Global InformationPilauco Bajo information
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 Gomphothere models in Parque Pleistocénico de Osorno, a park inspired by the findings of Pilauco Bajo. | |
  Shown within Chile | |
| Location | Southern Chile |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°34′12″S 73°06′14″W / 40.57000°S 73.10389°W |
| Type | open-air |
| History | |
| Associated with | [First American Settlers] |
| Events | Younger Dryas impact (claimed)[1] |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 2007–present |
| Archaeologists | Mario Pino Quivira (leader) and others |
| Ownership | Bienes Nacionales de Chile |
| Management | Austral University of Chile and Ilustre Municipalidad de Osorno |
| Public access | Partial |
Pilauco is a paleontological and archaeological site located in the city of Osorno in Southern Chile.[2] The site contains both human made lithic artifacts and megafauna remains–including gomphotheres.[2] All the horizons containing megafauna and evidence of human activity date to the late Pleistocene. The calibrated radiocarbon dates indicate there was human activity in the site between 16,400 and -12,800 cal years B.P.[2]
The site was claimed to contain evidence for the disputed Younger Dryas impact hypothesis.[3][1]
Most of the stone artifacts found in Pilauco are made of volcanic rock such as dacite, rhyodacite and rhyolite from the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex immediately east in the Andes. Yet these rocks were imported by humans to the site as nearby rivers have not transported it.[4]
- ^ a b This evidence include sediment layers with charcoal and pollen assemblages both indicating major disturbances as well as rare metallic spherules, and a Pt. Au and Pd peak anomaly originating from claimed to be derivative of airbursts or impacts.Pino, Mario; Abarzúa, Ana M.; Astorga, Giselle; Martel-Cea, Alejandra; Cossio-Montecinos, Nathalie; Navarro, N. Ximena; Lira, Maria Paz; Labarca, Rafael; LeCompte, Malcolm A.; Adedeji, Victor; Moore, Christopher R.; Bunch, Ted E.; Mooney, Charles; Wolbach, Wendy S.; West, Allen; Kennett, James P. (2019). "Sedimentary record from Patagonia, southern Chile supports cosmic-impact triggering of biomass burning, climate change, and megafaunal extinctions at 12.8 ka". Nature. 9 (1): 4413. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-38089-y. PMC 6416299. PMID 30867437.
- ^ a b c Navarro-Harris, X., Pino, M.; Guzmán-Marín, P. Lira, M. P. Labarca, R., Corgne, A. (2019). The procurement and use of knappable glassy volcanic raw material, Upper Pleistocene Pilauco site, Chilean Northwestern Patagonia. Geoarchaeology 1–21, DOI: 10.1002/gea.21736
- ^ Holliday, Vance; Surovell, Todd; Meltzer, David; Grayson, Donald; Boslough, Mark (2014-08-01). "The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis: A cosmic catastrophe". Journal of Quaternary Science. 29 (6): 515–530. Bibcode:2014JQS....29..515H. doi:10.1002/jqs.2724. S2CID 18644154.
- ^ Navarro-Harris, Ximena; Pino, Mario; Guzmán‐Marín, Pedro; Lira, María Paz; Labarca, Rafael; Corgne, Alexandre (2019-03-02). "The procurement and use of knappable glassy volcanic rawmaterial from the late Pleistocene Pilauco site, ChileanNorthwestern Patagonia". Geoarchaeology. 34 (5): 592–612. doi:10.1002/gea.21736.