Discordant Ages Related to Reservoir Effect of Associated Archaeologic Remains from the Tunel Site, Beagle Channel, Argentine Republic

Abstract

Evidence of a tradition of human maritime adaptation was recovered from various sites at Beagle Channel dating back to ca 6000 yr BP. Final occupations date to European settlement in the 19th century. The Túnel site exhibits discontinuous human occupation ranging from 6000 to 500 yr BP, represented by different archaeologic remains in each layer. Associated charcoal, mollusk shells, and Lama guanicoe and Arctocephalus australis bones were dated. Shells and Arctocephalus are consistently older than charcoal, demonstrating the reservoir effect at Beagle Channel. Results encourage further work in the area to evaluate the spatial and temporal magnitude of the effect.