Plant consumption practices at the usnu of El Shincal de Quimivil Inka site, pcia de Catamarca, Argentina

CAPPARELLI AYLEN; COUSO GUILLERMINA; CREMONTE BEATRIZ

Cordoba

Congreso; International Congress of Ethnobotany; 2014

Real Jardín Botanico de Cordoba

The aim of this study is to elucidate vegetable consumption practices related to a ceremonial platform (usnu)at the Inka site of El Shincal de Quimivil , one of the most important inka centers of northwestern Argentina. Consumption practices in general, as well as those of plants in particular, determine one of the main criteria for human selection both in relation to the target species and the patterns of processing them. However, since consumption means in most cases the intake of culinary preparations, practices related to it are difficult to reveal in archaeobotany. The study approach from an enlarged conception of commensality, where the action of feeding is linked not only to the survival of living organisms but the redefinition of dead ancestors and deities, has yielded information relevant to this work. This was done through the implementation of a multi-way analysis. First emphasis was placed on the study of the archaeobotanical record both macroremains obtained by flotation technique as microremains recovered by scraping into ceramic sherds Furthermore, morphofunctional analysis and identification of constituting components of those ceramic samples were also carried out. Among the most important results of the present work are the finding of a vegetable mix prepared from Phaseolus and Capsicum in a still undetermined matrix. The ceremonial function of the usnu as a symbol of the inka rule in the provinces of the Empire is supported by its architecture and findings. In this sense, it is stated that within the usnu contextual analysis the mix preparation of Phaseolus and Capsicum may be interpreted as a ritual offering. It is noted that a concept of extended commensality, such as that employed here, brought up information related to consumption practices, not concerned with subsistence per se but with feeding elements closely linked to regional cosmogonies.