Evidence of human occupation in Mexico around the Last Glacial Maximum
Por:
Ardelean C.F., Becerra-Valdivia L., Pedersen M.W., Schwenninger J.-L., Oviatt C.G., Macías-Quintero J.I., Arroyo-Cabrales J., Sikora M., Ocampo-Díaz Y.Z.E., Rubio-Cisneros I.I., Watling J.G., de Medeiros V.B., De Oliveira P.E., Barba-Pingarón L., Ortiz-Butrón A., Blancas-Vázquez J., Rivera-González I., Solís-Rosales C., Rodríguez-Ceja M., Gandy D.A., Navarro-Gutierrez Z., De La Rosa-Díaz J.J., Huerta-Arellano V., Marroquín-Fernández M.B., Martínez-Riojas L.M., López-Jiménez A., Higham T., Willerslev E.
Publicada:
1 ene 2020
Categoría:
Multidisciplinary
Resumen:
The initial colonization of the Americas remains a highly debated topic1, and the exact timing of the first arrivals is unknown. The earliest archaeological record of Mexico—which holds a key geographical position in the Americas—is poorly known and understudied. Historically, the region has remained on the periphery of research focused on the first American populations2. However, recent investigations provide reliable evidence of a human presence in the northwest region of Mexico3,4, the Chiapas Highlands5, Central Mexico6 and the Caribbean coast7–9 during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs. Here we present results of recent excavations at Chiquihuite Cave—a high-altitude site in central-northern Mexico—that corroborate previous findings in the Americas10–17of cultural evidence that dates to the Last Glacial Maximum (26,500–19,000 years ago)18, and which push back dates for human dispersal to the region possibly as early as 33,000–31,000 years ago. The site yielded about 1,900 stone artefacts within a 3-m-deep stratified sequence, revealing a previously unknown lithic industry that underwent only minor changes over millennia. More than 50 radiocarbon and luminescence dates provide chronological control, and genetic, palaeoenvironmental and chemical data document the changing environments in which the occupants lived. Our results provide new evidence for the antiquity of humans in the Americas, illustrate the cultural diversity of the earliest dispersal groups (which predate those of the Clovis culture) and open new directions of research. © 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
Filiaciones:
Ardelean C.F.:
Unidad Académica de Antropología, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico
Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
Becerra-Valdivia L.:
Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Chronos 14C-Cycle Facility, SSEAU, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Pedersen M.W.:
Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Schwenninger J.-L.:
Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Oviatt C.G.:
Department of Geology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
Macías-Quintero J.I.:
Escuela de Arqueología, Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico
Arroyo-Cabrales J.:
Laboratorio de Arqueozoología, Subdirección de Laboratorios y Apoyo Académico, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City, Mexico
Sikora M.:
Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Ocampo-Díaz Y.Z.E.:
Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
Grupo de Geología Exógena y del Sedimentario, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
Rubio-Cisneros I.I.:
Grupo de Geología Exógena y del Sedimentario, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
Watling J.G.:
Laboratório de Arqueologia dos Trópicos, Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
de Medeiros V.B.:
Laboratório de Micropaleontologia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
De Oliveira P.E.:
Laboratório de Micropaleontologia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Botany Department, The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, United States
Barba-Pingarón L.:
Laboratorio de Prospección Arqueológica, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas (IIA), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico
Ortiz-Butrón A.:
Laboratorio de Prospección Arqueológica, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas (IIA), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico
Blancas-Vázquez J.:
Laboratorio de Prospección Arqueológica, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas (IIA), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico
Rivera-González I.:
Laboratorio de Palinología, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia (ENAH), Mexico City, Mexico
Solís-Rosales C.:
Laboratorio de Espectrometría de Masas con Aceleradores, Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico
Rodríguez-Ceja M.:
Laboratorio de Espectrometría de Masas con Aceleradores, Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico
Gandy D.A.:
Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Navarro-Gutierrez Z.:
Unidad Académica de Antropología, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico
De La Rosa-Díaz J.J.:
Unidad Académica de Antropología, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico
Huerta-Arellano V.:
Unidad Académica de Antropología, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico
Marroquín-Fernández M.B.:
Escuela de Arqueología, Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico
Martínez-Riojas L.M.:
Unidad Académica de Antropología, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico
López-Jiménez A.:
Laboratorio de Arqueozoología, Subdirección de Laboratorios y Apoyo Académico, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City, Mexico
Higham T.:
Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Willerslev E.:
Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Welcome Trust, Sanger Institute, Hinxton, United Kingdom
The Danish Institute for Advanced Study, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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