Chronological trends in the lower Deseado River basin, Patagonia Argentina: discussion of new data

In a previous study, a discontinuous occupational sequence was identified in the lower basin of the Deseado River that develops from the Middle Holocene to the final Late Holocene. The recognition of a chronological hiatus identified towards the end of the Middle Holocene (4988-3978 cal BP), was highlighted, which, based on regional scale paleoclimatic information, was associated with possible abandonment and relocation strategies that would have functioned as potential responses to dry conditions. For the final Late Holocene, a trajectory towards a population increase was identified within the framework of mobility strategies associated with the Atlantic coast. In this work, within the framework of a broader spatial perspective, seven new chronological dates from interior contexts of the basin are presented and the previously mentioned trends are discussed. In this sense, based on the identification of dates within the temporal range corresponding to the opportunely recognized chronological gap, the relative continuity of human occupations from the Middle Holocene to the final Late Holocene is postulated, where a high density of settlements associated with the marine coast are effectively recognized and, to a lesser extent, inland settings linked to the course of the Deseado River.