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Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument

Coordinates: 51°33′56″S 72°37′11″W / 51.56556°S 72.61972°W / -51.56556; -72.61972
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Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument
Mylodon's Cave
LocationMagallanes Region, Chile
Coordinates51°33′56″S 72°37′11″W / 51.56556°S 72.61972°W / -51.56556; -72.61972
Governing bodyCorporación Nacional Forestal
Replica of a Mylodon inside the cave
The "Devil's Chair" at the entrance of the monumental cave
Interior of the largest cave

Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument is a Natural Monument located in the Chilean Patagonia,[1] 24 km (15 mi) northwest of Puerto Natales and 270 km (168 mi) north of Punta Arenas.

The monument is situated along the flanks of Cerro Benitez.[2] It comprises several caves and a rock formation called Silla del Diablo (Devil's Chair). The monument includes a cave which is notable for the discovery in 1895 of skin, bones and other parts of a giant ground sloth called Mylodon darwini. It is also part of the End of the World Route, a scenic touristic route.

Milodón Cave

The largest cave in the monument is the 200 metres (660 ft) long Milodón Cave. It was discovered in 1895 by Hermann Eberhard, German explorer of Patagonia. He found a large, seemingly fresh piece of skin of an unidentified animal. In 1896 the cave was explored by Otto Nordenskjöld and later it was recognized that the skin belonged to Mylodon – an extinct animal which died 10,200–13,560 years ago.

In the cave and other caves of the monument have been found remnants of other extinct animals and human remnants.

At the entrance of the monument is a life size replica of the prehistoric Mylodon, which was a very large herbivore, somewhat resembling a large bear. It became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch.

Mylodon remains

Investigations determined the survival of the Mylodon until about 5,000 years ago and confirmed the existence of other animals, such as the "Dwarf Horse" Hippidion, the saber-toothed cat Smilodon and the litoptern Macrauchenia[3]

Human remains

Diverse elements of human habitation are found[4] at Cueva del Milodón including fire-fractured rock, lithic tools and human remains. Human habitation at Cueva del Milodón is dated as early as 6000 BC.[5]

Panorama

Panoramic view from outside the cave

See also

References

  1. ^ Ciudad de Puerto Natales: Cueva del Milodon Archived 2009-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ C. Michael Hogan, Cueva del Milodon, Megalithic Portal, 13 April 2008 [1]
  3. ^ Milodón's Cave Archived 2009-07-05 at the Wayback Machine in Letsgochile.com
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ Calvin J. Heusser (2003) ‘'Ice Age Southern Andes: A Chronicle of Paleoecological Events'‘, Elsevier, 240 pages ISBN 0-444-51478-3
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