Historia y desarrollo de las investigaciones arqueobotánicas en la Puna Sur Argentina

Abstract

En el año 1982 un grupo de antropólogos del Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano retoma la idea del Dr. Cigliano de realizar un estudio interdisciplinario en Antofagasta de la Sierra (Puna Sur, Catamarca). El objetivo de aquel grupo fue evaluar la potencialidad arqueológica del área e intentar establecer su proceso de desarrollo regional. La arqueobotánica y la etnobotánica se integraron años después a los temas de investigación del equipo contribuyendo a esta meta a través del tratamiento de diferentes tipos de restos vegetales y de la aplicación de métodos y técnicas innovadoras. En este trabajo se presenta el desarrollo histórico de las investigaciones arqueobotánicas y etnobotánicas realizadas en Antofagasta de la Sierra. El área tiene características ambientales óptimas para este tipo de estudios debido a que su clima árido permite la perfecta conservación de restos vegetales. El análisis del registro arqueobotánico (ca. 10.000 - 400 años C14 AP) permitió observar la transición entre la recolección de plantas y la agricultura incipiente mientras que los estudios etnobotánicos se integraron con la finalidad de dar respuesta acerca del uso de las plantas en la actualidad. La continua revisión crítica de las metodologías aplicadas ha dado como resultado la apertura de nuevas líneas de investigación.

In 1982, a group of anthropologists belonging to the Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano (INAPL) took up again Dr. Cigliano proposal about conducting an interdisciplinary study at Antofagasta de la Sierra (ANS) (Southern Argentine Puna, Catamarca). The aim was to evaluate the archaeological potential of the area and try to establish its regional development process. Archaeobotany and ethnobotany were integrated years later into the research topics of the team contributing to this goal through the treatment of different types of plant remains and the application of innovative methods and techniques. ANS is part of the archaeological literature of our country since the early twentieth century due to its mention in the works of some authors such as Ambrosetti (1904) or Boman (1908). During the decades of the 1960s and 1970s, it was also a focus of attention (Krapovickas 1968; Palma 1969). However, the lack of field work prevented the reconstruction of the complete view of human groups occupation in the area, but the vestiges and sites observed by different researchers encouraged them to explore the region deeply (Raffino and Cigliano 1973). The investigations about hunter-gatherer groups in the area were led by Carlos Aschero who coordinated, until today, the work team in relation to this issue. A large number of archaeological sites have been surveyed that were inhabited by human groups whose subsistence was based on this type of extractive economy for a prolonged period, later incorporating practices of pastoralism and incipient agriculture. In 1993, one of us (Rodríguez) was invited to be part of the mentioned team, starting the development of archaeobotany as a research line in the area. In summary, in this work we present the historical development of archaeobotanical and ethnobotanical research carried out at ANS. The area presents optimal environmental characteristics for this type of studies because its arid climate allows the perfect conservation of plant remains. The analysis of the archaeobotanical record (ca. 10.000 - 400 years C14 BP) allowed us to evaluate the transition between plant gathering and the incipient agriculture, while the ethnobotanical studies were integrated with the purpose of giving answer about the use of the plants at present time. The continuous critical review of the employed methodologies has resulted in the opening of new research lines.