Episode 141 - The Archaeology of Patagonia

This week, we talk about the first (known) human arrivals in this region, waaaay way down at the tip of South America, and the archaeological remains that tell us how they lived. We've got a cave of hands, commentary from Charles Darwin, old old feet, fish ears, and SO much more!

• Peopling time, spatial occupation and demography of Late Pleistocene–Holocene human population from Patagonia (Quaternary International, via ResearchGate)

• The initial peopling of Central Western Patagonia (southernmost South America): Late Pleistocene through Holocene site context and archaeological assemblages from Cueva de la Vieja site (Quaternary International)

• New Light on the Ancient Human Populations of Patagonia (Popular Archaeology)

• Patagonia (Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian)

• 500 years after Ferdinand Magellan landed in Patagonia, there’s nothing to celebrate for its indigenous peoples (The Conversation)

• Junius Bird (Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology)

• Junius Bird Collections from Sites Rockshelter 1, 2 and 3 (Beagle Channel, Patagonia, Chile) (tDAR)

• South American Archaeological Collection (American Museum of Natural History)

• Antiquity and Migrations of the Early Inhabitants of Patagonia (Geographical Review)

• La Cueva de las Manos (Cave of Hands) (Atlas Obscura)

• Scientists in Chile have found a 15,000-year-old footprint, the earliest sign of humans' presence in the Americas (CNN)

• Macrauchenia (Wikipedia)

• Oldest Human Footprint in Americas May Be This 15,600-Year-Old Mark in Chile (LiveScience)

• A late Pleistocene human footprint from the Pilauco archaeological site, northern Patagonia, Chile (PLOSOne)

• Characterizing seasonal fishing patterns and growth dynamics during the Middle and Late Holocene in the Strait of Magellan (Chilean Patagonia): Sclerochronological analysis of tadpole codling (Salilota australis) vertebrae (The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, via ResearchGate)

• Ancient Peoples in Patagonia Who Adapted to Changing Climate Offer Insights for Today (Columbia Climate School’s GlacierHub)