Trees in the conformation of relational landscapes in the north of Mendoza (Central Western Argentina) from the Pre-Hispanic period to the modern day

LUIS MAFFERRA; AMUEDO CLAUDIA

Nature(s) in construction: ethnobiology in the confluence of actors, territories and disciplines

Springer

Año: 2023; p. 1 - 22

The case of the current forest landscape of northern Mendoza is characterised by the fragmentation between irrigated and non-irrigated spaces and by a type of socio-environmental relationship typical of modernity. With this problem in mind, we propose to reassemble the biography of this landscape, based on a synthesis of archaeobotanical (especially anthracological), historical, and ethnographic data. For this purpose, we identify case studies where it is possible to recognise a relative stability in the articulation of forest formations, stakeholder networks, and modes of inhabiting (settlement and production modes, water management, among others). Thus, we characterise specific environmental collectives for the Pre-Hispanic (1-1561 CE), Colonial (1561-1861), and Modern (1861-1980) cases. In these, we analyse the way in which firewood was used and the availability of woody plants in the context of the modes of inhabiting associated with each collective. We also consider how trees have been perceived and intertwined in political, economic, and ethnic orders. Finally, we return to the discussion of the present case and conclude that a more thorough recognition of the historical character of the shaping of the forest landscape allows us to discuss the categories and relational orders from which it is understood in order to begin to imagine alternatives to the environmental challenges of the region.