Environmental stability in the High Andes of Argentina across the 4.2 ka event

Bibliographic Data

ID19312742
AuthorsJulio Kulemeyer (Instituto de Datación y Arqueometría), Julio J Kulemeyer (corresponding author), C Solı́s (0000-0003-0337-2398, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), María Rodríguez Ceja (0000-0002-2774-2608, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), María Gabriela Franco (Instituto de Datación y Arqueometría), Gonzalo R Torres (0000-0003-2484-7428, Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán), Jonatan Veliz (Instituto de Datación y Arqueometría), Elizabeth Pereira (Instituto de Datación y Arqueometría), Liliana Lupo (Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán)
Year2026
Volume68
Issue4
Pages1-11
Publication date2026-04-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRadiocarbon (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-8222 • E-ISSN: 1945-5755
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/rdc.2026.10211
OpenAlexW7155173428
LanguageEN
References cited26

The Holocene clastic and organic sediments from the La Falda section (northern Puna, Argentina), covering the late Northgrippian to early Meghalayan periods, were analyzed. These sediments contain abundant plant macrofossils and microfossils, including leaves and stems attributed to Cyperaceae and Poaceae, as well as pollen. Charcoal is also present in significant amounts. The analysis of these remains provides insights into past environmental and climatic conditions. Our results suggest that palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes during this period were relatively minor, with a clear trend of geomorphological stability. Geochronological data, based on 15 radiocarbon dates, confirm through a depth-age model that no major erosion or accumulation events occurred between 4750 and 3450 cal BP

Charcoal · Clastic rock · Climate change · Holocene · Macrofossil · Paleoclimatology · Peat · Period (music) · Radiocarbon dating · Sedimentology · Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research