On the coexistence of man and extinct Pleistocene megafauna at Gruta del Indio (Argentina)

Abstract

New excavations and new 14C dates at the Gruta del Indio shelter in the central Argentinean Andes show that the dung layer of the site is much thicker towards the front of the site than near the rock wall. This yields a longer chronology for the dung deposit; thus, the upper boundary would date to about 9000 14C yr BP. The new measurements lengthen the possible time of the coexistence of man and extinct Pleistocene megafauna in the area, since ∼1400 cal yr is much longer than previously thought (Long et al. 1998). Nevertheless, coexistence does not imply interaction, which still is not evident.