Intensification in contrasting desert: Archaeological Trends from Central Western Argentina

NEME, G; GIL, A; GIARDINA, M.; OTAOLA, C.; LLANO, C. ; CORBAT, M.

MEMPHIS

Congreso; 77TH ANNUAL MEETING SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY; 2012

SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY

Central western Argentina (between 32º-38º SL) present significant environmental variability which was scantly considered in the explanation of human-environment interaction. Three different desert (Monte, Patagonia and Altoandino) characterize the regional ecosystems, base on the taxonomic vegetation distribution. Theses deserts are spatially very close between them and has differences in the precipitation pattern and in the other climatic variable (e.g. temperature). The area was inhabited historically by two different ethnographic groups with significantly differences in their subsistence. The area is considered the prehispanic south American boundary of Andean farming production and had an strong influence in the research design as a real boundary between the archaeological record too. This paper explores the subsistence and diet variability in this area using archaeofaunal, archaeobotanical and stable isotope information from the last 5000 years. The faunal and archaeobotanical record shows differences in the diet breadth through time and between environments (basically highland vs. lowland). All of this data are used to explain the expansion of farming in the region.