From weeds to wheat: a diachronic approach to ancient biocultural diversity in the Santa María valley, northwest Argentina
The aim of this paper is to analyse continuities and changes in plant diversity and use in the southern part of the Santa María valley in northwest Argentina, from the 1st millennium ad up to the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century. Variable degrees of association between people and plants (wild, w...
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| Format: | info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
| Language: | eng |
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Springer
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11336/39130 https://suquia.ffyh.unc.edu.ar/handle/suquia/175036 |
| _version_ | 1826515556283449344 |
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| author | Petrucci, Natalia Silvana Lema, Veronica Soledad Pochettino, María Lelia Palamarczuk, Valeria Spano, Romina Clara Tarrago, Myriam Noemi |
| author_facet | Petrucci, Natalia Silvana Lema, Veronica Soledad Pochettino, María Lelia Palamarczuk, Valeria Spano, Romina Clara Tarrago, Myriam Noemi |
| author_sort | Petrucci, Natalia Silvana |
| collection | Repositorio Suquia |
| description | The aim of this paper is to analyse continuities and changes in plant diversity and use in the southern part of the Santa María valley in northwest Argentina, from the 1st millennium ad up to the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century. Variable degrees of association between people and plants (wild, weedy and domesticated), as well as various management practices (gathering, cultivation, tolerance, eradication, protection and encouragement) were studied to investigate the biocultural history of this region through the analysis of plant macroremains from archaeological sites. Samples were obtained from four archaeological sites located in the valley, Rincón Chico 1, Rincón Chico 15, Soria 2 and El Colorado. As a result, we identified 628 macroremains belonging to 20 taxa and determined whether they were either wild plants, weeds or crops, related to strategies of gathering and cultivation. The results suggest that there were changes through time, with a dominance of ruderal weeds in the earliest of the archaeological sites along with a diversity of association degrees, while a division was found between wild and domesticated plants, represented by maize and Prosopis (algarrobo), in the sites of the Late period. This last scenario suggests that the growing of trees and shrubs together with crops and pasture (agroforestry), or woodland management together with grazing (silvopasture), could have been part of the past land management practices in the area. Chenopodium remains indicate past complexes of wild plants, weeds and crops growing together in the cultivated plots; the newly introduced crops brought from Spain, such as wheat and barley, did not replace the local plants, mainly Prosopis (algarrobo) and Zea mays (maize), which were still grown during early colonial times. This paper offers a diachronic perspective on plant management in a particular region, considering a plant record that is still limited, but which allows us to get a first glimpse of how plant management strategies may have changed in this part of South America. |
| format | info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
| id | suquia-ffyh.175036 |
| institution | Universidad Nacional de Cordoba |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | suquia-ffyh.1750362024-08-02T01:21:47Z From weeds to wheat: a diachronic approach to ancient biocultural diversity in the Santa María valley, northwest Argentina Petrucci, Natalia Silvana Lema, Veronica Soledad Pochettino, María Lelia Palamarczuk, Valeria Spano, Romina Clara Tarrago, Myriam Noemi Argentinian Northwest Biocultural Diversity Crops Weeds https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6.1 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 The aim of this paper is to analyse continuities and changes in plant diversity and use in the southern part of the Santa María valley in northwest Argentina, from the 1st millennium ad up to the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century. Variable degrees of association between people and plants (wild, weedy and domesticated), as well as various management practices (gathering, cultivation, tolerance, eradication, protection and encouragement) were studied to investigate the biocultural history of this region through the analysis of plant macroremains from archaeological sites. Samples were obtained from four archaeological sites located in the valley, Rincón Chico 1, Rincón Chico 15, Soria 2 and El Colorado. As a result, we identified 628 macroremains belonging to 20 taxa and determined whether they were either wild plants, weeds or crops, related to strategies of gathering and cultivation. The results suggest that there were changes through time, with a dominance of ruderal weeds in the earliest of the archaeological sites along with a diversity of association degrees, while a division was found between wild and domesticated plants, represented by maize and Prosopis (algarrobo), in the sites of the Late period. This last scenario suggests that the growing of trees and shrubs together with crops and pasture (agroforestry), or woodland management together with grazing (silvopasture), could have been part of the past land management practices in the area. Chenopodium remains indicate past complexes of wild plants, weeds and crops growing together in the cultivated plots; the newly introduced crops brought from Spain, such as wheat and barley, did not replace the local plants, mainly Prosopis (algarrobo) and Zea mays (maize), which were still grown during early colonial times. This paper offers a diachronic perspective on plant management in a particular region, considering a plant record that is still limited, but which allows us to get a first glimpse of how plant management strategies may have changed in this part of South America. Fil: Petrucci, Natalia Silvana. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Museo Etnográfico "Juan B. Ambrosetti"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Etnobotánica y Botánica Aplicada; Argentina Fil: Lema, Veronica Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Etnobotánica y Botánica Aplicada; Argentina Fil: Pochettino, María Lelia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Etnobotánica y Botánica Aplicada; Argentina Fil: Palamarczuk, Valeria. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Museo Etnográfico "Juan B. Ambrosetti"; Argentina Fil: Spano, Romina Clara. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Museo Etnográfico "Juan B. Ambrosetti"; Argentina. Ministerio de Cultura de la Nación. Dirección Nacional de Museos. Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Tarrago, Myriam Noemi. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Museo Etnográfico "Juan B. Ambrosetti"; Argentina 2018-01 2024-08-02T01:21:47Z 2024-08-02T01:21:47Z info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/11336/39130 Petrucci, Natalia Silvana; Lema, Veronica Soledad; Pochettino, María Lelia; Palamarczuk, Valeria; Spano, Romina Clara; et al.; From weeds to wheat: a diachronic approach to ancient biocultural diversity in the Santa María valley, northwest Argentina; Springer; Vegetation History And Archaeobotany; 27; 1; 1-2018; 229-239 0939-6314 CONICET Digital CONICET https://suquia.ffyh.unc.edu.ar/handle/suquia/175036 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1007/s00334-017-0647-6 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00334-017-0647-6 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/ application/pdf application/pdf Springer |
| spellingShingle | Argentinian Northwest Biocultural Diversity Crops Weeds https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6.1 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 Petrucci, Natalia Silvana Lema, Veronica Soledad Pochettino, María Lelia Palamarczuk, Valeria Spano, Romina Clara Tarrago, Myriam Noemi From weeds to wheat: a diachronic approach to ancient biocultural diversity in the Santa María valley, northwest Argentina |
| title | From weeds to wheat: a diachronic approach to ancient biocultural diversity in the Santa María valley, northwest Argentina |
| title_full | From weeds to wheat: a diachronic approach to ancient biocultural diversity in the Santa María valley, northwest Argentina |
| title_fullStr | From weeds to wheat: a diachronic approach to ancient biocultural diversity in the Santa María valley, northwest Argentina |
| title_full_unstemmed | From weeds to wheat: a diachronic approach to ancient biocultural diversity in the Santa María valley, northwest Argentina |
| title_short | From weeds to wheat: a diachronic approach to ancient biocultural diversity in the Santa María valley, northwest Argentina |
| title_sort | from weeds to wheat a diachronic approach to ancient biocultural diversity in the santa maria valley northwest argentina |
| topic | Argentinian Northwest Biocultural Diversity Crops Weeds https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6.1 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11336/39130 https://suquia.ffyh.unc.edu.ar/handle/suquia/175036 |
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