A Methodological Approach to the Interpretation of Archaeological Charcoal Assemblages in Central-Western Argentina

Abstract

I synthesize the anthracological data from archaeological sites located north of Mendoza, in central-western Argentina, to demonstrate the potential of anthracology for studying socio-environmental relationships. My methodology includes archaeological, historical, ethnographic, and environmental data from 1200 to 100 years BP - the pre-Hispanic, colonial, and modern periods. For each period, I discuss the characteristics of four interrelated factors: 1) ways of dwellings, 2) socio-environmental relationships, 3) archaeological records on firewood use, and 4) human-induced landscape modifications. My results allow the identification of problems and the generation of questions that enrich the social interpretation of the anthracological record.