EVENT: Archaeology Seminar Series

South America was the last large continental landmass to be peopled by humans, during the Late Pleistocene, initiating an occupational history of ca. 15.000 years. This presentation outlines this history from a biogeographical and demographic perspective, by selecting a few cases extending from Colombia (10º N), in the northern end of South America, to Tierra del Fuego Island (53º S). This perspective is highly selective, seeking to illustrate some of the main issues being discussed in South American archaeology. Three processes are selected that span the human peopling. First, the early human colonization and the behavioral variability associated with this process. In this context, the Island of Tierra del Fuego allows a comparative analysis with Tasmania. Secondly, a large-scale archaeological discontinuity recorded at several regions during the Mid- Holocene, which may have had profound demographic implications. The ‘Islands in the Interior’ (sensu Veth 1993)biogeographical model is a useful frame for assessing this case. Finally, a discussion of the so-called Late Holocene Araucanización process of linguistic diffusion is used to explore the dynamics of linguistic replacements. The Australian Pama Nyungan case is an obvious target for comparison. On the basis of this presentation, some significant processes and mechanisms are identified, which are interesting points of departure for comparative endeavors.