By By Karen Graham Oct 25, 2014 in Science Evidence of the very earliest and highest ice age settlement in the world has been unearthed in the Peruvian Andes recently. The site was found at an elevation almost 14,700 feet (4,500 meters) above sea level, and dates to 12,400 years ago. University of Calgary archaeologist Sonia Zarrillo (right) is pictured here at a research site in a Peruvian rock shelter. She is accompanied by Peter Leach, one of her co-authors for a new paper to be published in the Oct. 24 edition of the academic journal Science. Walter Beckwith The finding of the stone tool littered campground at 14,700 feet above sea level has shed new light on the extremes humans have gone to in inhabiting their world. The sites also leave questions about man's The main site, Cuncaicha, is a rock shelter found at 14,700 feet above sea level. It had a stone workshop below it. A second site was located at 14,300 feet elevation with a Pucuncho workshop where stone tools were made. According to The archaeological findings at Cuncaicha and Pucuncho Signs of The Pucuncho archaeological site revealed 260 formal tools, such as projectile points, nondiagnostic bifaces and unifacial scrapers. KURT RADEMAKER A partly caved in soot-stained ceiling at the Pucuncho Basin site revealed a cook fire had been used, evidenced by the animal bones strewn about. The North facing location of the settlement gave an expansive view of the world. Rademaker, while exploring the site discovered two obsidian quarry sites. Obsidian was highly prized for making sharp-edged tools. The adaptability of man to extremes of climate and elevation The high mountain ranges of the Andes of South America, the Himalayas of Asia, and the Ethiopian plateau of Africa are among the last and worst places for High elevations, bitter cold and the threat of hypoxia made trekking into the mountains of Peru dangerous for early man. Christopher Michel - peru Paleoindians were the first to cross Beringia into the Americas from Asia. Living above the tree line with little or no wood for fires and no plants to eat led to the belief people shied away from living in higher elevations until at least 10,000 to 11,500 years ago in South America. Rademaker doubts people lived there year-round, pointing out "These and other sites are changing our understanding of when and how quickly humans first populated South America," says archaeologist Claudio Javier Patané Aráoz of Argentina's What is particularly interesting about the findings is the interest they have raised over man's ability to adapt quickly to harsh environments. “These people were more capable than we thought they were,” Rademaker says. The findings suggest that Paleoindians were risking their lives living in these high elevations under reduced oxygen levels before genetic mutations had taken place to help them survive. "Was this adaptation present 12,400 years ago? We don't know for certain," says Zarrillo. "What we're demonstrating is that these people either already developed that adaptation, or, it was possible for them to live in these altitudes for extended periods of time regardless. Finding this out is one of the goals of our future research." A lot of questions are left unanswered. How did humans manage such punishing elevations? And did genetic mutations occur over many generations, or did it happen more quickly? It is worth further study, especially in lieu of climate change going on today. The findings were published in the journal Science on Oct. 24, 2014. Co-authored by a team of researchers including University of Calgary archaeologist Sonia Zarrillo and glacial geologist and archaeologist Kurt Rademaker, with the University of Maine, the study described two open-air sites in the Pucuncho Basin, located in the Southern Peruvian Andes.The finding of the stone tool littered campground at 14,700 feet above sea level has shed new light on the extremes humans have gone to in inhabiting their world. The sites also leave questions about man's adaptability to extreme environments and the role played by our genetic make-up in learning to adapt to unusual circumstances. Based on the findings, the Southern Andes sites were inhabited 2,000 years after the first Paleoindians arrived in South America.The main site, Cuncaicha, is a rock shelter found at 14,700 feet above sea level. It had a stone workshop below it. A second site was located at 14,300 feet elevation with a Pucuncho workshop where stone tools were made. According to ScienceDaily , says that based on the archaeological evidence, "Cuncaicha was occupied about 12.4 to 11.5 thousand years ago while the Pucuncho workshop site dates to around 12.8 to 11.5 thousand years ago."Signs of human habitation included skull fragments, animal remains and stone tools. "Hunters passing through an area will take the meat back to campsites and leave the carcass in the field," says Zarrillo. "In Cuncaicha we found remains representing whole animals, indicating they were living close to where the animals were killed. And the types of stone tools we've found are not only hunting tools but also scraping tools used for processing hides to make things like clothing, bags or blankets."A partly caved in soot-stained ceiling at the Pucuncho Basin site revealed a cook fire had been used, evidenced by the animal bones strewn about. The North facing location of the settlement gave an expansive view of the world. Rademaker, while exploring the site discovered two obsidian quarry sites. Obsidian was highly prized for making sharp-edged tools. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal and animal bones found at the sites indicated that Paleo-Indian hunters had occupied the sites as early as 12,800 years ago.The high mountain ranges of the Andes of South America, the Himalayas of Asia, and the Ethiopian plateau of Africa are among the last and worst places for human settlement. Humans risk suffering and even death from hypoxia, or lack of oxygen. The bitter cold nights and high solar radiation are not conducive to healthy living.Paleoindians were the first to cross Beringia into the Americas from Asia. Living above the tree line with little or no wood for fires and no plants to eat led to the belief people shied away from living in higher elevations until at least 10,000 to 11,500 years ago in South America. Rademaker doubts people lived there year-round, pointing out the rainy season from December to March. “You’re cold,” he said. “You’re being rained on and snowed on and sleeted on all day long. It makes for misery.” He thinks the encampments were used during the hunting season when animals were plentiful."These and other sites are changing our understanding of when and how quickly humans first populated South America," says archaeologist Claudio Javier Patané Aráoz of Argentina's Universidad Nacional de Córdoba . And Araoz highlights the importance of the discovery, saying in an email, "It can be argued strongly that these human groups arrived in the final Pleistocene times, moving and occupying different environments quickly."What is particularly interesting about the findings is the interest they have raised over man's ability to adapt quickly to harsh environments. “These people were more capable than we thought they were,” Rademaker says. The findings suggest that Paleoindians were risking their lives living in these high elevations under reduced oxygen levels before genetic mutations had taken place to help them survive."Was this adaptation present 12,400 years ago? We don't know for certain," says Zarrillo. "What we're demonstrating is that these people either already developed that adaptation, or, it was possible for them to live in these altitudes for extended periods of time regardless. Finding this out is one of the goals of our future research."A lot of questions are left unanswered. How did humans manage such punishing elevations? And did genetic mutations occur over many generations, or did it happen more quickly? It is worth further study, especially in lieu of climate change going on today. More about peruvian andes, ice age settlement, Adaptation, extreme altitudes, earliest and highest More news from peruvian andes ice age settlement Adaptation extreme altitudes earliest and highest genetic adaptation