Mid-Holocene environment and human occupation of the Puna (Susques, Argentina)

Paleoenvironmental information regarding the mid-Holocene in the Puna de Atacama generally shows extreme aridity and high temperatures (“Hypsithermal”). Moreover, the absence of human occupations in certain sectors of the region suggested a “Silencio Arqueológico”, between 7500 and 5000 BP. However, recent research reveals that places with better conditions of humidity and resources had been used by hunter-gatherer populations during this period. The goal of this paper is to examine the general evidence, and to give information from the Susques area (Jujuy, Argentina) mainly derived from diatom assemblages sampled in fossil marsh (vegas) profiles, and archaeological sites. These data show a local situation marked by greater humidity than that at present, between 8230 and 7550 BP, and 6300-6100 BP. This evidence indicates the great heterogeneity that characterized the mid-Holocene environment.