What is usually known as Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, extends today over more than one million square kilometers. This extensive territory can be divided into North Patagonia, covering between 39°30' S and 44° S, South Patagonia, from 44° S to the Strait of Magellan (ca. 52° S) and Tierra del Fuego (ca. 52°-54° S). The available paleoclimatic information points to the existence of arid conditions at least since the end of the Pleistocene in most of extra-Andean continental Patagonia, which today is characterized by the presence of steppe (Figure 4.1). This steppe is dominated by Stipa speciosa, S. humi-lis, and a variety of shrubs, without much variation during the Holocene (Mancini 1998). After the retreat of the Pleistocene glaciers ca. 14,000 BP, a warmer trend was initiated, that was interrupted by a cold pulse around 11,000 BP. Warmer conditions returned afterwards (Markgraf 1993; Heusser 1994). Several lakes near the Cordillera had high stands of vegetation during the time when humans were dispersing into Patagonia. In all, southern South America was probably a better world to live in than the heavily glaciated territory of North America. Not only was the development of glaciers less extensive in South America, but the more maritime climate presented a less seasonal habitat. The human exploration and colonization of this large piece of land began in late Pleistocene times, starting at least 12,000 to 13,000 BP (Orquera 1987; Miotti 1996; Borrero and Franco 1997; Borrero and McEwan 1997), a time for which there is no climatic analogue in modern ecosystems [Note 1]. This chapter considers the data pertinent to the early peoples of Patagonia. Later prehistory is treated in Mena (1997).
Handbook of South American Archaeology, edited by Helaine Silverman and William H. Isbell. Springer, New York, 2008
Figure 4.1. Steppe environment. (Luis Alberto Borrero)
World History
