From the Yungas subtropical mountain forest to the Puna high desert : insights on the burning of allochthonous woods by agro-pastoralist societies of the South Central Andes of Argentina (1584 − 830 BP)

Abstract

The first carbonized archaeological records are presented for seven woody species native to the Yungas ecoregion—Podocarpus parlatorei Pilg., Schinus areira L., Aralia soratensis Marchal, Gochnatia palosanto Cabrera /Gochnatia curviflora (Griseb.) O. Hoffm., Alnus acuminata Kunth, Jacaranda mimosifolia D. Don /Jacaranda cuspidifolia Mart., and Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan var. cebil (Griseb.) Altschul—recovered from three archaeological sites in the Quebrada del Río Las Pitas, Antofagasta de la Sierra, in the Argentine Puna. New records are also described for two species— Chusquea lorentziana Griseb. and Salix humboldtiana Willd.—that had previously been found as part of manufactured objects at sites in the area, but which now also appear as charcoal. The objective is to understand the social strategies that explain the intentional long-distance transport, use and burning of woody material by the agro-pastoralist societies that occupied the region between ca. 1584 and 830 BP. To this end, anthracological studies were conducted through anatomical comparison, which allowed us to identify that the woods originate from diverse altitudinal zones—Selva Transicional o Pedemontana (Transitional or Pedemontana Forest), Selva Montana (Low Montane Forest) and Bosque Montano (High Montane Forest)—located in the Andean subtropical montane forests. Results were interpreted in the light of indigenous knowledge on the plants identified. They suggest that Puna communities integrated these resources as part of broader circulation strategies involving allochthonous plants, animals, and minerals, used both for subsistence and in rituals and other social practices. Furthermore, based on the concept of “fire plants”, it is proposed that the use of fire and wood brought from distant areas transcended mere energy supply functions and was part of a broader symbolic and cultural framework. In this sense, the research contributes to understanding the active role of subtropical montane forests in the construction of the social landscapes of the Puna high desert.