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A chronological database of 398 dates (247 14 C dates, 148 thermoluminescence dates, and 3 obsidian hydration dates), covering the early peopling period up to the present, is presented for Southern Chile. This information is used to assess both the paleodemography, understood as human population dynamics in the past; and the “archaeo-demography”, understood as the research dynamics of archaeologists in the present, of that region. From the early peopling up to the Late Archaic, information is geographically and chronologically scarce and scattered, the exception being the coast. For this latter area, it is possible to posit the existence of an occupation hiatus extending from at least around 3400 cal BP to around 2350 cal BP. After this latter date, a regional incremental trend is evident, along with the earliest presence of ceramics, as well as evidence of probable horticultural practices. On the other hand, the coast, compared to the valley and cordillera, has been the most active area for archaeological research and dating since the 1990s. This database as a whole helps to expose research biases and current gaps, in order to improve and expand our knowledge of the long history of Southern Chile's human occupation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2007, based on direct radiocarbon dates, we presented evidence that chickens were introduced to Chile before Europeans first made contact with the New World. The pre- Columbian age of the chicken bones and their mtDNA affinities with one of two prehistoric Pacific chicken haplogroups ( E) led us to conclude that Polynesia was the most likely origin for these pre- Columbian chickens. Subsequently, the mtDNA and radiocarbon evidence provided has been applied to a range of studies and occasionally reinterpreted. This has revealed issues related to the brevity of the initial report in 2007. Here, we provide a full discussion of the evidence, including the relevant archaeological, historical and biological information necessary to provide the context for interpreting genetic analyses and understanding their implications for addressing archaeological questions. We include a comprehensive analysis of the isotope data within a geographical and temporally relevant dataset to verify the pre- Columbian age of the El Arenal chickens. In addition, we provide longer DNA sequences obtained from some of the ancient Chilean chicken remains to address objections raised by critics and to demonstrate that longer sequences do not change the observed affinities of the mtDNA sequences, nor their interpretation. In this analysis, historical information is used to critically evaluate the results of phylogenetic analyses. This comprehensive approach demonstrates that the examination of modern chicken DNA sequences does not contribute to our understanding of the origins of Chile's earliest chickens. Interpretations based on poorly sourced and documented modern chicken populations, divorced from the archaeological and historical evidence, do not withstand scrutiny. Instead, this expanded account will confirm the pre- Columbian age of the El Arenal remains and lend support to our original hypothesis that their appearance in South America is most likely due to Polynesian contact with the Americas in prehistory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two issues long debated among Pacific and American prehistorians are (11 whether there was a pre-Columbian introduction of chicken (Gallus gallus) to the Americas and (ii) whether Polynesian contact with South America might be identified archaeologically, through the recovery of remains of unquestionable Polynesian origin. We present a radiocarbon date and an ancient DNA sequence from a single chicken bone recovered from the archaeological site of El Arenal-1, on the Arauco Peninsula, Chile. These results not only provide firm evidence for the pre-Columbian introduction of chickens to the Americas, but strongly suggest that it was a Polynesian introduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]