Pre-Hispanic earthwork engineering variability in the Upper Delta of the Paraná River. A comparative study between Los Tres Cerros mounds (Entre Ríos province, Argentina)

CASTIÑEIRA, C.; APOLINAIRE, E.; BLASI A.; POLITIS, G.; BONOMO, M.; MARI, F.

. Journal of Archaeological Science Reports

Elsevier

Lugar: Washington; Año: 2017 vol. 13 p. 322 - 332

2352-409X

Earthworks are one of the most distinctive archaeological features in the wetland landscapes of South America.Herein, we provide a case study from one of the southernmost expressions of this earthworking phenomenon, theParaná River Delta. In this flood-prone wetland, occupation strategies included the construction and habitationof earth-mounds and other topographically elevated areas in order to cope with deluges in a hydrometeorologicallysusceptible environment. We carried out planialtimetrical, sedimentary, bio-compositional andchronological analyses of the sedimentary matrix of two anthropogenical earthmounds, Los Tres Cerros site 1and 2, and the results were compared in order to detect similarities and differences in the overall moundbuildingprocess. Besides its temporal and spatial closeness the succession of alternating humic and charcoal enrichedlenses conforms surfaces were conditioning and maintenance activities were developed in both mounds, but theselection and sourcing of materials used in its construction presents notorious differences. Finally, we addressesthe occupational strategies that guided the pre-Hispanic human settlement in lowland areas of southern SouthAmerica and contribute to the acknowledgment of earthwork engineering variability in order to understand theevolution processes of the archaeological landscape of Los Tres Cerros archaeological locality.