Abstract

DURAN, Víctor et al. THE USE OF CAMELIDS AND HEIGHT ENVIRONMENTSIN PRE-HISPANIC AGRO-PASTORAL SOCIETIES FROM NORTHWEST MENDOZA (ARGENTINA). Relaciones [online]. 2020, vol.45, n.2, pp.11-20. ISSN 0325-2221.

We synthesize the osteometric analysesperformed on a set of camelid bones specimens from two archaeological sites, Agua de la Cueva and Los Hornillos, located in the Precordillera of Mendoza Province (Argentina). These sites are located at 2500 m.a.s.l., are suitable for herding activities, and integrate circulation paths between the intermountain valleys and the eastern lowlands. The archaeological record studied spans between 1800-400 years BP, a period during which pastoralism would have consolidated in the region. With the specific goal of discriminating between wildand domesticated camelids, these results contribute to the issue of human subsistence in highland environments. We attempt to assess the economic strategies, risk management tactics and mobility patterns, as well as changes in camelid pastoralism. We conclude that these two sites were part of a greater mobility circuit and were occupied seasonally and recurrently to procure access to pastures and other biotic and abiotic resources.

Keywords : central-western Argentina; pre-Hispanic pastoralism; South American camelids; osteometry; subsistence patterns and mobility.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )