Papers by Claudio Latorre
Collapses of food producer societies are recurrent events in prehistory and have triggered a grow... more Collapses of food producer societies are recurrent events in prehistory and have triggered a growing concern for identifying the underlying causes of convergences/divergences across cultures around the world. One of the most studied and used as a paradigmatic case is the population collapse of the Rapa Nui society. Here, we test different hypotheses about it by developing explicit population dynamic models that integrate feedbacks between climatic, demographic and ecological factors that underpinned the socio-cultural trajectory of these people. We evaluate our model outputs against a reconstruction of past population size based on archaeological radiocarbon dates from the island. The resulting estimated demographic declines of the Rapa Nui people are linked to the long-term effects of climate change on the island's carrying capacity and, in turn, on the 'per-capita food supply'.
The 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2019
Sudamérica cuenta con evidencias de ocupación humana desde los 14.600 años calibrados a.p. (14,6 ... more Sudamérica cuenta con evidencias de ocupación humana desde los 14.600 años calibrados a.p. (14,6 ka). Sin embargo, en el desierto de Atacama existe una notoria ausencia de ocupaciones pre-11,5 ka entre las latitudes 17° a 21° S (Atacama Norte). Esto debido, en parte, a que se ha desestimado como territorio atractivo para poblaciones de la transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno, dadas sus condiciones actuales de extrema aridez. Sobre la base de ciertos datos paleoecológicos generales, que sugerían condiciones de mayor disponibilidad de agua en la vertiente occidental de los Andes desde los 17 a 9,5 ka, se realizaron búsquedas sistemáticas de paleomadrigueras de roedores y paleohumedales en ambientes de precordillera y quebradas (1.000 a 3.000 msm). Esto permitió identificar hábitat específicos que presentaran condiciones favorables para el asentamiento humano temprano y de esta manera buscar sitios arqueológicos en forma dirigida. El modelo metodológico interdisciplinario de carácter predictivo, que se resume en este artículo, permitió identificar un conjunto de sitios entre los que destaca Quebrada Maní 12, donde se constataron las primeras evidencias de ocupaciones pleistocénicas tardías (~11,9 a 12,7 ka) en el desierto de Atacama Norte. Palabras claves: transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno, poblamientos tempranos, paleoambiente, Desierto de Atacama. In South America, evidence of human occupation dates back to 14,600 calibrated years BP (14.6 ka). Yet, important areas such as the Atacama Desert, between latitude 17° to 21° S (northern Atacama), lack occupations older than 11,5 ka. Current hyperarid conditions in the Atacama have dissuaded many researchers from considering this region as a possible territory for Pleistocene-Holocene peoples. Paleoecological data, however, have suggested increased availability of water along the western slope of the Andes from 17.5-9.5 ka. Thus, we systematically searched for rodent middens and paleowetlands in the large canyons of the Andean Precordillera as well as the interfluves (1,000-3,000 masl). As a result, we identified specific habitats favorable for early human settling. This interdisciplinary and predictive methodological model, summarized in this paper, allowed us to identify several sites. Among these, Quebrada Maní 12 is the first Pleistocene-Holocene human occupation (~11.9 a 12.7 ka) known from the northern Atacama.
GSA Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, USA - 2016, 2016
Paleoclimate reconstructions reveal that Earth system has experienced sub-millennial scale climat... more Paleoclimate reconstructions reveal that Earth system has experienced sub-millennial scale climate changes over the past two millennia in response to internal/external forcing. Although sub-millennial hydroclimate fluctuations have been detected in the central Andes during this interval, the timing, magnitude, extent and direction of change of these events remain poorly defined. Here, we present a reconstruction of hydroclimate variations on the Pacific slope of the central Andes based on exceptionally wellpreserved plant macrofossils and associated archaeological remains from a hyperarid drainage (Quebrada Maní, ∼21 • S, 1000 m a.s.l.) in the Atacama Desert. During the late Holocene, riparian ecosystems and farming social groups flourished in the hyperarid Atacama core as surface water availability increased throughout this presently sterile landscape. Twenty-six radiocarbon dates indicate that these events occurred between 1050-680, 1615-1350 and 2500-2040 cal yr BP. Regional comparisons with rodent middens and other records suggest that these events were synchronous with pluvial stages detected at higher-elevations in the central Andes over the last 2500 years. These hydroclimate changes also coincide with periods of pronounced SST gradients in the Tropical Pacific (La Ni ña-like mode), conditions that are conducive to significantly increased rainfall in the central Andean highlands and flood events in the low-elevation watersheds at inter-annual timescales. Our findings indicate that the positive anomalies in the hyperarid Atacama over the past 2500 years represent a regional response of the central Andean climate system to changes in the global hydrological cycle at centennial timescales. Furthermore, our results provide support for the role of tropical Pacific sea surface temperature gradient changes as the primary mechanism responsible for climate fluctuations in the central Andes. Finally, our results constitute independent evidence for comprehending the major trends in cultural evolution of prehistoric peoples that inhabited the region.
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2018
The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2017
Over the last eight years, we have developed several paleoenvironmental records from a broad geog... more Over the last eight years, we have developed several paleoenvironmental records from a broad geographic region spanning the Altiplano in Bolivia (18°S-22°S) and continuing south along the western Andean flank to ca. 26°S. These records include: cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in surface deposits, dated nitrate paleosoils, lake levels, groundwater levels from wetland deposits, and plant macrofossils from urine-encrusted rodent middens. Arid environments are often uniquely sensitive to climate perturbations, and there is evidence of significant changes in precipitation on the western flank of the central Andes and the adjacent Altiplano. In contrast, the Atacama Desert of northern Chile is hyperarid over many millions of years. This uniquely prolonged arid climate requires the isolation of the Atacama from the Amazon Basin, a situation that has existed for more than 10 million years and that resulted from the uplift of the Andes and/or formation of the Altiplano plateau. New evidence from multiple terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides, however, suggests that overall aridity is occasionally punctuated by rare rainfall events that likely originate from the Pacific. East of the hyperarid zone, climate history from multiple proxies reveals alternating wet and dry intervals where changes in precipitation originating from the Atlantic may exceed 50%. An analysis of Pleistocene climate records across the region allows reconstruction of the spatial and temporal components of climate change. These Pleistocene wet events span the modern transition between two modes of interannual precipitation variability, and regional climate history for the Central Andean Pluvial Event (CAPE; ca. 18-8 ka) points toward similar drivers of modern interannual and past millennial-scale climate variability. The north-northeast mode of climate variability is linked to El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability, and the southeast mode is linked to aridity in the Chaco region of Argentina.
Climate of The Past, Feb 21, 2012
Paleoclimate reconstructions reveal that Earth system has experienced sub-millennial scale climat... more Paleoclimate reconstructions reveal that Earth system has experienced sub-millennial scale climate changes over the past two millennia in response to internal/external forcing. Although sub-millennial hydroclimate fluctuations have been detected in the central Andes during this interval, the timing, magnitude, extent and direction of change of these events remain poorly defined. Here, we present a reconstruction of hydroclimate variations on the Pacific slope of the central Andes based on exceptionally wellpreserved plant macrofossils and associated archaeological remains from a hyperarid drainage (Quebrada Maní, ∼21 • S, 1000 m a.s.l.) in the Atacama Desert. During the late Holocene, riparian ecosystems and farming social groups flourished in the hyperarid Atacama core as surface water availability increased throughout this presently sterile landscape. Twenty-six radiocarbon dates indicate that these events occurred between 1050-680, 1615-1350 and 2500-2040 cal yr BP. Regional comparisons with rodent middens and other records suggest that these events were synchronous with pluvial stages detected at higher-elevations in the central Andes over the last 2500 yr. These hydroclimate changes also coincide with periods of pronounced SST gradients in the Tropical Pacific (La Niña-like mode), conditions that are conducive to significantly increased rainfall in the central Andean highlands and flood events in the low-elevation watersheds at inter-annual timescales. Our findings indicate that the positive anomalies in the hyperarid Atacama over the past 2500 yr represent a regional response of the central Andean climate system to changes in the global hydrological cycle at centennial timescales. Furthermore, our results provide support for the role of tropical Pacific sea surface temperature gradient changes as the primary mechanism responsible for climate fluctuations in the central Andes. Finally, our results constitute independent evidence for comprehending the major trends in cultural evolution of prehistoric peoples that inhabited the region.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Aug 1, 2007
We evaluate the impact of exceptionally sparse plant cover (0-20%) and rainfall (2-114 mm/yr) on ... more We evaluate the impact of exceptionally sparse plant cover (0-20%) and rainfall (2-114 mm/yr) on the stable carbon and oxygen composition of soil carbonate along elevation transects in what is among the driest places on the planet, the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. d 13 C and d 18 O values of carbonates from the Atacama are the highest of any desert in the world. d 13 C (VPDB) values from soil carbonate range from À8.2‰ at the wettest sites to +7.9‰ at the driest. We measured plant composition and modeled respiration rates required to form these carbonate isotopic values using a modified version of the soil diffusion model of Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 71,[229][230][231][232][233][234][235][236][237][238][239][240], in which we assumed an exponential form of the soil CO 2 production function, and relatively shallow (20-30 cm) average production depths. Overall, we find that respiration rates are the main predictor of the d 13 C value of soil carbonate in the Atacama, whereas the fraction C 3 to C 4 biomass at individual sites has a subordinate influence. The high average d 13 C value (+4.1‰) of carbonate from the driest study sites indicates it formed-perhaps abiotically-in the presence of pure atmospheric CO 2 . d 18 O (VPDB) values from soil carbonate range from À5.9‰ at the wettest sites to +7.3‰ at the driest and show much less regular variation with elevation change than d 13 C values. d 18 O values for soil carbonate predicted from local temperature and d 18 O values of rainfall values suggest that extreme (>80% in some cases) soil dewatering by evaporation occurs at most sites prior to carbonate formation. The effects of evaporation compromise the use of d 18 O values from ancient soil carbonate to reconstruct paleoelevation in such arid settings.
Quaternary International, 2017
Journal of Arid Environments, May 1, 2008
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Economic Botany
Pre-European Plant Consumption and Cultural Changes in the Coastal Lluta Valley, Atacama Desert, ... more Pre-European Plant Consumption and Cultural Changes in the Coastal Lluta Valley, Atacama Desert, Northern Chile (Ca. 5140–390 Cal Yr BP). The introduction of domesticated plants into ancient hunting and gathering economic systems expanded and transformed human societies worldwide during the Holocene. These transformations occurred even in the oases and hyperarid environments of the Atacama Desert along the Pacific coast. Human groups inhabiting this desert incorporated adjacent habitats to the semi-tropical valleys through transitory or logistic camps like Morro Negro 1 (MN-1), in the Lluta valley (~12 km from the littoral in northernmost Chile), into their settlement patterns. During the earliest occupation (Late Archaic period, 5140–4270 cal yr BP) people collected and consumed wild plants, although crops such as Lagenaria were present. Following a gap of more than 2000 years between 4270 and 1850, people returned and introduced new domesticated plants at the site ( Gossypium, Zea mays, Capsicum ), which displaced the use of wild reed ( Schoenoplectus ) rhizomes as the chief staple during the first occupation. This change in food consumption was linked to the transformations that took place during the Archaic-Formative transition, but did not entirely shift the ways of life of these coastal marine hunter-gatherers. CONSUMO DE PLANTAS Y CAMBIOS CULTURALES EN EL VALLE COSTERO DE LLUTA, DESIERTO DE ATACAMA, NORTE DE CHILE (CA. 5140–390 CAL YR/AÑOS AP). La introducción de plantas domesticadas en los antiguos sistemas económicos de caza y recolección provocó la expansión y transformación de las sociedades humanas en todo el mundo durante el Holoceno, incluidos oasis y ambientes híper áridos del desierto de Atacama, junto a la costa del Pacífico, en épocas pre-europeas. Los grupos humanos que habitaban este desierto integraron en sus patrones de asentamiento, hábitats de los valles semitropicales a través de campamentos transitorios o logísticos como Morro Negro 1 (MN-1), en el valle de Lluta (Arica, Chile), a unos 12 km del litoral. Durante la primera época de ocupación (período Arcaico Tardío, ca. 5140–4270 cal años AP) la gente recolectaba y consumía plantas silvestres, aunque ya existían cultivos como la Lagenaria . Después de un intervalo de más de 2000 años, entre 4270–1850, la gente volvió al lugar e introdujo nuevas plantas domesticadas ( Gossypium , Zea mays , Capsicum ), lo que desplazó el uso de los rizomas silvestres de Schoenoplectus , un alimento básico principal durante la primera ocupación. Este cambio en el consumo de alimentos estuvo vinculado a las transformaciones que tuvieron lugar durante la transición Arcaico-Formativo, pero no modificó por completo las formas de vida de estos cazadores-recolectores marinos costeros.
The Holocene
During the Formative period by the Late-Holocene (ca. 3000–1500 BP), semi-sedentary and sedentary... more During the Formative period by the Late-Holocene (ca. 3000–1500 BP), semi-sedentary and sedentary human occupations had emerged in the oases, salares, and riverine systems in the central depression (2400–1000 masl) of the Atacama Desert, northern Chile (19–25°S). This hyperarid core was marginally occupied during the post-Pleistocene and middle Holocene droughts. Settlement on these lower belts was accompanied by a rise in humidity, the introduction of Andean crops, flourishment of Prosopis spp. (algarrobo) forests, and increasing integration of domestic camelid caravans. Here, we explore lowland husbandry within risk-spreading strategies, focusing on silvopastoralism and endozoochory between camelids and algarrobos. Analysis of camelid coprolites from seven archeological sites located in the Pampa del Tamarugal, Loa River, and Salar de Atacama found intense grinding from camelid chewing and indicated a ruminal digestive system. Abundant macro and microremains in the form of tissues...
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021
Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2020
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Papers by Claudio Latorre