PALEOENVIRONMENT AND ANTHRACOLOGY: DETERMINATION OF VARIATIONS IN HUMIDITY BASED ON ANATOMICAL CHARACTERS IN ARCHEALOGICAL PLANT CHARCOAL

MARCONETTO M.B.

JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE

ACADEMIC PRESS LTD-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2010 p. 1186 - 1191

0305-4403

<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:ES-AR; mso-fareast-language:EN-GB; layout-grid-mode:line;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> Anatomical features related to water deficiency were analyzed in archaeological plant charcoal as a paleoenvironmental indicator. The end of the Aguada settlements in the Valley of Ambato (Catamarca, Argentina), which took place towards the end of the first millennium of this era, was used as the case study.  Tools from Ecological Anatomy were applied to recreate a paleoenvironmental scenery for the studied processes. The results of the analyses showed that this area must have been undergoing a period of arid conditions during the studied period.