Some authors have postulated that mid-Holocene eruptions of Cerro Blanco impacted human communities in the region. Tephra deposits in the Formative Period archaeological site of Palo Blanco in the Bolsón de Fimabalá have been attributed to Cerro Blanco, as is a tephra layer in an archeological site close to Antofagasta de la Sierra. The eruptions of Cerro Blanco may - together with more local seismic activity - be responsible for the low population density of the Fiambalá region, Chaschuil valley and western Tinogasta Department during the Archaic period between 10,000 and 3,000 years ago. The 4.2 kiloyear event occurred at the same time; it may be in some way related to the Cerro Blanco eruption.