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The main goal of this paper is to review the earliest archaeological evidence for the presence of humans in Fuego-Patagonia. The paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic framework is briefly introduced, followed by a discussion of its relevance to understanding the exploration and colonization of Fuego-Patagonia. Technological and faunal evidence from a number of sites from the southern extreme older than 10,000 B.P. is analyzed. This leads to the conclusion that an early entry, at least 12,000 years old, appears best to accommodate the available chronological evidence. On the other hand, data from the Northern fringes of Patagonia clearly suggest an earlier human colonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the preliminary conclusions of regionally oriented research that addresses the perceived lack of focus on the surrounding archaeological landscapes of Patagonia by including a focus on open-air sites as well as for distributional data on archaeological, taphonomic and lithic raw materials. The region of southern Patagonia that was investigated is the upper portion of the Santa Cruz Basin, including Lago Rico and Largo Argentino. It is proposed that the people using the area during the past 4,000 radiocarbon years were broad-ranging, reaching the Pacific coast. Preliminary research on the lithic artifacts from north and south of the Santa Cruz River provide no important typological, distributional or technological differences.