A Major Hiatus in the Mid-Holocene Archaeological Record of Eastern South America: Reassessing the "Archaic Gap"

Summary

A decade ago, we suggested that the low frequency of archaeological sites dated from the mid-Holocene in several portions of Lowland South America (what we have called the "Archaic Gap") was due to an increase in the magnitude of dry periods. Since then, data regarding paleoenvironmental reconstructions for Lowland South America, coupled with an increase of the archaeological knowledge, allows us to reassess the idea of the "Archaic Gap" and redefine both the areal extent of the phenomenon and its possible causes. However, as expected when larger data sets are available, it is possible to perceive oscillations in the archaeological signal that suggest reoccupation of some areas. Although we maintain that the main reasons underlying these patterns are still related to climate, they are most probably related to an increase in climatic variability, and not necessarily to an increase in dryness.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20589