Between grasslands, shrublands and forests. Paleoenvironmental and taphonomic implications of micromammals in hunter-gatherer archaeological contexts of Southern Pampean Hills

Abstract

The integral study of micromammals recovered from archaeological contexts provides a number of contributions to the understanding of the dynamics of human occupation. In this paper, based ona comprehensive study of Holocene and actualistic samples from central Argentina, we discuss the taphonomic and paleoenvironmental implications in sites with hunter-gatherer occupations. The sequence studied (ca. 1500–4500 BP) indicates the presence of natural predators (i.e. nocturnal and diurnal birds of prey) as responsible for the formation of the assemblage, ruling out, so far, the participation of human groups. On the other hand, the taxonomic composition of the preterite and actualistic assemblages shows a process of advancement of shrubland and forest environments at the expense of the decrease of open environments, grassland and fresh water contexts.