PALEOINDIANS AND FIRE DURING THE LATE QUATERNARY IN SOUTHERN SOUTH-AMERICA

Quantities of charcoal in Quaternary deposits in southern South Americ a may serve to establish the presence, age, and migrations of Paleoind ians. This concept is based on the proposition that non-human agents, lightning and volcanism, can be discounted as causing fires in non-vol canic sectors of the region. Data derive from records of charcoal exam ined at two classical, late glacial archeological sites. Monte Verde a nd Laguna de Tagua Tagua, and at eight additional sites located betwee n subtropical Chile and subantarctic Argentina. The implication of the charcoal is that Paleoindians, while residing in central Chile during the Holocene and during Pleistocene interstades over at least the pas t 50,000 years, vacated the region at the time of the last glacial max imum (25,000-14,000 yr. BP). Migration in the course of deglaciation r eached Tierra del Fuego in the far south before 13,000 yr. BP.