Se presenta evidencia arqueofaunística para estudiar indicadores de intensificación y discutir los cambios en el aprovechamiento alimenticio de camélidos de la Puna de Salta, noroeste de Argentina. El registro proviene del sitio Alero Cuevas, ubicado en la cuenca de Pastos Grandes, 4.400 m snm. Este sitio presenta una secuencia larga de ocupación que permite abordar el uso de los recursos animales entre aproximadamente 10.000 y 4000 años aP. Los resultados indican estrategias de aprovechamiento alimenticio que tienden a la intensificación de la explotación de los camélidos hacia los 4000 años aP. En este sentido, la información arqueofaunística presentada es útil para integrarla a la discusión planteada sobre los procesos de intensificación de uso de camélidos propuestos para la puna argentina.

Este trabajo aborda el estudio de la localidad arqueológica Cerro de los Gatos (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina), emplazada en un sector formado luego de la transgresión marina del Holoceno medio. Se exploran las transformaciones naturales y culturales del paisaje a nivel local y regional. Los aspectos presentados y evaluados aquí incluyen (1) tafonomía y evolución geomorfológica de loci diferentes, (2) disponibilidad de recursos y ecología isotópica, (3) tecnología lítica y ósea, (4) registro bioarqueológico humano y faunístico, y (5) cronología y reconstrucción paleoambiental del paisaje costero. Nuestra investigación sugiere que el registro de las ocupaciones humanas y el devenir de los paisajes naturales y culturales de la Bahía San Sebastián son el resultado combinado de la segregación espacial de las actividades (de subsistencia, tecnológicas, rituales) y sus trayectorias tafonómicas durante el Holoceno tardío.

En este trabajo presentamos la primera evidencia de cultivo de Triticeae (trigo y/o cebada) en una parcela arqueológica del sitio Pueblo Guayascate 1, emplazado en la actual provincia de Córdoba, centro de Argentina. La presencia de especies euroasiáticas tras la instauración del orden colonial ibérico en el actual territorio argentino ha sido referenciada por la documentación escrita de los siglos dieciséis y diecisiete y corroborada por los análisis de restos arqueológicos macro y microbotánicos. Guayascate fue parte de una encomienda —y luego de una merced de tierras— que le fue otorgada a los españoles a finales del siglo dieciséis. Esto implicó no sólo la presencia de mano de obra de los antiguos habitantes del lugar, sino también la ocupación de sus tierras, lo cual es signo de contacto y co-existencia entre españoles y nativos. Los análisis de microrrestos botánicos silicios al sedimento de una parcela en momentos de contacto y ocupación, evidencian el cultivo de trigo y/o cebada en asociación con maíz. Este hallazgo nos permite arriesgar algunas conjeturas sobre la producción y el consumo de alimentos de estos grupos, como también avanzar en el conocimiento sobre los cambios y continuidades en la cultura alimenticia acaecidos tras la instauración del sistema colonial.

At the beginning of the fourth millennium bc, the Typical Comb Ware culture (TCW) emerged in north-eastern Europe. One of its characteristics is a wealth of ‘amber’ or ‘ochre’ graves and mortuary practices. This article concerns the graves’ key elements, their distribution and frequency, and their relationship to the TCW phenomenon. The analysis of seventy-seven graves from twenty-three sites suggests that TCW graves are a materialization of a complex set of practices in which visual aspects (colours, contrasts, and combinations of materials) and performance play significant roles. Given the small number and distribution of graves, these practices were reserved for particular people and/or occasions, and the tradition only lasted for a few centuries. Interpreted from the perspective of identity production and sociocultural networks, these graves and associated practices are defined as ‘symbolically overloaded’, with buried bodies and activities intended to be seen.

Radiocarbon (14C) dating of soil samples by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) has been proven useful for studying carbon (C) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. However, this application has two primary difficulties in sample preparation: inhibition of graphite formation due to sulfur (S)-containing impurities and contamination of samples with modern C (MC). Herein, we evaluated these effects using three sample preparation methods (silver foil, silver wire, and Sulfix) by conducting AMS-14C measurements of a 14C-dead charred wood and S-rich soil samples. The preparation methods were all successful in graphite formation and AMS-14C measurement for soil samples with an organic S content <6.9 wt%. The methods showed different percent modern carbon (pMC) values from 0.16% to 0.64% for the 14C-dead sample. The results also revealed that across different methods, MC contamination can be significantly reduced by applying two-step procedure (combustion and subsequent reaction to remove S-containing impurities) during sample preparation. The three methods had a negligible influence on determining the 14C age for samples that were at least younger than 12,000 yr BP. As the 14C ages of the soil samples are typically younger than 12,000 yr BP, any method explored in this study can be employed for 14C dating with sufficient accuracy for application to C cycle studies.

We present 35 AMS 14C dates from 26 horizons on a 30-cm gravity core from Shira Lake in the republic of Khakassia, Central Russia. The chronology of the core is determined by 210Pb/137Cs dating results and interpretation of elemental geochemistry with historic documents, covering deposition since ca. 1870 CE. This study assesses the old carbon influence (OCI) on organic carbon 14C by comparison with the 210Pb/137Cs dates, sources of carbon, and lake conditions interpreted from elemental proxies. These include elemental concentrations in 0.5N HCl leaches and Aqua Regia dissolution fractions, as well as organic C, N and C/N measurements. From these data we establish a succession of the following six zones: I) (1870∼1900 CE) relatively fresh lake with high lake level, low productivity and high surface runoff (wet conditions); II) (1900∼1940 CE) a “white zone” reflected by high carbonate and low magnetic signal formed in a saline, oxidizing and holomictic lake stage; III) (1940∼1963 CE) reduced carbonate with elevated organic C, N, C/N, Mo and magnetic signal, indicating a stratified and anaerobic lake; IV) (1963∼1994 CE) increased salinity and productivity with the highest observed magnetic signal and elevated heavy metal and Mo contents, implying enhanced anoxic conditions and human impact; V) (1994∼2003 CE) high C/N, organic and carbonate contents suggesting meromictic and anaerobic lake conditions; VI) (2003∼2020 CE) decreased carbonate content with increased organic C and N, and heavy metals showing a deteriorating lake environment under human impact.

The ubiquitous marine radiocarbon reservoir effect (MRE) constrains the construction of reliable chronologies for marine sediments and the further comparison of paleoclimate records. Different reference values were suggested from various archives. However, it remains unclear how climate and MREs interact. Here we studied two pre-bomb corals from the Hainan Island and Xisha Island in the northern South China Sea (SCS), to examine the relationship between MRE and regional climate change. We find that the MRE from east of Hainan Island is mainly modulated by the Southern Asian Summer Monsoon-induced precipitation (with 11.4% contributed to seawater), rather than wind induced upwelling. In contrast, in the relatively open seawater of Xisha Island, the MRE is dominated by the East Asian Winter Monsoon, with relatively more negative (lower) ΔR values associated with high wind speeds, implying horizontal transport of seawater. The average SCS ΔR value relative to the Marine20 curve is –161±39 14C years. Our finding highlights the essential role of monsoon in regulating the MRE in the northern SCS, in particularly the tight bond between east Asian winter monsoon and regional MRE.