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Since the mid‐20th century, the so‐called Great Acceleration (sensu Steffen et al., 2007, https://doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447(2007)36[614:TAAHNO]2.0.CO;2) has amplified processes of ecosystem degradation, extinction of biological species, displacement of local peoples, losses of languages, and cultural diversity. These losses are still underperceived by the academic community, and by a global society that is disconnected from biocultural diversity. To reconnect society with biocultural diversity, we integrate temporal and spatial dimensions of seasonal cycles, by combining two conceptual frameworks: ecological calendars and the "3Hs" model of the biocultural ethic (sensu Rozzi, 2012, https://doi.org/10.5840/enviroethics20123414). The latter values the vital links between human and other‐than‐human co‐inhabitants, their life habits (e.g., cultural practices of humans or life cycles of other‐than‐human species), and the structure and processes of their shared habitats. This integration enhances an understanding of links between cultural practices and the life cycles of biocultural keystone species. As a synthesis, we use the term biocultural calendars to emphasize their co‐constitutive nature that result from interactions between dynamic biophysical and cultural processes embedded in specific ecosystems and cultures. These calendars link astronomical, biological, and cultural seasonal cycles that sustain life and enhance the integration of Indigenous and scientific knowledge to confront challenges of climate change faced from local to global scales. To illustrate this integration, we examine cultural practices and socio‐environmental changes across four contrasting ethnolinguistic communities in southwestern South America, from southern to northern Chile along a marked climatic gradient to show the broad application of the concept of biocultural calendars. Plain Language Summary: We combine ecological calendars and the biocultural ethic. The first refers to natural or seasonal calendars and focuses on the temporal scale of life cycles and other ecological phenomena observed at a given place. The second emphasizes the vital links among human and non‐human co‐inhabitants, their habits (e.g., cultural practices of humans or life cycles of other‐than‐human species) in shared habitats (the "3Hs" of the biocultural ethic). Close observation of biological and cultural diversity, and their interrelationships (in short, biocultural diversity), synchronizes cultural practices with natural processes at specific places. This synchrony is particularly relevant in the context of climate change because by being locally attuned, communities enhance their capacity to adapt their activities to the variability of temperature, rainfall, and other climatic events. In this article we use the term biocultural calendars to more closely understand the links between different life habits in contrasting habitats and annual seasons. In this way, biocultural calendars provide an understanding of biological and cultural heterogeneity in different seasons and regions of the world that can help us adapt to a rapidly changing world. Key Points: Biocultural calendars are co‐constitutively generated through interactions between dynamic biophysical and cultural processesThe biocultural ethic's 3Hs model values the vital links among human and other‐than‐human co‐inhabitants, their habits, and shared habitatsBiocultural calendars are based on seasonal cycles of keystone species that are part of communities of co‐inhabitants [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios Atacameños is the property of Estudios Atacamenos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Chilena de Antropologia is the property of Universidad de Chile and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Estudios Atacameños is the property of Estudios Atacamenos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Examines the equestrian rock art in the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile. Meaning and context of equestrian images; Influence of Apostle Santiago on Andean cultures; Argument on the incorporation of equestrian iconography into rock art; Impact of Spanish colonization on rock images.

Camelid caravans have played a key role in the complex systems of interregional social interaction that characterizes Andean history. In the northernmost region of Chile, the most frequent archaeological indicators of these caravan systems are trails and rock art images. Cruces de Molinos (LL-43), a rock art site in the Lluta valley, 1100 masl, 40 km from the Pacific littoral, expands the ceremonial role of rock art sites, materialized, not only as regards the iconography portrayed and alluding to these practices, but also in terms of articulated carcass remains and detached anatomical units of camelids, intentionally deposited in a cache beneath one of the engraved blocks. This paper analyzes the site considering the visual imagery, spatial location, archaeological deposits and features associated with rock art. Based on the predominance of camelid and caravan motifs in rock art images, the extraordinary setting and location of the site on the valley's upper slopes, which is far removed from local settlements, but closely connected with a llama caravan trade network linking the chaupiyunga ecozone with the highlands (sierra and Altiplano ecozones), we suggest that Cruces de Molinos was not a rest stop for caravanners, but a ceremonial place, and not for local farmers, but for highland herders. According to seven accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates that place the occupation between cal. 1060–1190 CE in the Late Intermediate period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pacific Ocean that flanks the hyperarid Atacama Desert of Northern Chile is one of the richest biomass producers around the world. Thus, it is considered a key factor for the subsistence of prehistoric societies (including mixed-economy groups), that inhabited its coastal ecosystems as well as the neighboring inland areas. This study assesses the Arica Culture groups' diet (Late Intermediate Period; 1000–1530 CE), through stable isotope (on bone-collagen; δ13C and δ15N) and dental pathology data. Seventy-seven (n = 77) individuals from two inland (LLU54 and AZ8) and one coastal (CAM8) archaeological sites were studied. Results show an important, but lower than predicted by earlier studies, contribution of marine resources in the diet of all three groups. Dental pathologies and stable isotopes indicate that these groups' diet varied in correlation with their distance to the Pacific Ocean as well as group and individual preferences. The results challenge the idea that Arica Culture groups depended heavily on marine resources for their subsistence. In contrast, this study shows both that the Arica Culture groups' diet was diverse, and that the terrestrial resources consumed were mostly contributed by C 3 /CAM plants instead of maize. • LIP groups (Atacama Desert, northern Chile), ate mostly marine food-sources, but at a lower rate than previously described. • For LIP groups the most important terrestrial food sources were C 3 /CAM plants and not maize. • Future assessments of maize's dietary role must include bone apatite and cholesterol fractions analyzes. • LIP groups' diet varied due to environmental (distance to the coast) and socio-cultural factors (individual/group tastes). • LIP graves are rich in agriculture-related items, which reflects their social value and not their base-economy role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal archaeological communities were exposed to numerous risks associated with living in their liminal environment. Many of the problems faced by these populations have been recorded and interpreted through their skeletal remains, but death by drowning in saltwater is not easy to recognise and as such is invariably either ignored, inferred, or discounted as a possible cause of death. Here we develop and test an enhanced microscopic marine fingerprinting methodology to determine the death by drowning of a ∼5000 year old coastal hunter-gatherer from the hyperarid coast of northern Chile. Through the application of this forensic method, we were able to detect the presence of a range of exogenous microscopic material that allows us to postulate his death because of drowning in the nearshore environment. This methodology has the potential to greatly enrich our understanding of past human-environment interactions not only in northern Chile but also around the world's coastlines. How pervasive was drowning in prehistory particularly along an active, tectonic margin exposed to palaeotsunamis and extreme ENSO-related palaeostorms? • Skeletal remains of a ∼5000 year old fisherman found in a coastal mass burial. • Modified 'Diatom Test' performed on bone marrow of large bones. • Exogenous microscopic material indicates death by drowning. • Microscopic mineral grain size range indicates no contamination of bone marrow. • Combined archaeological and geological data indicated nearshore drowning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]