Short Communication High resolution AMS 14 C dates for late Pleistocene Fishtail technology from the Tigre site, Uruguay river basin, South America Rafael Su  arez Universidad de la República, Departamento de Arqueología, Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educaci on, Avenida Uruguay 1695, CP 11.200, Montevideo, Uruguay article info Article history: Received 22 January 2019 Received in revised form 6 April 2019 Accepted 7 April 2019 Available online 17 April 2019 Keywords: Peopling of America Fishtail points Pleistocene 14 C dates Paleoamerican technology Uruguay river basin South America abstract The basin of the Uruguay middle river has contributed important advances related to knowledge of the early settlement of southeastern South America. This paper presents recent progress of the research on the Paleoamerican period that is being carried out in the Tigre site (Uruguay), where a cultural component with Fishtail points, bifaces, preforms and other artifacts dated at ~ 12,800 and 12,200 cal BP was found. The presence of silicified limestone (silcrete) in the Tigre site indicates mobility ranges of 190 e350 km to obtain this lithic resource. The data presented here allow to have an accurate discussion of the chronological period occupied by Fishtail groups on the plains of Uruguay; and to recognize the late stages of the Fishtail point manufacturing process used by these human groups, one of the most suc- cessful adaptations during the end of the Pleistocene in South America. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Fishtail points considered by archaeologists to be a diagnostic artifact of the human groups that occupied vast geographic regions and diverse ecosystems in South America at the end of the Pleis- tocene. The distribution of the Fishtail points in the Southern Cone includes archaeological sites from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific Ocean. Although these artifacts are recorded from Central America (Acosta-Ochoa et al., 2019) to the southernmost point of the continent in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego (Borrero, 1999; Massone, 2004); their distribution in South America indicates concentrations in Uruguay, the Pampa, Meseta Central Patag onica (Argentina) and South of Patagonia (Chile) (Miotti, 1995; Mazzanti, 1997; Su arez, 2000, 2017; Flegenheimer et al., 2013, 2017; M endez, 2015; Martin et al., 2019). In the Southern Cone, there are various social landscapes (Uruguay, the Pampa, North and South Patagonia) that have been suggested as “regional Fishtail activity centers” (Su arez, 2017:190). One of the main features of the Fishtail points of Uruguay is a great diversity of shapes, morphologies, and manufacturing pro- cesses (Fig. 1). These artifacts have been recorded and published based on surface findings from the late nineteenth century, throughout the 20th century, and the beginning of the 21st century. Altogether, a relatively high number of Fishtail points (n ¼ 150) have been recorded in superficial sites (Figueira, 1892; Cordero, 1960; Meneghin, 1977; Bosch et al., 1980; Hilbert, 1991; Politis, 1991; Su arez, 2000, 2003; 2006, 2015; 2017 , 2019; Nami, 2001). However, there is only one previous record of Fishtail points from archaeological excavations with chronological controls in Uruguay (Meneghin, 2004, 2015); therefore the data presented here from the Tigre site has special relevance at the local and regional level. Previously, three radiocarbon dates were known for the Urupez site, associated with Fishtail points, that indicated ages of 10,800 14 C BP (~12,700 cal BP) (n ¼ 2; Beta 380727- Beta 381967) and 10,690 14 C BP (~12,575 cal BP) (n ¼ 1; Beta 165076) (Meneghin, 2015). The Tigre site (K87) is located on one of the most important fluvial watercourses in South America, the Uruguay River (Fig. 2). The valleys of the major rivers like the Uruguay River, where sig- nificant concentrations of resources (tool stone, game animals, food, wood, water, etc.) could be found, were the main routes of entry, dispersal, and communication for the early explorers who ventured into the interior of the continent (Miotti, 2006; Su arez, 2011a, 2011b, 2015, 2017). On the Uruguay middle River, between E-mail addresses: rsuarez@fhuce.edu.uy, suarezrafael23@gmail.com. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary Science Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quascirev https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.04.009 0277-3791/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Quaternary Science Reviews 213 (2019) 155e161