Hippidion-saldiasi Roth, 1899 (Equidae, Perissodactyla), at the Piedra Museo Site (Santa Cruz, Argentina):: Its implication for the regional economy and environmental reconstruction

Hippidion saldiasi remains from the Peidra Museo site are studied and compared with the remains from other archeological sites of the Extra-Andean Patagonia region (Argentina). The remains come form a level dated between 12,890 +/- 90 (AA-20125 AMS) and 10.400 +/- 80 years BP (AA-8428 AMS), representing the earliest human occupation in Extra-Andean Argentine Patagonia. H. Saldiasi presents a particular morphology of the limb bones that suggests an adaptation to a humid environment with soft soil. Preliminary data support the hypothesis that the horse was a more important resource than previously thought in the hunter-gatherer economy.