Abstract The Cueva del Milodon (CdM, southern Chile), has been explored repeatedly since the end of the 19th century. Many institutions in the world house specimens from CdM, standing out the mylodontid sloths. Until now, 36 14C measurements were performed on these remains using equivalent methodologies, Gas Proportional Counter (GPC), Liquid Scintillation Counting (LSC) and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS). The goals of this work are to review published dates, report two new radiocarbon dates made by us, and discuss the occurrence of the mylodonts in southernmost South America in a glacial context and its possible coexistence with humans. Among the published 16 direct (hair, skin, bone) and 20 indirect (excrement) 14C dates, 13 and 18 are considered here as reliable, respectively. Dates considered unreliable presented several issues (transcription errors, duplicate dates, misidentified samples, etc.), being excluded from the analysis to avoid further misunderstandings. Two new 14C dates performed by us on pieces housed in the Museo de La Plata (skin - AMS) and (bone - LSC) were added, making a total of 33 valid dates. A remarkable amplitude in the radiocarbon ages of the mylodont remains in CdM is evidenced, showing a range of values from ∼14,000 BP to ∼9800 BP, since upper Pleistocene (“Tarantian”) to early Holocene (Greenlandian). However, the direct dates of maximum confidence available show a strong modal representation in the Upper Pleistocene. Climate evidence available for this period indicates a complex interplay of deglaciation and brief cold reversals, but suggests that mylodonts could take advantage of their dense fur and thick skin, large body mass and suitability to live in caves to prosper in such cold and humid environments. Finally, evidence supporting coexistence of mylodonts and humans is briefly discussed.

中文翻译：

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分配给在智利 Cueva del Milodón 发现的 mylodontids (Xenarthra - Folivora) 的化石记录的放射性碳日期

摘要 Cueva del Milodon（CdM，智利南部）自 19 世纪末以来一直被反复探索。世界上的许多机构都收藏了来自 CdM 的标本，在 mylodontid 树懒中脱颖而出。迄今为止，已使用等效方法、气体比例计数器 (GPC)、液体闪烁计数 (LSC) 和加速器质谱 (AMS) 对这些遗骸进行了 36 次 14C 测量。这项工作的目标是审查已公布的日期，报告我们制作的两个新的放射性碳日期，并讨论在冰川背景下南美洲最南端的mylodonts 的发生及其与人类共存的可能性。在已发表的 16 个直接（头发、皮肤、骨骼）和 20 个间接（排泄物）14C 日期中，这里分别认为 13 和 18 是可靠的。被认为不可靠的日期存在几个问题（转录错误、重复日期、错误识别的样本等），被排除在分析之外以避免进一步的误解。我们在拉普拉塔博物馆 (Museo de La Plata) (皮肤 - AMS) 和 (骨头 - LSC) 的作品上添加了两个新的 14C 日期，总共有 33 个有效日期。从上更新世（“塔兰蒂安”）到全新世早期（格陵兰），在 CdM 中残留的髓齿类动物的放射性碳年龄有显着的振幅，显示出从 ~14,000 BP 到 ~9800 BP 的值范围。然而，可用的最大可信度的直接日期显示出上更新世的强模态表征。这一时期可用的气候证据表明冰川消融和短暂的冷逆转之间存在复杂的相互作用，但表明，mylodonts 可以利用它们浓密的皮毛和厚厚的皮肤、庞大的体重和适合生活在洞穴中的优势，在如此寒冷和潮湿的环境中茁壮成长。最后，简要讨论了支持 mylodonts 和人类共存的证据。