Abstract

The re-excavation of the Baño Nuevo-1 cave in the eastern Andean foothills at Aisen (Central Chilean Patagonia; 45°S) has yielded the skeletal remains of five human individuals. Two of them were complete and preserved well enough to infer not only basic characteristics (i.e. sex, age), but also some observations related to health and activity patterns. The other three skeletons, correspond to newborns, are fragmented and generally, in poor condition.. However, they do share the same stratigraphic position as the adults, as well as some of the same funerary patterns such as the association with canid bones and plant remains, which suggest that all five individuals correspond to the same chronology and "cultural system". The main difference between the adult and newborn skeletons is that the former are covered by stone piles. This observation, complemented by other recorded evidence, suggests that the construction of funerary stone piles took place earlier in Central Patagonia than further south. In Southern Patagonia, funerary stone piles (commonly called "chenques") are never found in caves and are associated with late occupations. Other relatively early funerary traits in Southern Patagonia (i.e. collective inhumation, use of ochre and cremation) are unknown in Central Patagonia.© 2007 Universidad de Tarapacá.