Archaeological research in the middle Uruguay River basin. Contributions for the characterization of the paleoenvironmental scenarios during the Late Holocene

Abstract

This paper focuses on the assessment of recent data recovered in both margins of the middle Uruguay River basin. The new information was generated from fieldwork and laboratory analyses concerning the spatial distribution of lithic, pottery and other archaeological remains, chronological data, and fluvial landform evolution. This research aims to update our knowledge of fluvial human adaptations in Southern South America. The recovered cultural materials allowed us to support the characterization of the area as a node of distribution of objects and ideas, and of circulation and consumption of cultural materials during Late Holocene. We also contribute to the characterization of the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic dynamics in the Paraná-Uruguay basin through the interpretation of sedimentological, microbiological, and chronological data from the fluvial sedimentary sequences developed during the Late Holocene.