Combining methods to understand pre-hispanic agriculture in terraces landscapes of the valley of sondondo, Peru

Abstract

Terraces are the most evidence of landscape transformation in the highland of the South-Central Andes of Peru; they represent a magnificent and complex solution to createcultivation areas where geographical and climatic conditions were not ideal. Despitetheir relevance to studying different aspects of complex societies in pre-Hispanic times,terraces were either ignored or just considered a complementary topic in scholar’sresearch.Our team focuses on the study of the agrarian landscape and pre-Hispanic agriculture, excavating terraces at different sea levels in the valley of Sondondo, Peru. Moreover, we have excavated in other complementary areas as storages and livestock corrals to understand the complex assembly at the agrarian systems from the Early Intermediate Period until Inca times in the area.In this contribution, we will present the archaeobotanical technique employed in our research: the multiple analysis of microfossils in soil. This method combines geoarchaeology with the study of micro remains such as phytoliths, starches, diatoms, etc. In summary, this analysis has provided further knowledge of the types of crops cultivated, allowing the identification of farming changes, which are also linked with dating results. Moreover, our technique determines several strategies to improve agricultural work. The results of our analyses demonstrate that traditional interpretations.