Resumen Durante mucho tiempo, los análisis líticos han ocupado el centro de los estudios paleoindios en los Estados Unidos, y pese a cambios cruciales que se introdujeron el método y la orientación, los primeros enfoques tipológicos siguen ejerciendo una influencia importante en la comprensión de los conjuntos paleoindios por parte de los arqueólogos. Este capítulo refuta estos enfoques normativos y sustenta perspectivas dinámicas sobre el comportamiento humano. Lo hace delineando las contribuciones históricas de los estudios tecnológicos a la disciplina, desde las primeras influencias europeas hasta los marcos más holísticos que se emplean en la actualidad. Nuestra discusión resalta tres fases de desarrollo fundamentales, a partir de un trabajo experimental clave en el punto de Folsom a mediados del siglo XX. Esto condujo a una mayor atención en los aspectos tecnológicos de la producción y el uso de herramientas. La segunda fase está particularmente influida por el desarrollo de la arqueología procesual, que tuvo un marcado efecto en la conceptualización de los conjuntos líticos. Generó gran cantidad de enfoques sistémicos centrados en la economía de las materias primas líticas. Por último, y más recientemente, el auge de los estudios ecológicos culturales ha remodelado nuevamente este panorama al crear modos de análisis que entienden la tecnología lítica como una adaptación estratégica en lugar de un fósil cultural. Para integrar estos desarrollos dentro del campo más amplio de los estudios paleoindios, hemos consideramos artículos seminales y su función en el anuncio de nuevas orientaciones, junto con datos que ilustran estas tendencias en la publicación.

Abstrac Lithic analyses have long been at the core of Paleoindian studies in the United States, but despite crucial changes in method and orientation, the earliest typological approaches continue to exert a strong influence on archaeologists’ understanding of Paleoindian assemblages. This chapter argues against these normative approaches by advocating in favor of dynamic perspectives on human behavior. It does so by outlining the historical contributions of technological studies to the discipline, from the early European influences to the more holistic frameworks used today. Our discussion underscores three fundamental phases of development, starting with key experimental work on the Folsom point in the mid-twentieth century. This led to an increased focus on the technological aspects of tool production and use. The second phase is heavily influenced by the development of processual archaeology, which had a profound effect on the conceptualization of lithic assemblages. It generated a wealth of systems-oriented approaches focused on the economy of lithic raw materials. Finally, and most recently, the boom in cultural ecological studies has again reshaped this landscape by creating modes of analysis that understand lithic technology as a strategic adaptation rather than a cultural fossil. To integrate these developments within the broader field of Paleoindian studies, we consider seminal papers and their role in heralding new orientations, alongside data illustrating these trends in publication.

The Bolivian Chaco, northern marginal zone of the Great South American Chaco, had an important role during the pre-Hispanic periods because of its character of natural boundary between two main ecosystems and basins: Amazon and Chaco. Despite the ethnohistorical and ethnographic data, this marginal zone was relegated from the archaeological research. In this article, paleoenvironmental and archaeological data are integrated to analyze the process of cultural evolution in the Bolivian Chaco, from the paleoindian period to the late ceramic period. It is suggested that every major paleoenviromental event was reflected in the adoption of different systems and ways of life by the pre-Hispanic populations

El Chaco de Bolivia, que forma parte del Gran Chaco Sudamericano, tuvo en el pasado prehispánico un rol importante en las tierras bajas por su carácter de frontera natural entre dos ecosistemas y cuencas importantes: amazónica y chaqueña. A pesar de la información etnohistórica y etnográfica, esta zona marginal fue relegada en las investigaciones arqueológicas. En este artículo, integrando datos paleoambientales y arqueológicos, se presenta un nuevo análisis de la evolución del proceso cultural en el Chaco marginal, desde el paleoindio hasta el período alfarero tardío. En este sentido, se sugiere que cada evento ambiental importante está traducido en la adopción de diferentes sistemas y modos de vida en las poblaciones prehispánicas.

In the northwestern corner of Sonora, México, there is an arid region covered by a volcanic shield that is close to both a complex of sand dunes and the Sea of Cortez. Here, temperatures can reach 56.7 °C in the summer and -8.3 °C during the winter. With only 52 millimeters of annual rain, one could assume that this is a lifeless wasteland. On the contrary, the Altar Desert and the El Pinacate volcanic shield have been characterized, since the Pleistocene Era, by the existence of a rich biodiversity of hundreds of species of fauna and flora which have adapted to current conditions.Therefore, the Mexican government declared it, in 1993, a protected natural area and named it El Pinacate BiosphereReserve andGreat DesertofAltar.Thisregionhas been historically relevant not only because of its physiographic and environmental singularities, but also because it has been inhabited by human beings since the Paleoindian and Late Prehistoric periods, and has repeatedly been explored since the 17th Century by missionaries, colonizers, gold seekers, hunters, and, most of all, scientists. This article presents both its natural and cultural histories, and discusses the geological, morphological and physiographic aspects of this reserve, its biodiversity, as well as its early settlement and subsequent exploration. This is the result of a research project aimed at developing a museum script which can become a permanent exhibition housed by the Shuk Toak Visitor Center.

En el noroeste del estado de Sonora existe una región árida cubierta por un escudo volcánico, cercana a un complejo de dunas y al mar de Cortez. Allí la temperatura puede alcanzar los 56.7°C en el verano, y descender hasta los -8.3°C en invierno. Con 52 milímetros de precipitación pluvial anual, podría pensarse que ese lugar es un páramo sin vida. No obstante, el desierto de Altar y el escudo volcánico de El Pinacate se han caracterizado, desde el pleistoceno, por la presencia de una rica biodiversidad, de la cual perduran cientos de especies de plantas y animales adaptados a las condiciones actuales; debido a ello, el gobierno mexicano declaró a esta zona área natural protegida, con la denominación de Reserva de la Biosfera El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar. Esta región es relevante por sus particularidades fisiográficas y ambientales, por haber sido habitada por el hombre desde el periodo paleoindio y por las múltiples exploraciones de misioneros, colonizadores, gambusinos, cazadores y, sobre todo, de científicos, desde el siglo XVII hasta el presente. Este artículo presenta ambas historias, la natural y la cultural, y discute aspectos importantes de la geología, morfología y fisiografía de la zona, de su biodiversidad, así como de su poblamiento temprano y exploración posterior. Es el resultado de una investigación realizada con el propósito de generar un guión museográfico que se materialice en una exposición permanente albergada por el Centro de Visitantes Shuk Toak.

Polished discoidal stones are diagnostic artefacts associated to fish tail projectile points and extinct fauna in a number of Paleoindian cave sites in southernmost South America (Patagonia). In this paper we examine the contextual associations of currently known and hitherto unreported finds of discoidal stones and their relations to similar artefacts found along the Pacific coast of South America. We also discuss their potential symbolic functions and explore the suggestion that they signal cultural relations between the human groups that peopled the continent during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition

En algunos sitios Paleoindios del extremo austral de Sudamérica (Patagonia) se ha registrado litos discoidales pulidos como artefactos diagnósticos de las primeras ocupaciones humanas. Estas piezas han sido halladas en contextos residenciales al interior de reparos rocosos asociadas a las tradicionales puntas de proyectil "cola de pescado" y fauna extinta. En este trabajo se discuten conocidas y nuevas evidencias de hallazgos de litos discoidales haciendo hincapié en la dimensión contextual de los hallazgos. Se discute su eventual función simbólica y relación con otros litos análogos procedentes de contextos costeros del Pacífico de Sudamérica. Se sugieren algunas conexiones culturales entre las poblaciones tempranas que ingresaron al continente durante la transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno

The paper presents a description of the lithic sets of the Paleoindian site of Lago Sofía 1 and its cultural associations. We discuss the technological strategies of these highly mobile Paleoindian groups in the context of initial exploration or early colonization processes

Se presenta una descripción del conjunto lítico del sitio Paleoindio de Lago Sofía 1 y su relación con el contexto y asociaciones culturales. Se discuten las estrategias tecnológicas implicadas en relación a estos grupos Paleoindios con alta movilidad en un proceso de exploración inicial o incipiente colonización

Diversos estudos sobre afinidades morfológicas extra-continentais de esqueletos paleoíndios, executados independentemente na América do Sul e do Norte, têm indicado uma ocupação inicial do continente americano por não-mongolóides. Os primeiros sul-americanos demonstram uma clara semelhança com populações sul-pacíficas e africanas, enquanto os primeiros norte-americanos parecem encontrar-se em uma posição indefinida entre sul-pacíficos e europeus. Em nenhuma destas análises os primeiros americanos demonstraram qualquer similaridade com populações modernas do nordeste asiático ou com índios americanos atuais. Até então, estes estudos haviam incluído esqueletos datados de 8,000 a 10,000 anos atrás. Neste trabalho, as afinidades extra-continentais de um esqueleto paleoíndio bem contextualizado entre 11,000 e 11,500 anos atrás (Lapa Vermelha IV Hominídeo 1, ou Luzia) são investigadas, usando como amostras de referência as séries mundiais de Howells (1989) e a coleção de fósseis de hominídeos do Pleistoceno tardio de HabGood (1985). A comparação entre Lapa Vermelha IV Hominídeo 1 e as séries de Howells baseou-se em análises de variáveis canônicas incluindo 45 variáveis craniométricas corrigidas quanto ao tamanho, enquanto a comparação com hominídeos fósseis foi baseada em análise de componentes principais incluindo 16 variáveis também corrigidas. No primeiro caso, Lapa Vermelha IV Hominídeo 1 exibiu afinidade morfológica indiscutível, primariamente com africanos e, em seguida, com populações sul-pacíficas. Na segunda comparação, o mais antigo esqueleto americano conhecido apresentou maior similaridade com os primeiros australianos, Zhoukoudian UC103 e Taforalt 18. Os resultados obtidos confirmam claramente a idéia de que o continente americano foi inicialmente colonizado por uma população de Homo sapiens generalizados que habitaram o leste asiático no final do Pleistoceno, antes da definição da morfologia mongolóide clássica.

Several studies concerning the extra-continental morphological affinities of Paleo-Indian skeletons, carried out independently in South and North America, have indicated that the Americas were first occupied by non-Mongoloids that made their way to the New World through the Bering Strait in ancient times. The first South Americans show a clear resemblance to modern South Pacific and African populations, while the first North Americans seem to be at an unresolved morphological position between modern South Pacific and Europeans. In none of these analyses the first Americans show any resemblance to either northeast Asians or modern native Americans. So far, these studies have included affirmed and putative early skeletons thought to date between 8,000 and 10,000 years B.P. In this work the extra-continental morphological affinities of a Paleo-Indian skeleton well dated between 11,000 and 11,500 years B.P. (Lapa Vermelha IV Hominid 1, or "Luzia") is investigated, using as comparative samples Howells' (1989) world-wide modern series and Habgood's (1985) Old World Late Pleistocene fossil hominids. The comparison between Lapa Vermelha IV Hominid 1 and Howells' series was based on canonical variate analysis, including 45 size-corrected craniometric variables, while the comparison with fossil hominids was based on principal component analysis, including 16 size-corrected variables. In the first case, Lapa Vermelha IV Hominid 1 exhibited an undisputed morphological affinity firstly with Africans and secondly with South Pacific populations. In the second comparison, the earliest known American skeleton had its closest similarities with early Australians, Zhoukoudian Upper Cave 103, and Taforalt 18. The results obtained clearly confirm the idea that the Americas were first colonized by a generalized Homo sapiens population which inhabited East Asia in the Late Pleistocene, before the definition of the classic Mongoloid morphology.