This paper analyses the importance of the South Central Andean High Puna megapatch, above 4000 masl, in the history of late Pleistocene exploration and colonization of the Atacama Desert, including the contrasting habitats that exist towards the hyperarid Pacific Ocean coast or the ecosystems bordering the tropical forests, on the western and eastern sides of the Andes, respectively. These ecosystems, which were firmly established by the end of the Pleistocene, are examined as key factors in the history of human peopling. The social, demographic and climate conditions associated with the peopling processes are discussed in relation to the appropriate technological, subsistence and settlement strategies developed by pioneer populations, who for their initial settlement selected highly productive patches where water and fauna converged. Based on concepts derived from metapopulation theory, all relevant archaeological paleoecological data from both sides of the Andean Cordillera are presented and discussed. It is concluded that the pioneer occupation of the high Puna megapatch was a gradual process, related to an emergent Andean human mobility system that connected a wide range of altitudinally staggered habitats. Moreover, we suggest that divergent cultural trajectories evolved since the early Holocene, affecting highland, lowland and coastal habitats.

本文分析了安第斯山脉中南部高普纳大斑块（海拔 4000 米以上）在晚更新世勘探和阿塔卡马沙漠殖民历史中的重要性，包括存在于极度干旱的太平洋海岸或与热带接壤的生态系统的对比生境分别位于安第斯山脉西侧和东侧的森林。这些生态系统在更新世末期牢固地建立起来，被视为人类历史上的关键因素。讨论了与人口聚居过程相关的社会、人口和气候条件，以及拓荒者制定的适当技术、生存和定居策略，他们最初定居时选择了水和动物群交汇的高生产力斑块。基于集合种群理论衍生的概念，介绍并讨论了安第斯山脉两侧的所有相关考古古生态数据。结论是，对普纳高地大斑块的先驱占领是一个渐进的过程，与新兴的安第斯人类流动系统有关，该系统连接了广泛的海拔交错的栖息地。此外，我们认为自全新世早期以来，不同的文化轨迹不断演变，影响着高地、低地和沿海栖息地。