Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




ABOUT US
Highest altitude ice age human occupation documented in Peruvian Andes
by Staff Writers
Orono ME (SPX) Oct 27, 2014


File image.

In the southern Peruvian Andes, an archaeological team led by researchers at the University of Maine has documented the highest altitude ice age human occupation anywhere in the world - nearly 4,500 meters above sea level (masl).

Their discoveries date high-altitude human habitation nearly a millennium earlier than previously documented.

Despite cold temperatures, high solar radiation and low oxygen conditions at that altitude, hunter-gatherers colonized the remote, treeless landscapes about 12,000 years ago during the terminal Pleistocene - within 2,000 years after humans arrived in South America.

"Study of human adaptation to extreme environments is important in understanding our cultural and genetic capacity for survival," according to the research team, led by Kurt Rademaker, a University of Maine visiting assistant professor in anthropology, writing in the journal Science.

The Pucuncho archaeological site, 4,355 masl, included 260 formal tools, such as projectile points, nondiagnostic bifaces and unifacial scrapers up to 12,800
years old.

Cuncaicha rockshelter, featuring two alcoves at 4,480 masl, contains a "robust, well-preserved and well-dated occupation sequence" up to 12,400 years old. The rockshelter, with views of wetland and grassland habitats, features sooted ceilings and rock art, and was likely a base camp.

Most of the lithic tools at Cuncaicha were made from locally available obsidian, andesite and jasper, and are indicative of hunting and butchering consistent with limited subsistence options on the plateau, according to the researchers. In addition to plant remains, bones at the site indicate hunting of vicuna and guanaco camelids and the taruca deer.

Pucuncho Basin was a high-altitude oasis for specialized hunting, particularly of vicuna, and later, herding of domesticated alpacas and llamas. While the Pucuncho Basin could have sustained year-round residence, wet-season storms and the dangers of hypothermia, as well as the need to maintain extended social networks and collection of edible plants, may have encouraged regular descents, according to the research team.

In addition, the lithic tools and debitage included nonlocal, fine-grained rocks - some stream-polished. That would have required the plateau residents to visit high-energy rivers in the lower elevations.

It is unclear whether the high-altitude human settlement required genetic or environmental adaptations. But with evidence of high-altitude human habitation almost 900 years earlier than previously documented, the implication is that there may have been more moderate late-glacial Andean environments and greater physiological capabilities for Pleistocene humans.

"The Pucuncho Basin sites suggest that Pleistocene humans lived successfully at extreme high altitude, initiating organismal selection, developmental functional adaptations and lasting biogeographic expansion in the Andes," write the researchers.

"As new studies identify potential genetic signatures of high-altitude adaptation in modern Andean populations, comparative genomic, physiologic and archaeological research will be needed to understand when and how these adaptations evolved."


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
University of Maine
All About Human Beings and How We Got To Be Here






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








ABOUT US
Genomic data support early contact between Easter Island and Americas
Copenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Oct 27, 2014
People may have been making their way from Easter Island to the Americas well before the Dutch commander Jakob Roggeveen arrived with his ships in 1722, according to new genomic evidence showing that the Rapanui people living on that most isolated of islands had significant contact with Native American populations hundreds of years earlier. The findings reported in the Cell Press journal C ... read more


ABOUT US
British police pay mother of spy's child

Philippines' Aquino criticises typhoon rebuilding delays

Natural disasters killed over 22,000 in 2013: Red Cross

Rescuers airlift 154 to safety after deadly Nepal storm

ABOUT US
'Cloud' lifts Microsoft earnings above expectations

E-waste inferno burning brighter in China's recycling capital

Suomi team ward off recent space debris threat

Argentina launches its first telecom satellite

ABOUT US
Law of the Sea authorizes animal tagging without nations' consent

Top marine scientists call for action on 'invisible' fisheries

Sediment wreaks havoc with fish larvae

Probe into cause of French protester's death veers towards police

ABOUT US
China to build Antarctic airfield: report

Penguin chicks

Mammoth skull and tusks found in Idaho drainage ditch

Icebergs once drifted to Florida, new climate model suggests

ABOUT US
World losing 2,000 hectares of farm soil daily to salt damage

Salt-loving plants key to sustainable food production

No-till agriculture may not bring hoped-for boost in global crop yields

Chewing too much hassle? Japan's got just the thing

ABOUT US
Colossal volcanic eruption could destroy Japan: study

Icelandic volcano sits on massive magma hot spot

Hawaii lava flow reaches home, threatens town

Hawaii volcano lava wave nears homes

ABOUT US
Thirty adolescents abducted in northeast Nigeria: local chief

Secret talks to end Lesotho military standoff

Nigeria tries 59 soldiers on mutiny charges

Horn free: Lagos tries to tackle noise pollution

ABOUT US
Death and social media: what happens next

Highest altitude ice age human occupation documented in Peruvian Andes

Parts of UK 'under siege' from immigration: defence minister

Reducing population is no environmental quick fix




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.