Ancient Quinoa Cultivation, Harvesting and Post-harvesting in the Puna of Argentina, South-Central Andes (1600-1100 years BP)

Abstract

In the last two decades, several archaeologicalstudies have documented the presence and use of Chenopodium spp. in Antofagasta de la Sierra (ANS), Southern Punaof Argentina, in the high-altitude deserts of the South-Central Andes (about 3,500meters above sea level) since 4,700 years ago. One of the main topics of interest is to establishwhether the presence of archaeological remains of quinoa in the area is theresult of local cultivation or of the regional system of trade and exchange ofgoods. In this study, we report a techno-typological and functional (microwearand use-residue) analysis of large lithic knives (ca. 1600-1100 years BP) withtraces of agricultural use, and a comparative genomic study of ancient samplesof Chenopodium quinoa from Alero 1at the Punta de la Peña 9 archaeological site (1364 ± 20 years BP). The resultsobtained contribute to documenting the cultivation, harvesting, and initialstages of the post-harvesting of quinoa in ANS by identifying the predominanceof micro-indicators of cutting plant stems and panicles in the lithic knives, andby establishing a genomic correspondence between archaeological seeds and stems.