Retrospection In Phytolithic Studies In South America.

M. BREA; E. PASSEGGI

Tafi del Valle (Tucuman)

Encuentro; Tercer Encuentro Argentino de Investigaciones Fitolíticas; 2005

Universidad Nacional de Tucumán

The fírst phytolithic studies in South America were developed by Ehrenberg (XIX century). Ehrenberg elaborates the fírst morphological phytolithic classifícation from siliceous elements of vegetable and animal origin from different parís of the world, many of which come írom samples of Charles Darwin's collection. Among them, there are sediments from Monte Hermoso (Bahía Blanca), limes associated to fussil mammals (Bahía Blanca), dental pieces of a mastodon (Santa Fe) and plant roots from Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Only between 1925 and 1955, Joaquín Frenguelli mentions, for the fírst timé, the presence of gramineous silica cells in Argentinian sediments dating from the Tertiary, Quaternary and Recent periods. Later, between 1969 and 1983, Hetty Bertoldi de Pomar makes her fírst studies in the subject, which contributes to the morphological silicophytolith classifícation including a Graminae, Cyperaceae, Equisetum, Arecaceae and Podostemaceae phytolith classifícation. During those years, Renato Andreis, Luis A. Spalletti and Mario M. Mazzoni also record for the fírst time pytholiths coming from Cenozoic sediments from Patagonia. From 1990 onwards, this activiíy increased considerably. In Argentina, mere are phytholithic characterizations of Tertiary continental sedimentary sequences from San Luis, Quaternary coastal sequences and paleosoils from Tandilia range (Buenos Aires), Miocene and Pleistocene marine and continental Neogene sediments from the Paraná and Urugay basins (Entre Ríos), as well as Paleogene sediments from Patagonia. In this same period, phytolithic studies contributing to palaeoecological (Amazon basin), phytosociological (Colombian Páramo), limnological (Panamá and Uruguay lagoons), ethnobotanical (Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia) and archaelogical (Ecuador, Perú, Argentina and Uruguay) studies stand out in Latin America.