TY - JOUR
T1 - Prehistoric coastal fisheries on the Atacama Desert (Taltal, 25°S). A Trans-Holocene record of paleoceanographic and archaeological fish remains
AU - Flores, Carola
AU - Olguin, Laura
AU - Rebolledo, Sandra
AU - Torres, Jimena
AU - Broitman, Bernardo R.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development ( FONDECYT # 1151203 , 11150210 , 3170913 , 1181300 ) and the Millenium Scientific Initiative through the Center for the Study Multiple Drivers on Marine Socio–Ecological Systems ( MUSELS ). We would like to thank students and colleagues that helped and participated in the several field seasons that were necessary to collect and then analyze fish data. Special thanks to Cesar Borie, Diego Salazar, Pedro Andrade, Ximena Power and Philippe Béarez (UMR 7209 AASPE of MNHN). We also are very grateful to Verónica Alcalde for creating the map of Fig. 1 .
Funding Information:
Finally, during the Late Holocene (~4000 cal yr BP onward) oceanographic reconstructions for the coast of Southern Peru (15?18?S) suggest warmer waters, weakened upwelling conditions and increased ENSO activity (Ortlieb et al., 2011; Carr? et al., 2014, 2016). Isotopic analyses on archaeological shell carbonates from the area of Taltal (25?S) support a region-wide increase of SST and weakening of coastal upwelling during this time period (Flores and Broitman, 2020). Finally, reservoir age values obtained from the north central coast of Chile (31?S) suggest a slight increase in upwelling conditions mirroring conditions recorded in Peru (Carr? et al., 2016).This work was supported by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FONDECYT #1151203, 11150210, 3170913, 1181300) and the Millenium Scientific Initiative through the Center for the Study Multiple Drivers on Marine Socio?Ecological Systems (MUSELS). We would like to thank students and colleagues that helped and participated in the several field seasons that were necessary to collect and then analyze fish data. Special thanks to Cesar Borie, Diego Salazar, Pedro Andrade, Ximena Power and Philippe B?arez (UMR 7209 AASPE of MNHN). We also are very grateful to Ver?nica Alcalde for creating the map of Fig. 1.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - The Humboldt Current System (HCS) is one of the most productive marine ecosystems on earth. Humans have inhabited the desert coast of Chile and Peru for the last 12,000 years and have consistently based their subsistence and economy on the marine resources obtained from this rich ecosystem. Archaeological evidence on prehistoric coastal fisheries from the southern coast of the Atacama Desert, shows a Trans-Holocene record on knowledgeable fishers that developed gear to catch species from a wide array of habitats. However, the Holocene was a period with important changes in climate and paleoceanographic conditions that should have played an important role modulating natural conditions of fish habitats. In addition, fishing gear used in the past along the Atacama Desert coast varied through time, providing us clues on changing fishing patterns through the Holocene. Hence, the objective of the study is to examine our understanding of prehistoric fisheries from the area of Taltal (25°S) together with our present knowledge of the environmental factors that modulated it. We present fish data from ten archaeological sites with occupations dated between 12,000 and 1500 cal yrs BP, and discuss patterns of fishing behavior and their relationship to paleoceanographic conditions and fishing gear throughout the Holocene. Our results suggest that fishing strategies used by past communities adapted and took advantage of the dynamics of marine and coastal habitats. Furthermore, Trachurus murphyi, a neritic species and a staple fishery, plays a key role to help us understanding changes in fishing activities throughout the Holocene.
AB - The Humboldt Current System (HCS) is one of the most productive marine ecosystems on earth. Humans have inhabited the desert coast of Chile and Peru for the last 12,000 years and have consistently based their subsistence and economy on the marine resources obtained from this rich ecosystem. Archaeological evidence on prehistoric coastal fisheries from the southern coast of the Atacama Desert, shows a Trans-Holocene record on knowledgeable fishers that developed gear to catch species from a wide array of habitats. However, the Holocene was a period with important changes in climate and paleoceanographic conditions that should have played an important role modulating natural conditions of fish habitats. In addition, fishing gear used in the past along the Atacama Desert coast varied through time, providing us clues on changing fishing patterns through the Holocene. Hence, the objective of the study is to examine our understanding of prehistoric fisheries from the area of Taltal (25°S) together with our present knowledge of the environmental factors that modulated it. We present fish data from ten archaeological sites with occupations dated between 12,000 and 1500 cal yrs BP, and discuss patterns of fishing behavior and their relationship to paleoceanographic conditions and fishing gear throughout the Holocene. Our results suggest that fishing strategies used by past communities adapted and took advantage of the dynamics of marine and coastal habitats. Furthermore, Trachurus murphyi, a neritic species and a staple fishery, plays a key role to help us understanding changes in fishing activities throughout the Holocene.
KW - Fishing technology
KW - Humboldt Upwelling Ecosystem
KW - Trachurus murphyi
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091250104&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.quaint.2020.09.011
DO - 10.1016/j.quaint.2020.09.011
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85091250104
SN - 1040-6182
JO - Quaternary International
JF - Quaternary International
ER -