Submerged paleolandscapes: Site GNL quintero 1 (GNLQ1) and the first evidences from the pacific coast of South America

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors present research conducted on GNL Quintero 1 (GNLQ1), a Late Pleistocene paleontological submerged site located on the Pacific coast of Central Chile (32°46’S). GNLQ1, located 650 m offshore and 13 m underwater, was discovered and test excavated as part of a Cultural Resource Management (CRM) project. The authors describe the research method and strategies applied and the results obtained so far. By combining geological, geomorphological, bathymetrical, sedimentological, and paleontological data with a digital simulation model, they suggest that by c. 16,000 cal BP, a significant part of Quintero Bay was exposed and GNLQ1 would have been located several kilometers inland as the paleoshoreline was farther out on the continental shelf. In light of this new evidence they discuss the known association between extinct megafauna and early human adaptations in the area. Despite the fact that no human agency has been inferred, the similarities of the extinct faunal assemblage with prehistoric sites on land are suggestive and encourage further research. They conclude GNLQ1 provides the first unambiguous evidence that this record can survive in situ and be located through underwater investigation, thus offering insight into a submerged paleolandscape viable for human occupation and transit along the Pacific Coast of South America during the Late Pleistocene.