A perched, high-elevation wetland complex in the Atacama Desert (northern Chile) and its implications for past human settlement

Sitzia, Luca; Gayó, Eugenia M.; Sepúlveda, Marcela; González, Juan Salvador Monrós; Ibañez, Lucia; Queffelec, Alain; Pol‐Holz, Ricardo De

doi:10.1017/qua.2018.144

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 88 publications

(167 reference statements)

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“…Element contents were calculated as the average of these acquisitions. In order to precisely quantify the elemental composition of the samples a dedicated calibration for sediment samples was applied (see Sitzia et al, 2019 107 for details). This calibration allows quantifying Si, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Zn, Ga, As, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, and Ba.…”

Section: Sediment Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Earliest known human burial in Africa

Martinón‐Torres

d’Errico

Santos

et al. 2021

Nature

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The origin and evolution of hominin mortuary practices are topics of intense interest and debate. Human burials dated to the Middle Stone Age (MSA) are exceedingly rare in Africa and unknown in East Africa. Here, we describe the partial skeleton of a c. 2.5-3.0 year-old child dating to 78.3 ± 4.1 ka, recovered in the MSA layers of Panga ya Saidi (PYS), a cave site in the tropical upland coast of Kenya. Recent excavations revealed a pit feature containing a child in a flexed position. Geochemical, granulometric and micromorphological analyses of the burial pit content and encasing archaeological layers indicate that the feature was deliberatly excavated. Taphonomical evidence such as the strict articulation or good anatomical association of the skeletal elements and histological evidence of putrefaction support the in-place decomposition of a fresh body. Absent to minimal displacement of the 4 unstable joints during decomposition points to an interment in a filled space (grave earth) making the PYS finding the oldest human burial in Africa. The morphological assessment of the partial skeleton is consistent with its assignment to H. sapiens, although the preservation of some primitive features in the dentition supports increasing evidence for non-gradual accretion of modern traits during the emergence of our species. The PYS burial sheds new light on how MSA populations interacted with the dead.Increasing scrutiny is being placed on the interplay between biological and cultural factors in the evolution of our lineage and the emergence of our species in Africa 1-3 .Mortuary practices are a significant component of our evolution and growing evidence supports an ancient origin for complex behaviours surrounding death 4-6 . Formal burials, defined as the interment of a dead body in an excavated grave, may have been preceded by more elusive practices and only performed by the latest representatives of the genus Homo. Testing this scenario is made difficult, particularly in Africa, by the scarcity of sites with clear and well-dated evidence for the treatment of dead bodies.Panga ya Saidi (PYS) has emerged as one of the key Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA) sites of Africa given its excellent preservation of environmental proxies 7,8 , its distinctive sequence of technological innovations and symbolic traits 8,9 , and its preservation of biomolecular information 10,11 . The excavated cave sequence is ~3 metres deep and encompasses 19 layers (Fig. 1). A series of stratigraphically ordered radiocarbon and luminescence ages, when included in a Bayesian model, indicate human occupation from ~78 ka to 500 years ago 8 , representing most of the last five marine isotope stages.

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Section: Sediment Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Earliest known human burial in Africa

Martinón‐Torres

d’Errico

Santos

et al. 2021

Nature

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“…Rare precipitation events, caused by cut-off low system can cause additional surface runoff in this region (Reyers et al 2019, Reyers et al 2020. Additional abiotic factors, such as crusted soils, high soil salinity, a strong altitudinal gradient, as well as high levels of UV radiation, pose serious challenges to plant survival in the Atacama Desert (Cordero et al, 2016;Sitzia et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic diversity of the Atacama Desert shrubHuidobria chilensisin the context of geography and climate

Bechir Ferchichi,

Böhnert,

Ritter

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Survival in hyperarid deserts is a major challenge for plant life, requiring the development of evolutionary strategies. The Atacama Desert presents harsh conditions such as limited rainfall, crusted soils, high soil salinity, high altitude, and intense solar radiation. These conditions, together with paleoclimatic variability since the past millions of years, have influenced the genetic structure and connectivity of plant populations, resulting in a diverse flora with high endemism. However, the diversification of most lineages appears to be relatively recent, in contrast to proposed age of the Atacama Desert and the onset, evolution and expansion of hyperarid conditions since the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene. A prominent exception is the Atacama paleoendemic Huidobria chilensis (Loasaceae), which is thought to be adapted to such conditions since the Eocene. Still, the environmental limits and thresholds for life in the Atacama remain poorly understood. To investigate the genetic structure in relation to the history of the Atacama Desert, we studied 186 individuals from 11 populations using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analyzed for population structure and genetic diversity. We identified three genetic clusters corresponding to geographic regions: the coastal region south of Tocopilla, the Coastal Cordillera around Chanaral, and the Copiapo watershed in the south. These clusters as well as genetic diversity were analyzed alongside rainfall, altitude, and landscape data. Although the genetic data generally supports isolation by distance as a major factor for genetic variation between populations, the study also reveals the influence of the topography on the distribution of H. chilensis and highlights the role of hydrologically connected watersheds and rivers in plant migration and colonization. This shapes the species' evolutionary trajectory and genetic diversity. Understanding these patterns provides insights into the adaptation and survival strategies of plants in extreme desert environments such as the Atacama.

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“…GIWs, or wetlands that are surrounded by uplands and lack obvious connection to surface water, often interface with groundwater and have been found to provide functions such as nutrient uptake, ecological habitat, flow generation, sediment retention, and groundwater recharge (Cohen et al, ; Lane et al, ; Leibowitz et al, ; McLaughlin, Kaplan, & Cohen, ; Rains et al, ; Tiner, ). Perched groundwater in GIWs collects on top of a low hydraulic conductivity unit and exchanges water with the GIW (Brooks, ; Golden et al, ; Lee et al, ; Melly, Schael, & Gama, ; Rains et al, ; Sitzia, Gayo, Sepulveda, & Gonzalez, ). The importance of GIW interaction with perched aquifers has recently been recognized as it can sustain surface water levels independently of regional aquifer fluctuations and control nutrient fluxes to GIWs (Rains et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of GIW interaction with perched aquifers has recently been recognized as it can sustain surface water levels independently of regional aquifer fluctuations and control nutrient fluxes to GIWs (Rains et al, ). Often, GIW‐perched groundwater systems have been found on ridge‐tops or high elevation regions where they serve as critical habitat for amphibians and historic peoples (Denton & Richter, ; Sitzia et al, ). The pattern of wetting or drying (hydroregime) of GIW‐perched aquifer systems can vary greatly between closely spaced wetlands and may explain ecological distributions of amphibian populations, however, the hydrological controls of this spatial variability are less understood (Denton & Richter, ; Leibowitz & Brooks, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomorphic controls of perched groundwater interaction with natural ridge‐top depressional wetlands

Malzone

Sweet

Bell

et al. 2019

Hydrological Processes

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Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) are commonly reported as having hardpan or low hydraulic conductivity units underneath that produce perched groundwater, which can sustain surface water levels independently of regional aquifer fluctuations.Despite the potential of GIW-perched aquifer systems to provide important hydrological and ecological functions such as groundwater storage and native amphibian habitat, little research has studied the hydrologic controls and dynamics of these systems. We compared several ridge-top depressional GIW-perched groundwater systems to investigate the role of watershed morphology on hydroregime and groundwater-surface water interaction. Ridge-top depressional wetlands in the Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky were chosen because they offer natural controls such as lack of apparent connection to surface water bodies, similar climate, and similar soils. Three wetlands with different topographic slopes and hillslope structures were mapped to distinguish key geomorphic parameters and monitored to characterize groundwater-surface water interaction. Wetlands with soil hummocks and low upland slopes transitioned from infiltration to groundwater discharge conditions in the spring and during storm events. The magnitude and duration of this transition fell along a continuum, where higher topographic slopes and steeper uplands produced comparably smaller and shorter head reversals. This demonstrates that ridge-top GIW-perched groundwater systems are largely sensitive to the runoff-recharge relationship in the upland area which can produce significant groundwater storage on a small-scale. K E Y W O R D SAppalachian Plateau, geographically isolated wetlands, groundwater surface water interaction, hydrogeomorphology, hydroperiod, hydroregime, vernal pool, wetland

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A perched, high-elevation wetland complex in the Atacama Desert (northern Chile) and its implications for past human settlement

Cited by 8 publications

References 88 publications

Earliest known human burial in Africa

Earliest known human burial in Africa

Genetic diversity of the Atacama Desert shrubHuidobria chilensisin the context of geography and climate

Geomorphic controls of perched groundwater interaction with natural ridge‐top depressional wetlands

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