Aquatic Transhumance in Nahuel Huapi: Update and Perspectives on Ancestral Navigation in North Patagonian Lakes

BRAICOVICH, ROMINA; SCARTASCINI, FEDERICO L.; CARACOTCHE, MARIA SOLEDAD; CORNEJO CAMILA

Praga

Congreso; WAC (World Archaeology Congress); 2022

Since the beginning of the 17th century Lake Nahuel Huapi has been the focus of attention and discussion in the historical, anthropological and archaeological approaches in the region. The different narratives reveal a long and diverse process of human occupation in the area and an important circulation flow between the populations that have inhabited the Argentine-Chilean North Patagonia. In this context, the practice of navigation would have been central in the way of occupying, circulating, and signifying this landscape. In this presentation we propose an update of the available archaeological information, and its re-analysis in relation to the modes of use and circulation of Nahuel Huapi Lake, considering the presence of nodes and water routes based on the distribution of boats and the archaeological and historical sites in the area. Likewise, we will integrate this information with the available data on a regional scale, considering the northern Patagonian aquatic landscapes on both sides of the Andes Mountain range. Finally, we consider and discuss the need to incorporate the lacustrine landscape perspective to the conservation and public management practices and promote a shift in the discursive and interpretive gaze to consider the diversity and scope of the views that have not yet been fully integrated.