Climate change, availability of territory, and Late Pleistocene human exploration of Ultima Esperanza, South Chile

Abstract

At the time of the first human exploration of Ultima Esperanza, Chile, swift climatic and environmental changes were taking place. The retreat of the Pleistocene glaciation and the formation of an ice-dammed proglacial lake east of the Cordillera created adequate conditions for human colonization. Volcanic activity, climatic oscillations, and concomitant floristic changes defined the environment encountered by the first hunter–gatherers arriving to Ultima Esperanza. The oldest archaeological evidence was deposited sometime between 10,930 and 10,410 BP and point to ephemeral occupations. The evidence from Ultima Esperanza is compared with other areas where early human presence was detected in Fuego-Patagonia. The hypothesis that the early human occupations at Cerro Benitez-Lago Sofía resulted from logistical exploitation from Pali Aike is introduced.