Ten Years After, How Far Did We Arrive In Our Knowledge Of Ancient Agricultural Systems And Domestic Activities Through Microfossil And Soils Studies?

KORSTANJE, MARÍA ALEJANDRA; CUENYA, PATRICIA

Mar del Plata

Congreso; 7th International Meeting on Phytolith Research – 4th Southamerican Meeting on Phytolith Research; 2008

Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata

Since some years ago we developed a methodology to study ancient agriculture in the southern Andes from the productive open air sites itself. After some successful results we extended this methodology to domestic activities in sites with poor organic conservation. Ten years later, we offer this synthesis of the archived goals, we explain the new trends we are following, and we share the aspects we could not resolve yet.<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:2; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 268435456 0 0 -2147483648 0;} /* 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";} p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText {mso-style-noshow:yes; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} span.MsoFootnoteReference {mso-style-noshow:yes; vertical-align:super;} p.MsoBodyText2, li.MsoBodyText2, div.MsoBodyText2 {margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;} /* Page Definitions */ @page {mso-footnote-separator:url("file:///C:/DOCUME~1/ALEJAN~1/CONFIG~1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_header.htm") fs; mso-footnote-continuation-separator:url("file:///C:/DOCUME~1/ALEJAN~1/CONFIG~1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_header.htm") fcs; mso-endnote-separator:url("file:///C:/DOCUME~1/ALEJAN~1/CONFIG~1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_header.htm") es; mso-endnote-continuation-separator:url("file:///C:/DOCUME~1/ALEJAN~1/CONFIG~1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_header.htm") ecs;} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1643274062; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:-201395108 201981953 201981955 201981957 201981953 201981955 201981957 201981953 201981955 201981957;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:54.0pt; mso-level-number-position:left; margin-left:54.0pt; text-indent:-18.0pt; font-family:Symbol;} ol {margin-bottom:0cm;} ul {margin-bottom:0cm;} --> We started knowing we would find the following problems and situations: ·        Most of these studies on agriculture have been about architectural facilities and localization or macro botanical remains, taking into account environmental and ethnographic sources. ·        There are not many staples or economic taxa that produce non-redundant phytoliths and are possible to grow in the arid Andes environment (Puna and Sierra). ·        Food production in the Andes involves mixed farming and herding systems and a strong reliance on the gathering of wild resources. ·        Microfossil assemblages and soil studies should be studied together for ancient agriculture, and combined with other traditional data set as morphology, localization, architectural facilities and other surface features. ·        Taphonomic and pedogenetic processes equally affect all particles contained in the silt fraction therefore microfossils can be displaced both vertically and horizontally.  We present here a discussion around all the case studies we have approached these years in Argentina, most from the Valley of El Bolsón (Catamarca province, but also from Calchaquí Valley (Salta), and Quebrada de Humahuaca, (Jujuy).