Patagonia Costa has a rich archaeological and cultural heritage. Here is located Monte Verde, the oldest known human settlement in the Americas, dated to at least 14,500 years ago.
Almost equally astonishing are the numerous shell middens and fishing corrals along the entire coastal edge of the Reloncaví Sound, remnants of indigenous groups that inhabited this area about 6,000 years ago.
A rich archaeological heritage
Monte Verde
Este sitio arqueológico, localizado a 28 kilómetros al oeste de Puerto Montt, a orillas del estero Chinchihuapi, fue descubierto azarosamente por trabajadores agrícolas en 1970.
Seven years later, scientists led by American anthropologist Tom Dillehay took charge of studying this area in depth. They found arrowheads, hearths, medicinal herbs, remains of a gomphothere, a type of awning, a knot, and a human footprint, among other surprising findings that indicated a semi-sedentary and highly technologically advanced group for a late Pleistocene culture.
Tests conducted dated the site to 14.500 years ago, causing a radical shift in the prevailing theories about the settlement of the Americas, and it remains the oldest known, human settlement on the continent to date..
Pichiquillaipe
In the Pichiquillaipe area, from the south of Quillaipe Island to the point of the same name along the coastal edge, there are fishing corrals that were constructed by the first modern inhabitants of the area and date back more than 100 years. Shell middens are also visible on the second marine terrace, a place that was occupied by canoeist and pottery-making groups at different times in pre-Columbian history.
Piedra Azul Shell Midden
This shell midden was discovered at the beginning of the century during paving work on the Austral Road.
According to scientists, it corresponds to a base camp with six occupations by canoeist groups who were hunters, fishers, and gatherers. The first culture settled at the site was dated to approximately 6,400 to 6,200 years ago , which is why Piedra Azul is recognized as one of the most important archaeological sites after Monte Verde.
During the excavations, wooden utensils, remains of two hearths, stone knives, and the bodies of four children aged between 3 and 6 months were found.
"Bosque fósil de Punta Pelluco"
Nature Sanctuary
Between Pelluco and Coihuín, 5 km southeast of Puerto Montt, lies the "Punta Pelluco Fossil Forest" Nature Sanctuary.
Over 100 fossilized remains of larch and Guaitecas cypress make up this paleobotanical site that is nearly 50,000 years old. Scientists presume that this forest was buried by the ashes of a Pleistocene volcanic eruption, with the bases of its trunks (stumps) and their extensive roots surviving.
The remains of the trunks are visible only at low tide..