A multidisciplinary approach to interpret human adaptation to the semiarid landscapes of central Argentina during the Holocene

Abstract

The main goal of this work is to present the results of a multidisciplinary approach in order to understand the variability of adaptations developed by huntergatherer groups and its relationship with the Holocene paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic changes that took place in the Central Pampean Dunefields of Argentina. This area is one of the semiarid environments located in the centre of Pampean plain of Argentina whose main landforms are longitudinal and parabolic dunes that were generated by intense aeolian activity during the Late Pleistocene and at several times during the Holocene. Archaeological sites are usually recorded in the border of permanent and temporary shallow lakes and some of them were occupied recurrently during the Holocene. In this occasion, we present novel information on several lines of evidence (zooarchaeology, lithic technology, bioarchaeology and DNA, isotopic, geomorphology, geochronology, and paleoecology) generated in recent years on the contexts and materials studied. These original and abundant data allowed us to recognise and discuss the adaptation and historical trajectories of hunter-gatherers in semi-arid environments considering their burials practices, diet, technological continuity and innovations, mobility patterns, and social interactions, among others.