Agropastoralism, water and environment: an archaeological case study from Antofagasta de la Sierra (Southern Argentine Puna)

GRANT JENNIFER; GRANA LORENA

Reading

Workshop; TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL WETLAND ECOSYSTEMS - DEVELOPMENT OF A STRATEGY AND METHODOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT.; 2024

Universidad de Reading

We will present archaeological and ethnobiological research carried out by both of us in the region of Antofagasta de la Sierra, in Northwestern Argentina. Our work in the region focusses on understanding how societies not only adapt to their local environments but also how they transform and create the landscapes in which they live.In this way, the aim of this talk is to present the strategies used by Puna groups in regard to the various environmental, political and social situations they faced over time.To do this, we will present a synthesis, and highlight the main points, of our current research in the area. To this end, I, Jennifer Grant, am currently focused on studying camelid management practices from the perspective of ethnozoology and zooarchaeology, within the context of a present-day process of revaluation of Andean pastoralism.In the case of Lorena Grana, her current research is linked to a process of revalorizing traditional Pre-Hispanic hydraulic knowledge and technologies in arid areas, within a framework commited to the development of sustainable water management strategies in the present.