene. Uplift of the central Andes to their current elevation
may have occurred as early as 15 Ma (Alpers & Brimhall 1988; Vandervoot et al.
1995), although paleobotanical evidence suggests that the central Andes were only at
half their modern elevation at 10 Ma (Gregory-Wodzicki 2000). The Humboldt Current
is thought to have been active since the Early Tertiary (Keller et al. 1997), but may have
reached its present intensity during the major expansion of the Antarctic ice sheet
between 15-12.5 Ma (Flower & Kennett 1993), or after the Central American Seaway
closed between 3.5 and 3.0 Ma (Ibaraki 1997).
Seasonal and annual precipitation totals in the region are determined by the number
of precipitation days, and associated circulation anomalies during those days.
Precipitation variability in both summer and winter is modulated primarily by Pacific
SST gradients and associated upper-air circulation anomalies (Garreaud & Aceituno
2001; Garreaud et al. 2003; Vuille et al. 2000). These anomalies promote either greater
spillover of summer moisture (either from the Amazon to the northeast or the Gran
Chaco to the southeast), or conversely, greater penetration of winter storm tracks from
the southwest.
At millennial to glacial-interglacial scales the role of the tropics in global change is
still poorly understood. Is regional insolation a major forcing factor of the Bolivian
High, or is the intensity of South American summer rainfall forced instead by changes
in Pacific SST gradients with both tropical and extratropical teleconnections?
Quaternary millennial-scale changes in the frequency and seasonality of the scant
rainfall are associated shifts in plant and animal distributions with elevation in the
Atacama. Today, plant diversity and distribution follows a gradient of mean annual
precipitation, which increases from almost 0 mm/year at ~2400 m to 200 mm/year at
4000 m. Along the Andean slope, a sparse vegetation zone known as Prepuna, appears
at 2900 m and gradually transitions into the Puna (locally Tolar). Lying between 3100-
3900 m, this is dominated by shrubs of the Asteraceae and Solanaceae. Above 3900 m,
High Andean steppe is dominated by tussock grasses such as Stipa, Nassella and
Festuca. A more heterogeneous mix of vegetation occurs along the Cordillera
Domeyko, with impoverished Stipa grassland found above 3400 m and slightly wetter
conditions on the east facing slopes with tolar shrubs extending down to 3100 m. A
large evergrowing body of evidence has been obtained through vegetation changes
analyzed in rodent middens, which are organic bioaccumulations of plant and animal
material by rock-dwelling rodents (Betancourt & Saavedra 2002; Betancourt et al.
1990). Throughout late Quaternary times, midden (Betancourt et al. 2000; Latorre et al.
2002,. 2003) and paleowetland (Rech et al. 2002, 2003) records from the central
Atacama are in close agreement, in particular for a major wet phase between >15-9 cal
kyr BP. Based on new evidence from ongoing midden research at Río Salado in the
Calama Basin (Latorre et al. 2006), this wet phase may have begun as early 17.4 cal kyr
BP, coinciding closely with globally warmer temperatures and the onset of deglaciation
at higher latitudes (Lowell et al. 1995; Moreno 1997) as well as onset of lake
transgression at Salar de Uyuni (Placzek et al. 2005; Sylvestre et al. 1998). Paleolake
Tauca collapsed at 14 cal kyr BP, although it revived slightly again during the minor
Coipasa phase (Placzek et al. 2005). This century scale drought occurred on the regional
scale and its impacts were felt in the Calama basin (Latorre et al. 2006).
Further midden and palaeowetland research in the central Atacama is seeking to
establish the full extent of the mid- Holocene wet phase, initially dated to between 7-3
cal kyr BP (Betancourt et al. 2000). High Andean lake records and the pattern of human
occupation of the Salar de Atacama area (“silencio arqueológico”- archaeological
silence; Núñez et al. 2002) have been interpreted in terms of extreme aridity. While
there are many causes for this discrepancy (e.g. Grosjean et al. 2003) here we will
simply note that climate variability in the central Atacama may have been considerably
more complex than previously thought. One step in this direction has been the
elaboration of new records from the southern Atacama at Quebrada Chaco (Latorre et
al. 2005; Maldonado et al. 2005). The majority of wetland deposits in Quebrada Chaco
and its tributaries, as well as midden records from upper elevations (>3450 m) dating
between 15.4-10.2 cal kyr BP are in good agreement with late Glacial/early Holocene
wet phase indicated in the central Atacama records. Early onset of aggradation
beginning at ~20.8 cal kyr BP, however, agrees with low elevation midden evidence
(<3000 m) that there was an earlier pluvial between 23.8-18.1 cal kyr BP. One source
for this earlier pluvial could be the enhancement or northward migration of westerly
storm tracks during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM- ca. 21-17 cal kyr BP).
In contrast to the central Atacama, absence of wetland deposits along with
impoverished midden floras implies widespread aridity during the Holocene, with a
slight increase in moisture over the last 1,500 years ( Maldonado et al. 2005). This
pattern is clearly different from that found further north, and implies that increases in
summer precipitation during the middle Holocene were of insufficient magnitude to
have reached Quebrada Chaco at 25°30’ S latitude. Ongoing work in the southern
Atacama, at localities directly north and south of Quebrada Chaco, will enable us to
place both a maximum northward limit to the westerly excursion during the LGM as
well as establishing the southern limit of increased summer moisture during the late
glacial and middle Holocene.
A diverse array of records of continental climate change for the central Andes is
now available (see special issue of Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,
Palaeoecology (v. 194, 2003) for a recent compilation). Notable among these are lake
and salt cores from Lake Titicaca and Salar de Uyuni (Baker et al. 2001a, b; Fornari et
al. 2001), chrono-stratigraphic work on shoreline deposits throughout the Altiplano
(Clapperton et al. 1997; Clayton & Clapperton 1997; Placzek et al. 2005; Sylvestre et
al. 1999), ice cores from Nevado Sajama (Thompson et al. 1998) and Illimani (Ramirez
et al. 2003), salt cores from Salar de Atacama (Bobst et al. 2001) and Hombre Muerto
(Godfrey et al. 2003) and a lake core from Laguna Miscanti (Grosjean et al. 2001). A
large number of discrepancies in paleoclimate interpretation are still apparent, such as
the slightly wetter middle Holocene, as indicated by midden and paleowetland records
throughout the northern and central Atacama, but which is completely absent from the
high Andean lake records (all of which indicate intense drought). At least some of these
discrepancies may be explained by substantial geographic variation in the sources and
mechanisms of precipitation over the central Andes. Summertime precipitation
variability in the central Andes is by and large determined by the upper-air zonal wind
component aloft, with an easterly (westerly) flow favoring wet (dry) conditions. The
influence of these upper-air circulation anomalies on precipitation becomes more
dominant when a longer moisture transport is involved and hence is more prominent
along the western slope of the Altiplano (Vuille et al. 2000).
The semiarid “Norte Chico” (27-32º S) *AM
The semiarid Norte Chico lies along a transition between the hyperarid Atacama
Desert to the north and the distinct mediterranean climate of central Chile to the south.
The predominant blocking influence of the south Pacific subtropical high is much
stronger here than further south, causing occasional winter droughts that become more
frequent with decreasing latitude (Van Husen 1967).
High resolution palaeoclimate archives from the norte chico are few, most not
even reaching as far back as 6000 cal yr B.P. Pleistocene archives are even less
frequent. Despite this shortcoming, all published records (see Fig. 1 for locations) show
an alternation of wet and dry periods, despite some disagreement regarding the exact
timing and duration of these phases. To date, four palaeoclimate records were obtained
in local swamp forests along the coast at ~32º S ( Maldonado 1999; Maldonado &
Villagrán 2002;Villagrán & Varela 1990), and three palaeopedological and
limnogeological records from the Andes Cordillera (Earle et al. 2003; Grosjean et al.
1997, 1998; ). One study also compares the palaeoclimate inferred from coastal and
mountain paleosols at the regional scale (27-33º S) (Veit 1996).
Pollen records from swamp forests at Quereo and Palo Colorado indicate a
climate wetter than today during the early Holocene. These forests persisted at Palo
Colorado (32º05’S) between 9800-8800 cal yr B.P. The pollen record at Quereo on the
other hand, displays an onset of aridity with swamp forests drying out some time after
9370 cal yr B.P. (Villagrán & Varela 1990). Wetter conditions between 10,000-8300 cal
yr B.P. are also inferred from paleosol evidence (Veit 1996).
Climate evolved into extreme arid conditions after 9000 cal yr BP. The swamp
forest at Palo Colorado disappeared and matorral and herbaceous species persisted
between 8800-7500 cal yr B.P. The lack of pollen coupled with inorganic sediments
suggests that the arid phase may have lasted until 6000 cal yr B.P. This also corresponds
to pollen evidence for a dry phase at Quereo (Villagrán & Varela 1990) and paleosol
evidence for temperatures that may have been up to 3º C higher between 8100-5700 cal
yr B.P. (Veit 1996). This temperature maximum also agrees with the evidence for raised
beach terraces at Algarrobo (33º S) and Tongoy (30ºS) which are up to 3.8 m above
mean sea level and have been dated between 6.800-6.400 cal yr B.P.(Hervé et al. 2003;
Ota & Paskoff 1993).
 A gradual, stepwise shift rather than an abrupt shift characterized the return of
more mesic conditions starting at 4200 cal yr B.P. Onset of sedimentation begins at
6200 cal yr B.P. at the sites Ñague I and III (31º50’S), in absence of the swamp forests
and predominance of herbs and matorral shrubs until 4200 cal yr B.P. Swamp forests
began to colonize the sector at this time, associated with increased moisture (Maldonado
& Villagrán 2002). Wetter conditions began at 5300 cal yr B.P. at Palo Colorado, as
indicated by the appearance of Myrtaceae pollen. Palaeolimnological evidence for
increased moisture during this interval also comes from Laguna del Negro Francisco in
the high Andes near Copiapó (27º S), where a saline lake, which occurs from the base of
the record at 6800 cal yr B.P., shifts into a freshwater lake at 4200 cal yr B.P. (Grosjean
et al. 1997).
High elevation records indicate an intensification of wetter conditions after 3200
cal yr B.P when lake levels rose again at Laguna del Negro Francisco and glaciers
advanced in the Valeriana and Encierro valleys at 29º S (Grosjean et al. 1998). A
similar trend was seen on the coast where arboreal species began replacing herbaceous
ones, although interrupted by several short drought episodes documented both at Ñague
(1800-1400 cal yrs B.P.) and Palo Colorado (3300-3200 cal yr B.P.) These episodes are
also correlated to a dry phase at 1700-1100 cal yr B.P. at Río La Gallina (Earle et al.
2003) and after 1800 cal yr B.P. at Laguna del Negro Francisco. Wetter conditions
during the late Holocene are also implied by paleosol evidence across the region. This
wet phase also reached Quebrada del Chaco at 25º30’ S (see previous section), where
pollen indicates the downward descent of hillslope species into the absolute desert in
rodent middens dated at 1500 cal yr B.P.

Central Chile (32-35º S) *RVM

As with the Norte Chico, Central Chile (32°-35°S) occupies a transitional
position between two major features that characterize the western coast of southern
South America, the South Pacific Anticyclone (SPA) and the westerly wind belt.
Climate in this region is characterized by a summer-dry/winter-wet regime, related to
seasonal changes in the position of the SPA. Inter-annual variations in winter
precipitation are related to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon.
During negative ENSO phase (El Niño), westerly storms move northward and cause
higher-than-average annual precipitation in Central Chile. Cold and dry conditions
dominate during positive ENSO phase (La Niña) (Aceituno 1988, 1990; Aceituno et al.
1993; Rutlland & Fuenzalida 1991).
Despite such a key geographical position for understanding palaeoclimate
changes in the subtropics, including the onset and subsequent evolution of ENSO, only
a handful of palaeoenvironmental records are known. For example, just a single pollen
record from Laguna Tagua Tagua (34º 30’ S) encompasses glacial times and spans the
last 54,000 years (Heusser 1983, 1990). Today an artificially drained lakebed
surrounded by broad-leaved sclerophyllous woodland, vegetation at this site during the
late Pleistocene was dominated by the southern beech Nothofagus and Prumnopitys
conifers indicating a colder and considerably wetter climate. These wet and cold phases
occurred between 50,000- 40,100 cal yr B.P. and 32,600-13,260 cal yr B.P. Arid
phases, dominated by grasses (Gramineae) and halophytes (Chenopodiaceae), occurred
between 54,000 -50,000 14C yr B.P. and between 40,150-32,950 cal yr B.P. The climate
became drier after 17,500 cal yr B.P., as indicated by the decline of arboreal taxa and
concomitant increase in grasses and halophytes.
The few Holocene palaeoclimate records that exist for central Chile document
several major climate fluctuations, in the form of alternating wet and dry phases. The
overall chronology is in basic agreement among these records regarding the prevalence
of warm/arid conditions during the early and middle Holocene. These studies include
pollen records ( Heusser 1983, 1990; Villagrán & Varela 1990; Villa-Martínez &
Villagrán 1997) and paleosols (Veit 1996). The poorly constrained chronology and
temporal resolution in most of these records, however, impedes further precision
regarding our understanding of the timing and structure of these phases.
A more complete dataset of Holocene climate is now available from Laguna
Aculeo (~34ºS), a high resolution multiproxy record from one of the few natural inland
lakes located in the mediterranean zone of Central Chile (Jenny et al. 2002, 2003;
Villa-Martínez et al. 2003, 2004). The basal portion of this record is characterized by
the absence of palynomorphs and presence of gravels, sands and saline silts in
sediments older than 7.5 ka BP, all of which suggest an ephemeral water body under
very arid and warm conditions. Palynomorphs appear at 7.5 ka BP and display elevated
counts of halophytes between 7.5 - 5.7 ka BP, indicative of an arid and warmer than
present climate. A fresh water lake appeared between 5.7-3.2 ka BP, associated with an
increase in arboreal and herbaceous diversity. An intensification of this trend began at
3.2 ka BP, along with the virtual disappearance of halophytes (which have only begun
to reappear in the last100 years). Within this humid period, large-amplitude
fluctuations in pollen influx occur coevally with numerous turbidite layers, suggesting a
highly episodic and torrential rainfall. A similar pattern is also seen in the Matanzas
pollen record over the last 3 kyr on the coast of central Chile (~34ºS) (Hervé et al.
2003). This intense and episodic rainfall is probably associated with large amplitude
fluctuations of ENSO. Jenny et al ( 2003), using a lake level curve from the Aculeo
record coupled with a water balance model, have estimated precipitation changes for
the Holocene in central Chile. Their calculations suggest that from beginning of
Holocene until 5.7 ka BP, mean annual precipitation was on the order of 150-300
mm/yr. Mean annual precipitation increased dramatically between 5.7-3.2 ka BP
reaching 350-450 mm/yr. Modern lake levels and a mean annual precipitation of 450-
550 mm/yr were established only beginning at ~3.2 ka BP.

Northern Patagonia (39-41° S)*PIM

The study of interhemispheric climate linkages during and since the last ice age has
benefited from the recent development of high-resolution ice core and marine records
from the mid- and high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere (Lamy et al. 2004; Stenni
et al. 2001). Few paleoclimate records from terrestrial environments in these regions,
however, have the temporal continuity, time resolution, and adequate chronologic
control to allow a detailed examination of the timing, rates, direction, and phasing of
climate change at millennial timescales.
Northwest Patagonia is ideal for the study of interhemispheric linkages throughout
the Quaternary because this region has insolation regimes out-of-phase with northern
mid-latitudes, is highly sensitive to variations in the southern westerlies, and is far
removed from the direct influence of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets and deep water
circulation (Moreno 2002). Stratigraphic, palynologic, and charcoal records from small,
high-sediment accumulating lakes in the Chilean Lake District (41º S) afford useful data
for examining the interval between the Last Glacial Maximum to the present.
A stacked palynological record encompassing the last 24,000 years was developed
to examine the timing, rates, and direction of vegetation and climate change in NW
Patagonia (Moreno 1999, 2004; Moreno & León 2003). The record shows extreme
glacial climate (ΔT: -6.5°C, ΔPp: ~2000 mm/yr) between 24-17.7 cal kyr BP), followed
by the abrupt expansion of North Patagonian rainforest taxa through successive
warming events between 17.7-15.5 cal kyr BP. Conditions approaching modern climate
prevailed between 15.5-15 cal kyr BP, followed by expansion of cold-resistant/
hygrophilous North Patagonian rainforest trees at 15 and 13.5 cal kyr BP, and
subsequent warming pulses at 11.5 and 10.2 cal kyr BP (Hajdas et al. 2003; Moreno et
al. 2001). The earliest charcoal peaks, indicative of local fires between 15-14.5 cal kyr
BP, occurred despite the local dominance by temperate rainforests at the time under
cool-temperate and wet conditions. Extreme warm/dry climate prevailed between 10.2-
7.8 cal kyr BP, as indicated by the predominance of the warmth-loving, drought-
resistant Valdivian trees Eucryphia cordifolia, Caldcluvia paniculata, and lowered lake
levels. Charcoal maxima and local vegetation disturbance are evident in several sites at
different times between 13-8.5 cal kyr BP. Cold-resistant North Patagonian rainforest
trees re-expanded through a series of steps between 7.5-5.5 cal kyr BP, and reached
peak abundance between 5-3 cal kyr BP. Eucryphia and Caldcluvia re-expanded at 5 cal
kyr BP establishing a vegetation mosaic with podocarps and Nothofagus that persists
until today. During the latter period, charcoal records indicate renewed fire activity with
prominent increases at 5 and 3 cal kyr BP. Modern vegetation and climatic conditions
started at 2 cal kyr BP, following a warm/dry phase between 3-2 cal kyr BP.
Rainforest vegetation changed at ecological timescales (≤100 years) in response to
climate forcing at millennial timescales since the last termination. Moreover, the timing
and mean time spacing of events fall in the range of millennial-scale changes identified
in the North Atlantic region (Bianchi & McCave 1999; Bond et al. 1997, 1999). Sub-
millennial scale variability is also evident: El Niño years in NW Patagonia typically
exhibit below-normal summer precipitation (Montecinos et al. 2000), hence the co-
occurrence of thermophilous/ drought-resistant Valdivian elements and cold-
resistant/hygrophilous NPR trees since ~5 cal kyr BP might represent a vegetation
response to the onset of El Niño-like variability in the mid/late Holocene.
The record from NW Patagonia indicates intense fire activity during the warm-dry
early Holocene, and in some cases during the final portion of the Late Glacial (Moreno
2004). It is likely that the primary control on fire occurrence in this region lies in
changes in the position and strength of the southern westerlies at multi millennial
timescales, climate variability at sub-centennial scales, as well as local (human?)
ignition sources.
Biodiversity, Glacial History and Biogeography of the Vegetation of Chiloé Archipelago
*CV
Biodiversity
The singularly rich and heterogeneous flora of the Chiloé Archipelago (41°47’-43°30’S,
Fig. 8.1) is one of the most diverse in Chile. Despite a lack of precise estimates for the total
number of terrestrial plants in the Archipelago, this number is probably over 1200 species,
especially when the approximately 750 known species of vascular plants are considered
(Ruthsatz & Villagrán 1991; Villagrán 2002; Villagrán et al. 1986) along with the at least 360
known species of Bryophytes among the Cryptograms ( Villagrán et al. 2003, 2005). The Ulmo
(Eucryphia cordifolia) forest, the most important and most diverse association of the Valdivian
rainforest, reaches its southern limits along the northern and central part of the Isla Grande
(Schmithüsen 1956).
North Patagonian rainforest communities are present along the Piuchué Cordillera, and
along the southern portion of the main island and adjacent islets. These communities are
dominated by canelo (Drimys winteri), tepa (Laureliopsis philippiana), myrtles such as luma
and petagüa (Amomyrtus luma y Myrceugenia ovata) and by Nothofagus nitida and the conifers
Saxe-gothaea conspicua and Podocarpus nubigena (mañíos) at higher elevations. A more
complex vegetational mosaic covers the broad summits of the Piuchué cordillera and low
elevation wetlands. This mosaic includes small stands of Magellan coigue, (Nothofagus
betuloides) and ñirre (Nothofagus antarctica); Magellanic moorland (Astelia pumila, Donatia
fascicularis y Gaimardia australis, entre otras); alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides); cypress
(Pilgerodendron uviferum); and tepú (Tepualia stipularis). Many of the species that make up
this vanguard of subantartic flora here meet their northern limits.
Along the Pacific coast, diverse marsh, beach and intertidal rock communities are adjacent to
pristine forests of arrayan (Luma apiculata) and tique (Aextoxicon punctatum), one of the most
unusual of Valdivian rainforest associations, with northern limits along the semiarid coast
(30°30’ S) and southern limits at the Guapiquilán, Esmeralda and Guafo islets at the SW end of
the main island. The tique forest of Chiloé houses numerous species of vines, epiphytes and
rare cryptogams that are endemic to Chilean forests, many of which have disappeared from
most of their original ranges and today exhibit pronounced disjunct distributions in remote
areas ( Villagrán & Armesto 2003; Villagrán et al. 2003, 2004ª, b, 2005; ).
Glacial History
 Considering the dramatic extent of Pleistocene glaciations, how did Chiloé come to have such
levels of biodiversity? Glacial geologic records from the last glaciation (Fig. X1; Denton et al.
1999; Hollin & Schilling 1981), show that most of the southern and eastern portions of the
main island, as well as continental Chiloe and the islets, were all heavily covered by ice during
the last glacial advance, the Llanquihue (LLG), dated between ~37,000 — 17,500 cal yr BP,
with temperatures estimated to have been 6-8° C lower than today (Heusser et al. 1999).
Periglacial processes, such as solifluction, exerted considerable impact on the montane forests
of the Piuchué Cordillera right down to the foothills (Veit & Garleff 1996). As made explicit in
the summary of paleobotanical evidence that follows, the rich biodiversity of these islands and
the singular pattern of modern day distributions of these floras are closely linked to the
profound transformations undergone by the landscape during the repeated glaciations of the
Pleistocene. Fig. X1 indicates the location of the pollen sites where these dramatic vegetation
changes have been documented. Past changes in mean summer temperature during the LLG
(Fig. X3) have been derived from the pollen record at Taiquemó, the oldest such record in
Chiloé (Denton et al. 1999; Calvin J. Heusser 1990). Using this curve as reference, we can
describe the following vegetation changes during the most extreme climate phases:
a) Interstadials during the early to middle LLG
Recent discoveries of in situ subfossil tree trunks of alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides) and
Guaitecas cypress (Pilgerodendron uviferum) in the Seno de Reloncaví and eastern margin of
Chiloé Island (Fig X1), dated between 45,470 — 51,050 cal yr BP, record the climate and
glacial history of the North Patagonian Rainforests as dominated by Nothofagus and conifers
(Roig et al. 2001). Pollen analyzed from three of these sites: Tenglo, Punta Pirquén and
Molulco evince dominance of arboreal taxa, mostly Nothofagus dombeyi-type and conifers
such as Fitzroya cupressoides, Pilgerodendron uviferum, Saxe-gothaea conspicua, Podocarpus
nubigena and Lepidothamnus fonckii ( Villagrán et al. 1999, 2004b). This spectrum suggests
relatively warm and wet interstadials during the early to middle LLG. Conifer forests expanded
considerably across the longitudinal valley from their disjunct ranges in modern montane
forests. Other pollen records with similar age subfossil wood and similar spectra, stratigraphy
and chronology are: Punta Tentén, Chiloé (Heusser et al. 1995); Punta Pelluco, Punta Penas
and Canal Tenglo ( Heusser 1981. Heusser et al. 1999).
b) Stadials of the late LLG
The dominant vegetation present during the stadials of the upper LLG, dated from ~37,000
to 17,500 cal yr BP, has been described from three different pollen records taken from peatbogs
in the NE part of Chiloé (Fig X1): Taiquemó (Heusser 1990), Loncomilla (Villagrán 1990) and
Río Negro (Villagrán 1988a). Magellanic Moorland comprised Astelia pumila, Donatia
fascicularis, Lepidothamnus fonckii with grasses and composites alternating with small stands
of Nothofagus and conifers. The middle to late LLG transition is documented by the
discontinuous sections present at Pidpid, Tehuaco and Dalcahué, along the eastern-central coast
of the island (Fig. X1, (. Heusser 1990, 1999;Villagrán 1985).
c) Late glacial
After piedmont glacier collapse, ~17,000 cal yr BP, a quick colonization and rapid
expansion of a closed canopy north Patagonian rainforest with Nothofagus, conifers and
Myrtaceae occurs at three pollen records along the central to southern sectors of the eastern
coast of Chiloé: Lagunas Pastahué, Tahui and Meli (Fig. X1, (Abarzúa et al. 2004; C. Villagrán
1985). At this time, vegetation also begian colonising areas previously glaciated in the
southern part of the Isla Grande (Fig X1, Puerto Carmen, Laguna Soledad and Chaiguata,
(Carolina Villagrán 1988b). Colonization also began along the Channel District (Bennett et al.
2000) synchronous with moorlands ascent to the summits of the Piuchué cordillera and the
Andes (Fig. X1) ( Villagrán 1991), as seen in pollen records from mainland Chiloé, Chaitén
and Cuesta Moraga (Heusser et al. 1992).
d) The Holocene
A series of pollen records document the transition from forests dominated by temperate-
cold species to those dominated by more thermophilous species of the north Patagonian
rainforest, such as tineo (Weinmannia trichosperma) at the beginning of the Holocene (11,000
cal yr BP). This was followed by the widespread expansion of ulmo (Eucryphia cordifolia)
from ~9200- 6550 cal yr BP, dominating the vegetation along the SE sector of Isla Grande at
Tahui, Meli and Puerto Carmen (Fig. X1). This event represents the time of greatest southward
expansion of the Valdivian rainforest during the last glacial cycle (Abarzúa et al. 2004;
Carolina Villagrán 1988b).
Consequences for Biogeography
An historical model based on the vegetation dynamics observed in the pollen records has
been proposed by Villagrán (2001) (Fig. X4). This model proposes that modern disjunct
distributions of the conifer species in Chiloé, which today are found only in the coastal and
Andes mountain ranges ( Villagrán et al. 1998, Villagrán & Armesto 2003; ) are the end result
of forest recolonization of mountain habitats which can only occur during deglaciation. The
ranges occupied by these species hence would have been much more widespread and
continuous in the low lying intermediate valley of the Lake District and Chiloé, occurring
chiefly during interstadials of the early to middle LLG. This hypothesis is in good agreement
with recent phylogenetic molecular studies, which indicate high genetic diversity in all the
isolated Chilean and Argentine conifer populations studied together with a high degree of
divergence from the small stands of alerce Fitzroya cupressoides present in the Llanquihue
longitudinal valley (Allnut et al. 1999, 2001, 2003; Bekessy et al. 2002; Premoli et al. 2000).
These are most likely the last remnants of ancestral populations that occupied the entire valley
during the aforementioned stages of the LLG.
The diversity of subantartic flora present in Chiloé would thus be a consequence of the
northward migration of Magellanic moorland mosaic duing the stadials of LLG. Today, the
“islands” of these moorlands present along the summits of the Piuchué range, mark the
northernmost limits of Euphrasia antarctica, Gunnera lobata, Pratia repens, Abrotanella
lineariifolia, Perezia lactucoides spp. palustris, Sisyrinchium patagonicum and several species
of Cyperaceae and Juncaceae (Ruthsatz & Villagrán 1991; Villagrán 2002). 229 species of
Hepatics have been recorded in Chiloé ( Villagrán et al. 2005), most of these are endemic to
southern Chile and Argentina with several endemic monotypic (Roivainenia, Perdusenia) or
bitypic genera (Nothostrepta, Arctoscyphus) of Austral South America. Of these, 144 (63%)
expand their ranges into the southern confines of the continent, south of 52° S (Hässel de
Menéndez & Solari 1985). Fifty seven of these (25%) reach their northern limits in the Chiloé
archipielago. The mosses of Chiloé also display a dominant subantartic component (Villagrán
et al. 2003).
In contrast, the Angiosperm species of the warm forest communities of southern Chile
display maximum richness and endemism restricted to between the Maule and Valdivia rivers,
36° - 40° S and reaching their southern limits in Chiloé (Villagrán 1995b; Villagrán &
Hinojosa 1997). This distribution, together with evidence from paleopedological studies (Veit
& Garleff 1996), the W-E direction of recolonization demonstrated by isopollen maps
(Villagrán 1991), and the southward recolonization of North Patagonian and Valdivian
rainforests in the late glacial and early to mid Holocene, has led researchers to hypothesize that
the coast and western slopes of the Coastal Cordillera, between the Los Lagos and Bio Bio
Regions, have functioned as a major refuge for these temperate rainforests during Pleistocene
glaciations (Fig. X4).
Finally, the large disjunctions observed for Chilotan species of the Valdivian rainforest
between central Chile (33° S) and semiarid Chile (30°30’ S) probably correspond to ancient
endemisms of previous widespread distributions along coastal Chile before the Pleistocene and
the formation of the “arid diagonal” at the end of the Tertiary (Villagrán et al. 2004a). This
hypothesis is in agreement with fossil evidence from the Neogene of central Chile (Hinojosa &
Villagrán 1997) and with recent molecular evidence that shows dramatic genetic divergence
between the northernmost populations of two of these taxa (Drimys: Jara et al. 2002) and
Aextoxicon: Nuñez 2004)). The persistence of these species in very restricted areas along the
the Pacific coast and islands is likely due to the highly oceanic character of these regions
during the Pleistocene glaciations of the Pleistocene (Villagrán 1991). Among the Chilotan
species of angiosperms with relict distributions in semiarid Chile are Nertera granadensis,
Mitraria coccinea, Sarmienta repens, Peperomia fernandeziana, Dysopsis glechomoides and
Uncinia phleoides. Among the species of ferns with disjunct distributions between Chiloé,
Valdivia and the Juan Fernandez islands, are Blechnum corralense, Trichomanes exsectum,
Hymenophyllum fuciforme, Histiopteris incisa and Gleichenia litoralis. The species with
disjunct distributions in semiarid Chile are Hymenophyllum peltatum, Asplenium dareoides,
Rumohra adiantiformis, Hypolepis poeppigii, Polypodium feuillei var. feuillei and
Megalastrum spectabile var. spectabile ( Villagrán et al. 2004a). Of the mosses, Ptychomnion
falcatulum is found on Chiloé, Valdivia and Juan Fernandez, whereas Macromitrium
longirostre, Fissidens berterii and Hennediella kunzeana are disjunct between Chiloé and
central Chile ( Villagrán et al. 2003). Perhaps the most surprising examples are the disjunct
ranges present among the hepatics Colura calyptrifolia, Frullania fertilis, Microlejeunea
ulicina, Monoclea gottschei ssp. gottschei and Plagiochila rufescens, all of which are present in
Chiloé and in Fray Jorge-Talinay in semiarid Chile, a major gap spanning more than 1600 km
(Villagrán et al. 2005).

Interglacial Sediments From Valdivia *MP

Prominent terraces interpreted either as fluvial or marine in origin can be
observed in the vicinity of the city of Valdivia (ca. 38° 30' - 40° south) (Antinao &
McDonough 1999; Brüggen 1944; Fuenzalida et al. 1965; Pino 1987, 1999; Rojas
1990). Their surface varies from 10 m (in Porma, north of the Imperial River) to 67 m
high (in Valdivia). According to the last interglacial sea-level reconstructions, these
should not have been more than 8 m above the present level (Blum & Törnqvist
2000;Esat & Yokoyama 2000;Esat et al. 1999; Lambeck et al. 2002; Shackleton et al.
2003). Current atitudes regarding these terrace surfaces are that they result from block
neotectonics (Illies, 1970). Faults that control the blocks (with N-S and NE - SW
trending patterns) also control the orientation of the majority of local creeks (Grupo de
Estudios Urbanos 1997). Relying on terrace altitude together with stratigraphical
observations but lacking absolute dating, Lauer (1968) and Illies (1970) suggested an
interglacial Riß – Würm age, denominated here as the Valdivian Interglacial (VI). Such
an age agrees with the degree of weathering present in these deposits.
Two different facies can clearly be recognized along the 160 km coastal zone.
The first one is composed of sediments derived from the local metamorphic basement
(Metamorphic Complex of Mansa Bay, Duhart et al. 2001) associated with an
accumulation of land-derived plant remains. This facies, defined as autochthonous, has
surface development associated to present day water courses. Coarse and fine alluvial
gravels (including colluvial material) are interbedded within this facies, as well as
several types of sand, silt and peat. Some of the gravel deposits consist mainly of quartz,
while others are dominated by schist fragments. At least three levels of peat can be
identified. The first one is visible just above current sea-level (on the northern slope of
Niebla’s Playa Grande, on Huapi Island in the mouth of Tornagaleones estuary and on
the northern slope of Curiñanco Beach), the second one is at approximately 34 m and
the third lies some 6 m above the previous level (these latter two peat deposits are in the
terrace directly north of Los Molinos creek). The peats include numerous logs and
branches all extraordinarily well preserved. These have been macro- and
microscopically identified as Nothofagus sp. (southern beech), Amomyrtus luma -
Amomyrtus meli (both myrtles), and Pilgerodendron uviferum (Guaitecas cypress).
Unexpectedly, small-size leaves of Eucryphia cordifolia (ulmo) have also been
collected. At least two infinite 14C ages > 45.000 years BP have been determined from a
wood sample (Los Molinos) and a carbonized log from the Chan Chan area (Antinao &
McDonough 1999).
The second facies, defined as allochthonous, is composed of medium to fine
sandy sediments of volcanic origin, generally characterized by more than 15% ash
matrix. Locally known as “cancagua”, it is interbedded with silt and clay-size
sediments, and is partially or totally reworked by weathering to kaolinite. The sandstone
matrix has also undergone intense weathering, and has mostly converted into a sort of
secondary cement. This second facies is abundant not only in the coastal area, but is
also found along the most important estuaries and rivers, up to 15 km from their
mouths. Outcrops in Playa Grande contain thin interbedded pumice ash layers. Two
superimposed stratified flows can be observed near the Niebla Spanish Fort that are
dipping towards the continent at an angle of approximately 45°. The lower flow
maintains this position throughout the whole outcrop, whereas the top flow is horizontal
along the coastal cliff and starts to slowly dip towards the continent, eliminating the
possibility of tectonic tilting. A similar situation can be observed at La Misión Beach in
Valdivia and along the coast of Lake Budi. This primary structure was first interpreted
as aeolian in origin (Antinao & McDonough 1999), but given the grain size, presence of
a matrix, thickness of strata and the transition from flat lying to 45° tilting, it is more
easily explained as the result of small frontal or lateral deltaic deposit into a channel or
small body of water (Brown 2001). The volume of volcanic sand present in this facies
reaches at least 5 km3 along the coastal area. Associated with the finest sediments,
generally a clay-silt mixture produced by weathering of volcanic ash, are fossil deposits
(Estancilla, Niebla’s Playa Grande, Huapi Island) that contain estuarine and marine
invertebrates, with well preserved shells and/or casts, ostracods and tree leaves.
Crepidula dilatata, Crepidula fecunda, Caecum chilense, Nassarius sp and Aulacomya
ater have all been identified from the Huapi Island outcrop (Pino et al. 2002). With the
exception of Nassarius, located in the upper strata, the other invertebrates are
intermixed with broken shells and in disorder, which suggests that their soft body parts
might have been eaten after deposition by Nassarius. The only leaf found at Estancilla
was lying in a vertical position, indicative of deposition under a non-laminar flow.
Based on the spatial arrangement of the fossils, these deposits seem to have been
retransported by a hyperconcentrated flow, forming a thanatocenosis. The coquina
fossils from Huapi Island have been interpreted as forming a subtropical association
(Alvarez & Gallardo 1996), although the invertebrates identified up to now are,
however, indicative of an environmental setting similar to the one in nearby Corral Bay.
Volcanic ash content decreases from north to south in this facies. Near the mouth of the
Imperial river estuary (northern limit of the outcrops) the volcanic ash is present not
only in the matrix, but also forms layers of pure ash, together with a thanatocenosis of
estuarine invertebrates.
Although the Sollipulli, Sierra Nevada and Llaima volcanoes (all postglacial in
age) are all located in the present Imperial river basin, the probable origin of this
hyperconcentrated flow of sand and volcanic ash seems to be related to a pre-
Llanquihue (last glacial) caldera of the Villarica volcano. The volcanic sandstone is
composed of fragments of andesite, basalt, orthopyroxene, plagioclase, green
hornblende, olivine and magnetite (Pino 1987). Most of the orthopyroxene crystals are
not rounded, but rather have kept their euhedral shape, which supports the interpretation
of a hyperconcentrated flow. Olivine and orthopyroxene are frequent products of
postglacial basaltic and dacitic volcanism (Naranjo & Moreno 1991), but the presence of
green hornblende gives a measure of the importance of andesitic pyroclastic material,
since it is not found in lavas (Smith & Lotosky 1995). Even today it has not been
possible to associate the deposition of a hyperconcentrated sand flow to a particular
volcanic event, as the pre-Llanquihue volcanic centres of the Andes have been buried or
destroyed by glacier advances.
Both facies are vertically related in several ways. At Playa Grande and
throughout the city of Valdivia, hyperconcentrated sand flows overlay peat with an
undulating contact that corresponds to flame structures. In this particular case, evidence
indicates transport and deposition of a viscous flow over a plastic material. At Los
Molinos, allochthonous flows underlay autochthonous facies, whereas the opposite is
true at Curiñanco.
If we accept that wavy-surface terrains in the Intermediate Depression near
Osorno are typically associated with lahar outcrops, such as at San Pablo (Corvalán
1974) then by analogy the same geomorphology in the Valdivia area indicates that the
hyperconcentrated deposit of immature volcanic sand actually corresponds to a lahar.
The Valdivia area and adjacent coastal zone presents this undulating pattern alternating
with the presence of terraces. The same wavy pattern can be seen along the secondary
road that links the main road (Ruta 5, Máfil) to the highway between San José de la
Mariquina and Valdivia. This road cuts almost perpendicularly through the undulations
of a coarse sand deposit which is somewhat less cemented than the traditional
“cancagua”, but with numerous pumice stones. Similar morphological structures can
also be observed along the road towards Gorbea (Cuarta Faja), where a very fine and
immature volcanic sandstone appears in subsurface at the Santa María estate and
corresponds to what has been defined as “cancagua”. Both outcrops lead towards the
Villarica volcano basin.
The reinterpretation of deposits containing marine or estuarine fossils as
thanatocenosis associations transported by ash flows and the existence of typically
continental facies and fossils along the present Valdivia coastline support the notion that
the entire above-mentioned deposits previously described as marine are in fact
fluvial, lacustrine and paludal in origin. If sea-level was somewhat higher than
nowadays, then active sedimentation took place as the coastline was various kilometers
further to the west. This agrees with the probable existence of a fluvial plain several
kilometers wide, where ancient rivers were meandering in more or less parallel
directions to the coast and where hyperconcentrated flow deposits would have moved
southward from the mouth of the Río Imperial.

The Colonisation of Chile by Homo sapiens at the Pleistocene-Holocene Boundary

*LN and MG
In this section, our purpose is to review key sites of the first human occupations
from the extreme arid north (18° S) to subantartic south (56° S) and document their
response to palaeoenvironmental variability. We focus on the Pleistocene-Holocene
boundary which was a specific time with very favourable environmental conditions for
human colonisation in southernmost South America (Fig. 1).
Arid and Semiarid Regions
Scarce evidence exists for associations between human occupations and late
Pleistocene faunas in the arid environments of Chile despite widespread presence of the
latter. For example, unpublished recent results from the Calama Pleistocene lacustrine
basin document the presence of American horses, camelids, megatheriids, and
macrauchenids (Hermosilla, pers. comm.). Other evidence for megafaunal presence
includes a milodontid unearthed in the highlands surrounding Antofagasta de la Sierra
(Aschero, pers. comm.), an equid from Salar de Surire, in the high Andes of Arica
(Santoro, pers. comm.) and a megatheriid from the Prosopis tamarugo forests in Pampa
del Tamarugal (Casamiquela 1969-70). Cooler and moister climates dated from 14,000
to 11,000 cal yr BP are thought to have occurred at the Barro Negro site in the
Argentine Puna, precisely the climate associated with American species of equiids,
which were replaced by camelids ca. 11,000 cal yr BP (Fernandez et al. 1991).
One of the few sites where associations between man and megafauna in northern
Chile have been established is the pre-Andean ranges of the Tuina mountains in the
vicinity of the Calama basin. Here, triangular projectile points are in the same
14
stratigraphic position as American horse remains, with C dates between 11,700 –
11,200 cal yr BP. 179 formatted lithic artifacts, including two bifacial triangular points
made of allochthonous rocks and 3,879 camelid bone fragments, have been discovered
here. This find probably represents the last remnants of a Pleistocene fauna (Núñez et
al. 2002).
The vast expanses of the Puna and southern Altiplano (southern Bolivia, NW
Argentina and northern Chile) were initially occupied by high Andean hunters with the
Tuina pattern. Hunting sites were associated with modern camelids and exclusively
under rock shelters throughout the Andes between 12,050 – 11,000 cal yr BP with
strong evidence for a migrational regime across large areas (Aschero 1988; De Souza
2004; Núñez et al. 2002). Recent studies, however, have identified camps out in the
open at Punta Negra-1, contemporaneous with Tuina-1, on the southern margin of Salar
de Punta Negra (2976 m asl). A number of differentiated artifacts with a Fell (from
Fell’s Cave in southern Chile) pattern, including “fish tail” points and unifacial lithics
probably formed part of a migratory population that took advantage of the paleosprings
and wetlands (with Andean recharge) that cropped out here at <3000 m. Since Fell
points have also been found along the southern margin of the Argentine Puna (Aschero
& Haber, pers. comm.) it implies that these groups of people effectively passed through
the region at the end of the Pleistocene along the Andean highlands. At Punta Negra,
lithic artifacts are intercalated with peat beads dated between 12,400 – 10,700 cal yr BP,
including a 14C on an adjacent hearth dated to 12,020 cal yr BP. Among a total of 964
unifacial lithic artifacts (scrapers, knives), only a single Fell point was found, along with
four Punta Negra points, (similar to the Payhan pattern), and three triangular points of
the Tuina pattern (Fig. Y2).
As the “Fell” groups passed through the Atacama Desert, they surpassed all the
biological and extreme climate barriers of the continent (Carolina Villagrán et al. 1983).
After passing to the Pacific side of the Andes (Sandweiss et al. 1998), these groups
colonized the paleolacustrine basins rich in megafauna of central-southern Chile in a
relatively short time (Núñez et al. 1994a; Núñez et al. 1994b). In this sense, they
represent a variant of the major episodes of colonization and were independent of any
fixed exit or entry points. Hence, it probably represents a transient mobility (Beaton
1991) aimed at assessing the availability of distant resources by passing through
favourable sites along migratory paths. At Punta Negra, these groups made use of
available wetlands rich in plant and animal (camelids, i.e. vicuñas) resources at a time
when these were isolated. The record of large basaltic bifacial shards with expedite
lateral retouches and nine bifacial points would imply by and large, a group of low
density, but whose high rate of artifact output was favored by the proximity of basalt
resources.
The late glacial circum-Puna experienced increased summer precipitation resulting
in lake transgression throughout the region between 15,300 – 14,000 cal yr BP, with
maximum levels present from 12,800 – 8,900 cal yr BP, followed by lake collapse
(Geyh et al. 1999; Grosjean et al. 2001). As indicated previously indicated, diverse
interdisciplinary analyses have shown that the late Pleistocene of the Atacama Desert
was probably a favorable environment for human settlement due to increased rainfall. It
is thus almost beyond a doubt that the high abundance of Tuina pattern (triangle points)
sites along the Andean front ranges resulted from the increased presence of wetlands
adequate for the control of highly diverse territory.
The transitory Fell groups accessed the semiarid region by way of these same salar
“corridors” along the Andean front during the cold climates of the late glacial. This is
indicated by the abundance of red soils associated with wetter environments than today
(Veit 1996) which became increasingly marked along the coast and lake shorelines, as
well as along relictual forests and wetlands. These environments in particular would
have concentrated such resources as megamammals which further south occur in
association with a Nothofagus parkland at the beginning of the central Chilean
longitudinal valley. An example is provided by sites at Quereo where shallow lake
deposits contain an abundance of Pleistocene fauna (Jackson et al. 2004; Núñez et al.
1994b). This fauna disappeared with the abrupt onset of aridity at the beginning of the
Holocene and coincided with the appearance of Fell point paleoindian predators
(Jackson & Mendez, pers.comm.). The hunting of megamammals among aquatic
vegetation trapped in these relict marshy areas would have been complemented by
carrion feeding habits eventually leading to extinction throughout the Longitudinal
Valley in a conjunction of climatic and cultural factors (López et al. 2004; Núñez et al.
1994b).
The human populations that reached Quereo did so in two hunting events associated
with the abrupt collapse of surrounding forests, swamp and aquatic vegetation as well as
the semiarid matorral of the lowlands in response to increasing aridity at the beginning
of the Holocene (Heusser 1983; Núñez et al. 1994b; Villagrán & Varela 1990).
Nevertheless, this “adverse” scenario would have allowed, and presumably promoted,
opportunistic strategies of megafauna hunting as resources became concentrated along
remaining intermittent “ecorefuges”. The earliest sequence of Quereo I is dated between
14,000 – 13,250 cal yr BP. Among the megafauna present were American horse,
mylodontids, “paleolama”, swamp deer and gomphotheres. Smaller species of felids,
canids, birds, rodents and amphibians have also been described. Among the remains of
actually hunted species are a horse skull caved-in along the frontal-nasal bones and
surrounded by lithics, bones with cuts, tapered artifacts, impacted, fractured and
splinted long bones with polished and eroded ends, perforated horse vertebrae, micro-
diorite shards with natural edges (to expedite cutting), planar blocks or platforms
associated in situ surrounding long bones and scarce local refuse (López et al. 2004;
Núñez et al. 1994b).
The Quereo II occupation occurred between 13,100 – 10,600 cal yr BP with remains
of human activity and waste deposited along the margins of a meandering river, under a
warmer and drier climate, again repeating the strategic importance of these ecorefugia
under drought conditions for both megafauna and their human hunters. American horse,
deer, gomphotheres and mylodontids have all been identified at this site. Marine
resources are rare and were probably gathered elsewhere, including two shells of
Concholepas concholepas (Chilean abalone) and a whale vertebra of Cetacea
ballenidae, despite the proximity of Quereo to the coast. Human activity seems to have
been transient and possibly tied to such dry camps as those present at Quebrada El
Membrillo (Jackson et al. 2004). Cut bones and bone artifacts modified for polishing
and hammering, bones fractured before fossilization, placement of flat slabs in situ
around areas with highly concentrated equid bone remains, together with laminar lithics
and shards with percussion waves and bulbs, including sharpened wood trunks, are all
present at Quereo II and dated as 13,100 cal yr BP. The concentration of resources seen
here, along with the species hunted, the lacustrine environment, and the chronology
make this occupation contemporaneous and similar in nature to the kill site located at
Tagua Tagua (Casamiquela 1969-70; Montané 1968; Núñez et al. 1994a). Recent
research along the upper reaches of the Quereo ravine has identified two additional
occupations at Quebrada Membrillo, exposed by sediment deflation. The sites contain
mylodontid bone with cut marks associated with surrounding flat slabs dated as to
13,500 cal yr BP. A second layer, coeval with Quereo II, marks the presence of native
horse and “palaeolama” associated with knives, scrapers, choppers, marginal scrapers
together with splintered and impacted bones.
As previously stated in section 8.5, the climate became increasingly more arid after
the Quereo II occupation, with 14C dates in immediately overlying peat layers dating as
10,600 cal yr BP. Overall, this would imply a collapse in the way of life of these “Fell”
groups, specialized as they were in the exploitation of these ecorefugia, which
increasingly began to disappear throughout the interior basins of the longitudinal valley,
as evidenced from Quereo and Tagua Tagua, this more than likely contributed to the
general extinction of the megafauna at the end of this “postglacial” crisis (Heusser 1983,
1990; Markgraf & Kenny 1997; Núñez et al. 1994ª, b; Varela 1976; Villagrán & Varela
1990).
The fertile central longitudinal valley
Laguna Tagua Tagua (34º 30’ S) was drained in recent historical times for
agriculture. After it was drained, exceptional lacustrine deposits were discovered
containing remains of megafauna in association with cultural remains, all initially dated
as 13,250 – 12,800 cal yr BP (Montané 1968). More detailed studies eventually revealed
a major (TT-1) location with five loci of skeletal remains and discovered another
location (TT-2) with 9 loci including the remains of 10 gomphotheres (among juveniles
and adults) all hunted and processed in situ, along with scarce horse and swamp deer
remains. Many of these prey items were dismembered and piled onto ancient lacustrine
beaches, along a paleolake which was clearly sensitive to seasonal drought. An eventual
return to wetter conditions (discussed previously) ended up burying and preserving the
evidence for human occupation at this site (Núñez et al. 1994a).
Judging by the lithics present at TT-1 (50 units) and TT-2 (79 units), both from open
air camps, and setting aside considerations regarding carrion feeding, the three Fell
points (made of transparent quartz crystals) and numerous artifacts found provide
unequivocal evidence for hunting and food processing. Among these are unifacial
shards, scrapers, knives, discoidal scrapers, hammering cobbles, an engraved
gomphothere tusk and other bone artifacts, along with multiple cut and fractured bones,
all indicative of in situ processing and accompanied by waste microshards (a byproduct
of blade sharpening). All of these items were found in a single layer at TT-2 dated as
11,900 – 11,050 cal yr BP (Fig. Y3). When compared to the earlier dates of TT-1
(13,250 – 12,800 cal yr BP) a pattern of lake regression becomes evident, with the
earlier site located on a higher beach and the younger lower site more towards the
middle following overall increased aridity in the region. The dates are also in full
agreement with the abrupt and widespread extinction of the mega-mammals at the end
of the Pleistocene by ~11,000 cal yr BP (Núñez et al. 1994a; Núñez et al. 2001; Varela
1976).
Prolonged droughts during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition have been
documented at numerous other ecorefugia associated with proboscideans both in North
and South America (Bryan 1975; Correal 1981; Haynes 2002). The eventual
concentration of these species in the few collapsing ecorefugia drew the paleoindians,
specialized in hunting large, stressed prey, to Tagua Tagua in a similar fashion as they
did at the classic mammoth sites in North America between 27-33° N latitude. Hence,
the syngenetic events documented at Tagua Tagua, with its dramatic loss of resources
altering proboscidean behavior, were also synchronous with the North American Clovis
groups during the late Pleistocene-early Holocene transition (10,600 cal yr BP) when
abrupt onset of drought generated loss of wetlands and arboreal habitats (Haynes, Jr.
1991;Haynes 2002). Thus, both Fell and Clovis cultures exploited similar scenarios of
eco-catastrophy, when opportunistic hunting strategies coupled with stressful
paleoclimate conditions between 12,800 – 10,900 cal yr BP quickened the demise of an
already collapsed biomass of megamammals.
The latest Pleistocene marked the onset of desiccation of all the paleolakes present
along the southern part of the longitudinal valley. Further south, as piedmont glaciers
retreated upvalley, many of these regions were subsequently reoccupied by temperate
rainforests (Moreno 2000; Moreno et al. 2001) (see section 8.7) and a new drainage
network and lakes were established along the Patagonian steppe (Tatur et al. 2002).
This scenario is associated with Monte Verde near Puerto Montt, considered the earliest
human occupation in South America with dates in cultural layers spanning 15,100 –
14,200 cal yr BP (Dillehay & Collins 1988). Vegetation at the time consisted of wet and
cold southern rainforests rich in conifers, hazel (Gevuina avellana) and southern beech
(Nothofagus) and the site has a collection of seeds, tubers, nuts, and wild berries, in
proximity to a wetland (Dillehay 1989; Heusser 1990). Located along the margin of a
small tributary of the Maullin River, the camp is composed of twelve cabin foundations,
with rectangular floor plans fixed with stakes and associated with communal hearths
and fireplaces. Monte Verde represents a semistable and diversified adaptive culture
without dependence on seasonal fluctuations. A wide range of resources were utilized
including fish, molluscs, and marine algae obtained from the coast some 80 km distant
from the site. Megafauna present were limited to gomphotheres and “paleolama” as well
as other smaller game, with pre-Clovis and Fell bifacial foliaceous lithic points similar
to the Jobo pattern of northern South America (Dillehay 1989). An earlier event, with
formed lithic artifacts dated to 33,000 14C yrs BP, located some 100 m from the classic
site, is still considered only a working hypothesis (Meltzer et al. 1997).
Finis Terrae: Colonization of Fuego-Patagonia
Both small and large grazing herbivores found attractive habitats in the open and
cold- moist grasslands present at the threshold of human occupation of Fuego-
Patagonia. Plant macrofossils analyzed from dung in Mylodon Cave dated at ca. 14,400
cal yr BP indicate the presence of Cyperaceae, Juncaceae, grass and forbs in the human
diet there (Borrero et al. 1998; Moore 1978). This moist grassland gave way, however,
to a more xeric steppe between 13,000-11,000 cal yr BP with overall warmer
temperatures (Markgraf 1988). Under environmental pressure, populations of large
herbivores collapsed due to intense hunting by Fell pattern opportunistic hunters which
were eventually capable of colonizing the very southern tip of South America (Borrero
et al. 1998; Massone 1996).
Thus, optimum conditions existed for human existence at the end of the last glacial
in Fuego-Patagonia: abundant game animals, both modern and extinct today, extensive
grasslands, water, prime material for lithics, and certainly the rich ocean coastline.
Fell’s Cave (at Río Chico), surrounded by herbaceous steppe, is one the most
representative sequences of these southernmost hunter-gatherers (12,800 – 11,100 cal yr
BP) (Bird 1988; Markgraf 1988). Underneath this rock shelter, American horses,
mylodontids and modern camelids have been preserved associated with excavated
hearths and the remains of domestic artifact preparation typical of the Fell pattern, such
as the “fish-tailed” points, long frontal high ridgeback scrapers, shards retouched on one
side, polishers, bone tools, knives, disc-shaped polished rocks and red pigments.
Other groups belonging to the Fell pattern utilized the rock shelter at Tres Arroyos,
in northern Tierra del Fuego, where both horse and mylodontids were consumed
between 12,720 – 11,750 cal yr BP. Bifacial and unifacial artifacts, including several
different scrapers with retouched margins are also part of this association (Jackson
1987; Massone 1987; Massone 1996). Several hundred km away at Cueva del Medio in
the Ultima Esperanza area (Cerro Benítez), located only a 1000 m to the south of
Mylodon cave, another group of people piled up, amid campfires, bones of both extinct
and modern fauna between 13,100 – 10,750 cal yr BP, in association with cutting tools
and scrapers including Fell “fish-tail” points (Nami & Case 1988).
Similar occupations occurred only 50 km from Fell´s Cave, the cave at Pali Aike,
dated to 9,680 cal yr BP (Bird 1988) and at Marazzi (Tierra del Fuego) dated to 10,920
cal yr BP (Laming-Emperaire & Humber 1972) and even thousands of km away in the
pampas of Buenos Aires (Flegenheimer 1987). Even though earlier hunters than the Fell
pattern may have occupied Argentine Patagonia some 14,000 cal yr BP ago (Cardich
1987; Miotti 2003), the main wave of human expansion occurred synchronously with
trends towards increased aridity and megafaunal extinctions, between 13,000 to 11,000
cal yr BP. At the front of this wave were the Fell hunters, specialized in exploiting big
game already under palaeoenvironmental duress (Markgraf 1985).
To conclude, although there are controversial claims of an older (pre-15,200 cal yr
BP) presence of Homo sapiens, most data point to the arrival of this species in
southernmost tip of the Americas between 15,200 -11,000 cal yr BP in the context of
abrupt climate change at the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. Different waves of
colonisation from different origins were possible, presumably by relatively rapid
passage through inhospitable landscapes across natural and desert barriers ( Villagrán et
al. 1983). Movement of populations would have been considerably slower, however,
across the fertile landscapes of the longitudinal valley and Fuego-Patagonia.
To this effect, pre-Fell sites older than 13,000 cal yr BP are for now the earliest
indicators of humanity present along the diverse environments of southernmost Chile-
Argentina: from temperate rainforests (Monte Verde), Patagonian borderlands (Piedra
Museo), and the Longitudinal Valley (Quereo I and Quebrada “Membrillo”) (Dillehay
1989; Jackson et al. 2004; López et al. 2004; Miotti & Cattaneo 1997; Núñez et al.
1994b; Politis 2002). The second well-represented wave of immigrants occurred
between 13,000-11,000 cal yr BP, represented by typical Fell components and
recognized throughout Chile and Argentina from 20° to 56° S latitude. These
occupations may have been made more effective through the greater availability of
materials (Borrero et al. 1998; Gamble & Soffer 1990) with the “popularisation” of Fell
points and large unifacial shards throughout southern South America over no more than
a millennia.
 By 13,000-11,000 cal yr BP, all of the analyzed sites indicate occupation by an ever
more diverse assemblage of peoples from 18° to 56° S latitude, giving way to the
coexistence of different cultural traditions. Cultural responses to ever increasing aridity
are known from the Tuina pattern (triangle points) associated with modern faunas
(camelids) and very scarce megafauna (except equids). This culture formed an effective,
stable and lasting presence under wetter climate regimes in the central Andes.
Coeval with the Tuina pattern is the Fell pattern, which in contrast to Tuina, would
have been made up of transient migratory groups exploiting point resources along the
Andean piedmont (e.g. at Salar de Punta Negra) (Marshall 1993). The similarity of the
points found at Punta Negra with the Payhan and classic Fell points of southernmost
Chile (Fig. Y2) would indicate that migration of the latter ensued from northern Perú,
establishing contact with different occupations, such as Tuina, which were exclusively
found only in the circum-Puna region (Chauchat & Pelegrin 2004; Dillehay et al. 2002).
In the same way that today resources increase along Chile from north to south, the
colonising flow would have oriented itself towards more productive and wetter areas
with continual resources. From the scarce presence of Fell cultures in the northern
desert, to the ecorefugia exploitation of semiarid and central Chile, it was in the
Longitudinal Valley where these cultures seem to have flourished the most, likely due to
increased availability of big game, both extinct and modern. As climate dried up at the
end of the last glacial, the concentration of resources allowed an increased but short-
lived supply of megafauna. This exploitation eventually became untenable, and made
the paleoindian way of life considerably more difficult. The identification of an intense
Fell occupation at the Laguna Tagua Tagua precisely affords an exemplary account of
how proboscidean populations under palaeoenvironmental stress collapsed and became
extinct across the threshold of the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary. Subantartic steppe
also became quickly colonised by Fell hunters which then suffered abrupt collapse as
the steppe became increasingly more arid introducing an abrupt crisis of fodder for wild
animals.
Maritime cultures quickly became established between 13,000 – 11,000 yr BP along
the entire length of the coast, as evidenced by the Huentelauquen and Acha patterns
(Llagostera et al. 1997; Muñoz & Chacama 1993). Fell pattern occupations also became
prominent along the precordillera of the Longitudinal Valley where they applied sub
(Saavedra & Cornejo 1995; Stehberg 1997) Andean cultural responses dependent of
habitats found at considerably less altitude including the highlands of Arica, which
display a cultural response clearly very different from Tuina (Santoro 1989). [needs
rephrasing: the meaning is not clear: Ed.]We can therefore deduce that during the late
glacial all the resources of the country were being used synchronously by hunter-
gatherers (Núñez et al. 2001). Thus the intense variability of abrupt climate changes that
occurred at the Pleistocene/Holocene transition never constituted a barrier to the
colonisation by the first Homo sapiens. By undergoing severe cultural adjustments,
including applying opportunistic strategies, humans proved capable of enduring
colonisation in the complex and dynamic postglacial landscapes of southernmost South
America.

Acknowledgments

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