Holocene occupation of the Andean highlands: A new radiocarbon chronology for the Telarmachay rockshelter (Central Andes, Peru)

Abstract

The Andean highlands challenged but did not prevent human exploration and occupation starting in the Late Pleistocene. The timing and nature of these events is an ongoing area of research and debate for which reliable chronologies are required. Our goal is to revise the chronological framework of the Telarmachay rockshelter, a key site from the Andean highlands. To achieve this objective, we have conducted a new AMS dating programme utilizing 33 camelid bone samples from 6 archaeological layers and used a Bayesian modelling approach to determine the chrono-stratigraphy. Our chronology spans a greater than 5000 year sequence dated between 9.0–8.0 and 3.7–3.1 kyr BP, permitting reassessment of the antiquity and duration of the Telarmachay occupation, facilitating comparison with other sites, and allowing examination of domestic and symbolic practices in relation to Holocene climatic variation in the Central Andes. This study highlights the importance of the Junín area in the Andean highland occupation sequence. It also underlines the need for new radiocarbon dates to reassess previous data and directly date artifacts.