PROPOSAL ABSTRACT:
Traditional archaeology proposes that the first settlers of South America moved preferentially along the
Andes or the Pacific coast. Given that the Andean Puna (>3,000 masl) was an outstanding ecological
megapatch that concentrated similar resources throughout the Andes, it was an attractive migratory route.
This paved the way for the establishment of a unique Altiplano socio-ecological system, which later became
the cradle of more complex cultural developments. Stable resources, temperate climate and relatively easy
movements along the coastline has made the Pacific coast an even stronger candidate to explain early
human dispersal and the construction of long-term cultural niche. In contrast, the Intermediate Depression
in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert, between the Pacific coast and the Andes has not been
perceived as a sufficiently productive enough ecosystem to support early human settling and dispersion.
Theoretically, it has been assumed that it was used as an area of complementary resources for both
coastal and Andean hunter-gatherer societies. In this proposal, we expect to show that this traditional view
is incorrect and propose that the Intermediate Depression was not just an area of complementary
resources and a barrier for human dispersal. On the contrary, we aim to provide new data showing
how this region facilitated local settling and the expansion of H. sapiens into different
ecosystems of South America, as it acted as an interglacial ecological refuge. Moreover, we
propose that, despite an almost complete lack of rainfall, the Pampa del Tamarugal (PdT) was a much
more productive and complex ecosystem during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition than today. Well-dated
early residential areas, along with certain geomorphological and hydroclimatic features such as high watertable,
mild temperatures and relatively warm winters generated extensive and diverse wetlands, creating
some enclaves of the PdT very attractive compared to other regions. One of our main goals is to find these
places, and ecologically and culturally characterize them. Conversely, we will investigate the potential of
this basin as a glacial refuge a self-contained ecosystem that harbored many species of plants and animals
that today occur at higher elevations, and uniquely suited to sustain small populations of hunter-gatherers
that moved into the region, who then adopted and transformed this environment into their home. In this
context, this proposal aims to research and understand how human societies developed long-term
residential systems in a former ecological refuge withing this hyperarid desert. By describing and
analyzing the dynamically productive environmental conditions of the PdT, we will address three major
research problems: (a) the development of long-term residential systems, which gave rise to a
conspicuous Intermediate Depression or pampa socio-ecological system, (b) the emergence of the PdT as a
glacial refuge during the last glacial-interglacial transition; and (c) the coevolution and interdependence of
the natural and cultural systems that ended with the disappearance of the pampa socio-ecological system
and concomitant sequential extinction and extirpation of its biodiversity. The corollary of this process was
that at the beginning of the Holocene, when the availability of water became insufficient, an exodus took
place that must have had profound consequences for these groups, who had to abandon this landscape
that they co-created for almost 2,000 years. Consequently, unlike the Andes or the Pacific coast, this early
socio-ecological system did not continue into the Holocene. The lack of high quality and publicly available
archaeological, paleoecological and paleontological datasets has weakened the general theoretical debate
on early human migrations, settlement and the development of local socio-ecological systems. Here, we
conceive human societies as part of the natural ecosystems on which they depend for their subsistence
using a socio-ecological approach to analyze and understand the relationship and mutual influence between
humans and what we consider nature today. This does not mean that early hunter-gatherers did not
exploit or overexploit natural resources, but that they viewed them as social beings and heavily sanction
overexploitation when it occurs or try to avoid it, for example through the implementation of taboos. Our
project proposes the novel hypothesis that the Intermediate Depression offered sufficient
conditions and resources for the development of a residential system and a unique pampa
cultural tradition. Our view contrasts with the idea that the settlement pattern of the terminal
Pleistocene hunter-gatherers would have been highly mobile and short-lived. The second novelty of this
research is the composite methodology, that integrates different disciplinary methods such as: stable
isotope analyses including Sr (to search for regional human mobility); paleogenomics to improve the
resolution of morphological bone and plant taxa determination; geochronological dating, involving OSL and
U/Th techniques to expand our chronologies; and technomorphological characterization of lithic, bone,
wooden and textile artifacts, through complete chaîne opératoire methodology, pedological studies for soil
horizon description. In sum, our major goal is to understand a different migration route and settlement
system for the early peopling of the western slope of the Andes, by defining and explaining the
characteristics of the residential systems developed in the PdT during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition,
and the local ecologies associated to them. Our data will contribute towards resolving an old problem: the
colonization of South America through the study of what is likely one of the best preserved and mostly
unaltered sets of early American sites in all South America.

Fondequip Mediano EQM230002

Fondequip Mediano EQM230002

Implementación de una ruta de turismo arqueológica y paleontológica que abarque tres comunas: San Vicente de Tagua Tagua, Navidad y San Fernando.

Estudio de propiedades métricas y estructurales de los espacios de Wasserstein (provenientes de la teoría de transporte óptimo), y búsqueda de aplicaciones en optimización bajo incertidumbre.

Estudio de propiedades métricas y estructurales de los espacios de Wasserstein (provenientes de la teoría de transporte óptimo), y búsqueda de aplicaciones en optimización bajo incertidumbre.

Sensibilización sobre Peligros Geológicos en la isla de Rapa Nui

La elaboración del Plan Comunal del Municipio de Palmilla para la Reducción del Riesgo de Desastres (PRRD) implica varias etapas que incluye identificar y evaluar amenazas y vulnerabilidades, definir estrategias de reducción de riesgos, planificar la ejecución de medidas, asignar responsabilidades, establecer un sistema de alerta, diseñar planes de emergencia y realizar simulacros de manera continua. Para que el plan sea efectivo, se está fomentando la participación comunitaria y la colaboración con actores públicos y privados, asegurando que el plan sea un “documento vivo” que se actualiza periódicamente para adaptarse a los cambios.

Descifrando la vulcanología física del grupo de volcanes de Rincón de Parangueo, Valle de Santiago, Guanajuato (México): implicaciones a futuros riesgos volcánicos. Convocatoria Institucional de Investigación Científica 2025 (Universidad de Guanajuato -México). PI: Pooja Vinod Kshirsagar (Departamento en Minas, Metalurgia y Geología, de la División de Ingenierías. Guanajuato). Role Laura Becerril: colaboradora extranjera.

Monogenetic volcanoes are the most common expression of magmatism on the Earth’s surface, and they are found in every tectonic setting, yet key aspects of the behavior and evolution of monogenetic volcanic systems remain poorly understood. Understanding the processes that govern the evolution of monogenetic volcanoes, and the timescales over which these processes operate, is critical for hazard assessment in active distributed volcanic fields.
The Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ), one of the three volcanic regions of The Andes, displays a diverse landscape characterized by historically and potentially active volcanic structures, including ~60 large stratovolcanoes, three giant silicic caldera systems, and hundreds of small eruptive centers. Even these monogenetic volcanoes are considerably smaller in size and volume, they tend to be grouped in space and time, forming distributed volcanic fields, and provide information from source to surface processes that are usually obscured by the commonly dominant more evolved compositions in the Andean arc. Among the Holocene clustered small eruptive centers within the SVZ, this project focuses on the youngest distributed volcanic field in Chile, Carrán-Los Venados, which includes not only the most recent monogenetic eruption in Chile, which occurred in 1979, but it also hosts two other historical eruptions in 1907 and 1955.
The Carrán-Los Venados distributed volcanic field (CLV) has received limited attention, despite its
placement at position No. 9 in the specific risk ranking of active volcanoes in Chile compiled by
SERNAGEOMIN in 2020. Past research on the CLV has mostly focused on chronicling and observing the impacts of the historic eruptions. While some studies have touched upon the geochemical and tectonic aspects of the region, there remains a distinct absence of a comprehensive and cohesive examination of the entire volcanic field. Therefore, building upon previous research conducted in CLV, this project aims to tackle this knowledge gap, and we propose to carry out a detailed multi-disciplinary study (physical volcanology, petrology/geochemistry, and volcanic hazards). Primary research questions include: When did the volcanism start in CLV? What processes contribute to the formation of this volcanism, and what are the magmatic factors that influence its evolution? Where does the volcanic activity take place, and how does it
manifest on the surface? What should we expect in the next eruption? To answer these questions, we propose a methodology based on deposit characterization and mapping, geochronology, morphometry, rheology, petrography, mineral chemistry, geothermobarometry and hygrometry, and geochemical characterization and modelling. The integration of these diverse datasets will provide key constraints on the sources, processes, and timescales of magma ascent and storage leading to eruption of the CLV clustered small eruptive centers and small stratovolcanoes, providing an important framework for better understanding the behavior of distributed volcanic fields globally.
Furthermore, this project aims to provide valuable support to undergraduate and graduate students, who will have the unique opportunity to engage in all aspects of this research project, making it a significant component of their dissertation studies. Additionally, the study will foster ongoing international collaboration, creating avenues for future student and faculty exchanges. Moreover, it will facilitate outreach educational initiatives for the local community, including specialized seminars, thereby promoting knowledge dissemination and interactive learning experiences.