PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL INFERENCES FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE POLLEN ANALYSIS AT LAKE SAN MARTIN AREA (SANTA CRUZ, ARGENTINA)

Several palaeoenvironmental studies related to environmental gradients from different types of deposits were made in Santa Cruz Province. Fossil records from caves and shelters (important deposits for the past environmental reconstructions in extra-Andean zones) are the result of environmental, climatic and cultural interactions. They must be taken into account to make past vegetation reconstruction and inferred environmental conditions. In this study were analyzed two pollen fossil sequences from the archaeological sites Bloque 1-Oquedad and Cueva del Paisano Desconocido from lake San Martin area (49 degrees S; 72 degrees W). The aim was to integrate this information to a palaeoenvironmental context generated from pollen and charcoal analysis from Mallin La Tercera and prior information about human occupations in the area. From Bloque 1-Oquedad, was possible reconstruct local vegetation variations. On the other hand, the analysis of Cueva del Paisano Desconocido sequence, gave similar information to the mallin La Tercera sequence. Although there are not significant changes in vegetation communities by hunter-gatherers for the study area, the main signs of human impact are recorded during the last century (from Mallin La Tercera) and this is coincident with European settlement.