Archean to early Neoproterozoic crustal growth of the southern South American Platform and its wide-reaching “African” origins

•Comprehensive compilation of U-Pb and Lu-Hf spot analyses in zircon.•Various basement fragments in southern South America share pre-Brasiliano similarities.•They record a long-lived Archean to Early Neoproterozoic crustal growth.•They have more similarities with African blocks than with the Rio de la Plata Craton.•Possible connections have implications for pre-Brasiliano reconstructions.