The distribution of the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) in Patagonia during Late Pleistocene–Holocene and its importance for prehistoric human diet

Abstract

The great importance of the guanaco ( Lama guanicoe) for the subsistence of the human populations of Patagonia during the Holocene has been demonstrated in numerous studies. This species is considered as the main prey of the hunter-gatherer groups of the Patagonian interior, indicating the existence of a strong ecological relationship of predator-prey type. Despite the importance of this ungulate for prehistoric human populations, its spatial distribution throughout the Holocene has not been systematically explored, assuming that it was ubiquitously distributed in almost all of Patagonia. In this work, the spatial distribution of the guanaco in Patagonia during different periods of the final Pleistocene and Holocene is explored using zooarchaeological and paleontological evidence together with species distribution models and paleoclimatic reconstructions. Likewise, the spatial variation in the importance of this species for the diet of human populations is assessed. The results show that there were large differences in the distribution of guanaco in Patagonia over time. In general terms, this camelid suffered a constant contraction in range since the Late Pleistocene period to the present. There is an Andean range and peri-cordilleran core of population distribution that remains observable during all this time. Human subsistence was strongly influenced by this pattern of distribution. The differences in the guanaco distribution described in this work are important not only for archaeological and paleontological problems, but also for the current conservation of guanacos.

Diet composition and prey choice in prehistoric human individuals from Northwest Patagonia: An application of species distribution and isotope mixing models

“…In Northwestern Neuquén the trend is towards a high consumption of guanaco, being this species consumed in higher frequencies than expected by its potential distribution (Figure 2). The high contribution of guanaco to human diet in this area had been previously shown on the basis of isotopic and zooarchaeological data (Barberena, Prates, & de Porras, 2015; Gordón et al, 2018; Rindel, 2017), in line with the trend found for overall Patagonia (Moscardi et al, 2020; Rindel, Moscardi, & Perez, 2021). Likewise, pichi shows negative values of selectivity in this area, despite being consumed in considerable frequency, due to its extremely high potential distribution (mean = 0.99), suggesting that this species was partly ignored.…”

“…The performance of each distribution model was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC statistic; Elith & Leathwick, 2009). For a detailed review of these methods see Guisan et al (2017), and for an application in archaeology see Rindel, Moscardi, and Perez (2021).…”

Changes in projectile design and size of prey reveal the central role of Fishtail points in megafauna hunting in South America

“…The spatial distribution of different types of projectile point types of the latest Pleistocene and early Holocene from southern South America was estimated using the maximum entropy modeling approach implemented in the MaxEnt method 28 , 29 . This approach is widely used in paleoecology and archaeology because it is robust and based on presence-only data 28 , 29 , 72 , 73 . The dataset of projectile points used in the analyses consists of records with absolute dates—or highly reliable relative dates—and precise geographic locations.…”

Paleogenetic and microscopic studies of Eimeria spp. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) as a tool to reveal the zoological origin of coprolites: The case of study of artiodactyl coprolites from an archeological site from Patagonia, Argentina

“…In the study area, this Order is represented by camelids, specifically guanaco ( Lama guanicoe) present in this region throughout the Holocene until recent times. This species is one of the most represented in the zooarchaeological record in the region (Rindel et al, 2021). More recently, from historical times to the present, several artiodactyls species were present in the South American extensive Phylogeographical regions of Monte, Espinal, Patagonian desert, and other Andean landscape configurations; not only with the presence of guanacos but also with the introduced goats and sheep.…”