Humans lived year round in the Andean highlands 7,000 years ago

[Judi Lynn]

"Such high-elevation environments were among the last frontiers of human colonization," said researcher Randy Haas.
By Brooks Hays | June 28, 2017 at 2:31 PM




New research confirms groups and families of hunter-gatherers permanently settled
high-elevation sites in the Andes Mountains at least 7,000 years ago. Photo by Lauren
A. Hayes/University of Wyoming


June 28 (UPI) -- Archaeologists have confirmed humans occupied year-round settlements in the Andean highlands as early as 7,000 years ago.

Excavations at archaeological sites in southern Peru suggest early hunter-gatherers began occupying Andean settlements some 9,000 years ago. But researchers haven't been able to agree on when those settlements became permanent.

As part of the latest study, scientists excavated and analyzed the remains of 16 people, as well as 80,000 artifacts. To determine when the hunter-gatherers' use of the settlement became permanent, researchers looked at oxygen and carbon isotope ratios in the human remains. Scientists also considered the population's demographic makeup, the distance to the nearest low-elevation settlements and the types of tools found among the highland sites.

The human bones revealed high levels of carbon isotopes and low levels of oxygen isotopes, suggesting the settlers spent their entire lives at the highland site. Researchers also argue the distances between the highlands and low-elevation settlements were too great to traverse seasonally. The presence of women and children confirms the population wasn't migrating seasonally. Scientists determined the tools found among the highland settlements were made from nearby rock sources.

More:
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2017/06/28/Humans-lived-year-round-in-the-Andean-highlands-7000-years-ago/6511498668513/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=1

[Judi Lynn]

1. 7,000-Year-Old High Altitude Site Discovered in Peru

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

PUNO, PERU—A site discovered in Peru at 12,500 feet above sea level suggests that hunter-gatherers lived all-year-round at very high altitudes beginning at least 7,000 years ago. USA TODAY reports that archaeologists uncovered the remains of 16 individuals at the site of Soro Mik'aya Patjxa in the Andean Highlands, as well as stone points, animal bones—likely of the vicuña, a relative of the llama—and evidence of wild tubers. According to the researchers, several factors point to the group's permanent residence in upper altitudes, including the lack of any imported materials found at the site, the great distance to lower elevations in the area, and the results of stable isotope analysis on their bone material, which yielded low oxygen and high carbon isotope ratios, indicating a life spent in thin air and dizzying heights. To read more about archaeology in Peru, go to “An Overlooked Inca Wonder.”

http://www.archaeology.org/news/5695-170628-peru-andean-highland-settlement

[Judi Lynn]

2. Remains of early, permanent human settlement in Andes discovered

Remains of early, permanent human settlement in Andes discovered
Date:
June 28, 2017
Source:
University of Wyoming


Using five different scientific approaches, a team including University of Wyoming researchers has given considerable support to the idea that humans lived year-round in the Andean highlands of South America over 7,000 years ago.

Examining human remains and other archaeological evidence from a site at nearly 12,500 feet above sea level in Peru, the scientists show that intrepid hunter-gatherers -- men, women and children -- managed to survive at high elevation before the advent of agriculture, in spite of lack of oxygen, frigid temperatures and exposure to elements.

"This gives us a very strong baseline to help understand the rates of cultural and genetic change in the Andean highlands, a region known for the domestication of alpaca, potatoes and other plants; emergence of state-level political and economic complexity; and rapid human adaptation to high-elevation life," says Randy Haas, a postdoctoral research associate in the University of Wyoming's Department of Anthropology and the team's leader.

The research appears in the July issue of Royal Society Open Science, a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal. Along with Haas, the second author is Ioana Stefenescu, graduate student in UW's Department of Geology and Geophysics. Also contributing to the paper were Alexander Garcia-Putnam, doctoral student in the UW Department of Anthropology; Mark Clementz, associate professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics; Melissa Murphy, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology; and researchers from the University of California-Davis, the University of California-Merced, the University of Arizona and Peruvian institutions.

More:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170628095929.htm