Abstract We reconstruct the Holocene vegetation, climate, and archaeological history for drylands of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina, based on multiproxy analysis (plant macrofossil, pollen, and parasites) of rodent middens integrated with a database of 14C dates associated with human occupations. The local scale corresponds to the Huenul paleoecological and archaeological locality, emplaced in north-western Patagonia (Neuquen Province, Argentina). The rodent midden record from the Huenul series reflects subtle vegetation changes driven by climatic variability at millennial timescale. Drier than present environmental conditions prevailed during the early Holocene (10,500–9400 cal yr BP), peaking during the mid-Holocene (9200–5500 cal yr BP), when wetter than present conditions established during the late Holocene (4400–2500 cal yr BP). These environmental and climatic dynamics agree with other paleoclimatic records from northern Patagonia, suggesting the winter precipitation dynamics related to the Southern Westerlies as a common driver. The diachronic distribution of anthropogenic radiocarbon dates from the western area of the South American Arid Diagonal between 32°–40°S conforms to a fitted exponential model of steady background population growth, not suggesting significant demographic changes that may have been the result of the impact of climate change. This record indicates that these human populations coped successfully with aridity, particularly during the mid-Holocene. These findings reinforce the need to integrate multi-scalar interdisciplinary analyses to assess the impact of climate change in human societies.

中文翻译：

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从巴塔哥尼亚（阿根廷）西北部旱地的啮齿类动物栖息地推断出人类对全新世气候变化的适应能力

摘要 我们基于啮齿动物化石的多代理分析（植物大型化石、花粉和寄生虫）与与人类职业相关的 14C 日期数据库相结合，重建了阿根廷巴塔哥尼亚西北部旱地的全新世植被、气候和考古历史。当地规模对应于位于巴塔哥尼亚西北部（阿根廷内乌肯省）的 Huenul 古生态和考古地点。来自 Huenul 系列的啮齿类动物记录反映了千年时间尺度上气候变化驱动的微妙植被变化。在全新世早期（10,500-9400 cal yr BP），比现在更干燥的环境条件盛行，在全新世中期（9200-5500 cal yr BP）达到顶峰，当时比全新世晚期（4400-2500 cal yr BP）建立的条件更湿润BP）。这些环境和气候动态与巴塔哥尼亚北部的其他古气候记录一致，表明与南部西风带相关的冬季降水动态是一个共同的驱动因素。南美干旱对角线西部地区 32°–40°S 的人为放射性碳历时分布符合稳定背景人口增长的拟合指数模型，并未表明可能是影响结果的显着人口变化的气候变化。这一记录表明，这些人类成功地应对了干旱，特别是在全新世中期。这些发现强化了整合多尺度跨学科分析以评估气候变化对人类社会的影响的必要性。