LAUSR

Abstract Thirty-two radiocarbon dates obtained from four archaeological sites in the southern Andean Range of Ecuador are presented in order to contribute toward filling existing chronological and interpretive gaps regarding human occupations in highland South America, mainly during the late Pleistocene to early Holocene transition. These radiocarbon dates, together with nine other dates previously obtained for the studied area, were submitted to significance tests analyses to assess which of them are statistically similar at the intra- and inter-site scales. Pooled mean ages and respective clusters of dates were combined with isolated dates of studied sites, and with artifactual data aiming at producing some initial interpretations regarding micro-regional human dynamics for southern highland Ecuador through time. In the studied area of ~55 km2 diverse anthropogenic scenarios directly linked with proposed chronological stages are briefly described. These activities suggest that local and micro-regional human interaction dynamics were consistent, continuous, and complex through time from 12,000 cal. BP onward.