Thibault Saintenoy

The distribution and location of Naturalistic Tradition rock art paintings from the Precordillera (western foothills of the Andean Cordillera), in northernmost Chile, are discussed. Stylistic similarities in rock art suggest a connection between different sites and the construction of a specific symbolic territory and cultural landscape, where information-flows played a significant role. This process begun after the end of the Middle Archaic period (ca. 6000 BP) and during the Late Archaic (6.000e3.700 BP), when important transformations took place in social organization, interaction, mobility, economy and ideology in the whole South-Central Andes region. In the Precordillera changes related to camelid management were crucial, as shown by specific scenes of animals and human-animal interactions. The legitimation of this space required a territorial definition and new social interactions. In addition to the study of settlement patterns in the precordillera, this rock art study contributes to the further consideration of the social dimensions of the archaic highland communities.

Se presentan la metodología y los primeros resultados de un estudio regional del poblamiento prehispánico tardío de la cuenca alta de Azapa en la precordillera de la región de Arica y Parinacota (ca. 3.000 msnm, Chile). El buen estado de conservación de los vestigios arquitectónicos en esta región serrana del desierto de Atacama permitió llevar a cabo con eficacia una prospección por fotointerpre-tación de imágenes satelitales, la cual logró duplicar el registro de asentamientos habitacionales prehispánicos que era conocido en esta cuenca hidrográfica de 1.000 km2. Mediante la elaboración de una base de datos geoespaciales que integra y retroalimenta esta información inédita con el conjunto heterogéneo de datos de terreno existentes, se propone una estimación del poblamiento prehispá-nico tardío en el área, además de documentar su extensión y diversidad. Se confirma que el poblamiento aldeano estuvo concentrado en tres grandes complejos residenciales localizados en el corazón del área agrícola. Pero se evidencia también un patrón de asentamiento extendido, con la identificación de decenas de asentamientos menores dispersos en la región. Estos asentamientos corresponden mayormente a estancias, las cuales se habrían relacionado princi-palmente con actividades pastoriles complementarias a las labores agrícolas. Se discute la función territorial de las estancias y se propone finalmente que este tipo de asentamiento constituye una potencial línea de evidencias para caracterizar las dinámicas socioterritoriales e interacciones macrorregionales ocurridas en la transecta del 18° Sur entre el Altiplano Carangas y el Pacífico.

The distribution and location of Naturalistic Tradition rock art paintings from the Precordillera (western foothills of the Andean Cordillera), in northernmost Chile, are discussed. Stylistic similarities in rock art suggest a connection between different sites and the construction of a specific symbolic territory and cultural landscape, where information-flows played a significant role. This process begun after the end of the Middle Archaic period (ca. 6000 BP) and during the Late Archaic (6.000–3.700 BP), when important transformations took place in social organization, interaction, mobility, economy and ideology in the whole South-Central Andes region. In the Precordillera changes related to camelid management were crucial, as shown by specific scenes of animals and human-animal interactions. The legitimation of this space required a territorial definition and new social interactions. In addition to the study of settlement patterns in the precordillera, this rock art study contributes to the further consideration of the social dimensions of the archaic highland communities.

Archeological ceramic paste material typically consists of a mix of a clay matrix and various millimeter and sub-millimeter sized mineral inclusions. Micro X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a standard compositional classification tool and in this work we propose and demonstrate an improved fluorescence map processing protocol where the mineral inclusions are automatically separated from the clay matrix to allow independent statistical analysis of the two parts. Application of this protocol allowed us to enhance the discrimination between different ceramic shards compared with the standard procedure of working with only the spatially averaged elemental concentrations. Using the new protocol, we performed an initial compositional classification of a set of 83 ceramic shards from the western slopes of the south central Andean region in the Arica y Parinacota region (Chile). Comparing the classifications obtained using the new versus the old (average concentrations only) protocols, we found that some samples were erroneously classified with the old protocol. From an archaeological perspective, a broad and heterogeneous regional sample set was used in this experimental study due to the fact that this was the first such analysis to be performed on ceramics from this region. This allowed a general overview to be obtained, however further work on more specific sample sets will be necessary to extract concrete archaeological conclusions.

Archeological ceramic paste material typically consists of a mix of a clay matrix and various millimeter and sub-millimeter sized mineral inclusions. Micro X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a standard compositional classification tool and in this work we propose and demonstrate an improved fluorescence map processing protocol where the mineral inclusions are automatically separated from the clay matrix to allow independent statistical analysis of the two parts. Application of this protocol allowed us to enhance the discrimination between different ceramic shards compared with the standard procedure of working with only the spatially averaged elemental concentrations. Using the new protocol, we performed an initial compositional classification of a set of 83 ceramic shards from the western slopes of the south central Andean region in the Arica y Parinacota region (Chile). Comparing the classifications obtained using the new versus the old (average concentrations only) protocols, we found that some samples were erroneously classified with the old protocol. From an archaeological perspective, a broad and heterogeneous regional sample set was used in this experimental study due to the fact that this was the first such analysis to be performed on ceramics from this region. This allowed a general overview to be obtained, however further work on more specific sample sets will be necessary to extract concrete archaeological conclusions.

La identificación de las comunidades a partir de la organización socioespacial de su territorio es un interés clásico, pero no menos problemático de los estudios regionales en arqueología. Dentro del contexto andino, el problema es particularmente dificultoso debido a la flexibilidad de escala demográfica e identitaria del concepto vernáculo de ayllu tal como aparece en las fuentes etno-históricas y etnográficas, así como por el hecho de la paradigmática espacialidad discontinua e interdigitada del poblamiento de los territorios descritos por las mismas fuentes. El análisis del poblamiento prehispánico tardío (siglo XI a siglo XVI d.C.) del valle del Apurímac (Cusco, Perú) es una oportunidad para contribuir en esta discusión a partir de informaciones inéditas referentes a la estructura territorial de las comunidades aldeanas asentadas en uno de los más profundos valles interandinos ubicado al pie de la cordillera de Vilcabamba. El estudio combina análisis espacial, ecología cultural, arqueología del paisaje y analogía etnográfica para proponer una lectura multifactorial y multiescalar de los patrones de asentamiento prehispánicos. A escala local, el estudio pone en evidencia un tipo de red de asentamientos re-currente que podría corresponder al esquema socioespacial de comunidad aldeana. A escala regional, el estudio muestra, desde una perspectiva bottom-up, la heterogeneidad del poblamiento del valle, el mismo que ilustra la compleja situación geopolítica expresada por las fuentes etnohistóricas sobre este espacio territorial intermedio vecino al corazón del Tawantinsuyu. Desde el punto de vista teórico, los datos permiten desarrollar una reflexión acerca de los fundamentos territoriales de las comunidades aldeanas prehispánicas tardías. Palabras claves: territorialidad, comunidad, patrón de asentamiento, red de asentamientos, periodo Intermedio Tardío, Inca. A classic interest among archaeological regional studies is identifying communities based on the socio-spatial organization of a territory. In the Andes, the problem is topical due to the flexibility of the vernacular concept of ayllu, in terms of its demographic and identitarian scale, as it appears in ethnohistoric and ethnographic sources; and because of the interdigitated and discontinuous spatiality of the territories described by these sources. The analysis of the late pre-Hispanic settlement pattern (XI to XVI century AD) of the Apurímac valley (Cuzco, Peru), presents itself as an opportunity to contribute in this classic discussion. Based on both archaeological surveys and ethnographic data, this article deals with the territorial structure of the village communities of one of the deepest Andean valleys located at the foot of the Vilcabamba Cordillera. The study combines geospatial modeling, cultural ecology, landscape archaeology and ethnographic analogy to suggest a multi-factorial and multi-scalar reading of settlement patterns. At the local scale, analysis and modeling show a kind of recurrent settlement network that could form a socio-spatial scheme of the Andean dispersed village community. At the regional scale, the study shows, according to a bottom-up perspective, the heterogeneity of the valley occupation which corresponds to the complex geopolitical context depicted in the ethnohistorical sources about this intermediate area located close to the Inca heartland. From a theoretical point of view, the data allows a reflection about the territorial basis of the late pre-Hispanic village communities.

Situated in the heart of the cordillera of Vilcabamba in Peru,
some 160 km northwest of Cusco, the site of Choquequirao,
or Choqek’iraw (‘the golden cradle’ in Quechua) is one of
the most beautiful achievements of Inca architecture. Like
Machu Picchu, it is a palace with a very fine architecture
and an elaborate civic plan that is perfectly incorporated
in the landscape.
Located on the borders of the departments of Cusco and
Apurímac, Choqek’iraw stands at an altitude of 3200 m on
the crest and steep slopes of a mountainous spur on the
massif of the same name. It harbours countless architectural
remains: terraces, temples, warehouses, fountains and
canals, as well as a truncated hill local archaeologists have
termed ‘ushnu’ – even if it is not the type of feature generally
referred to as such in the archaeological literature.
This chapter will argue that, in spite of its appearance,
this hillock has most of the characteristics of the Inca ceremonial
platforms much of the archaeological literature
has termed ‘ushnu’. Apart from its architectural meaning,
the concept of ‘ushnu’ also refers to a complex symbolic
notion, closely connected to the idea of the centre of a
‘sacred space’ (sensu Eliade 2010 [1957]), which could
well apply to the case of the site of Choqek’iraw

A finales de junio del año 2016 en Arica (punto de encuentro de Perú, Bolivia y Chile), se reunieron investigadores en ciencias sociales con representantes de comunidades y asociaciones culturales, para compartir experiencias y expectativas acerca de la puesta en valor del patrimonio cultural en territorios indígenas.
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​Superando utopías de esencialismo y ancestralidad, las comunicaciones e intercambios de experiencias evidenciaron la diversidad de los procesos de construcción y reivindicación de identidades colectivas relacionadas con ideas de arraigos territoriales. El encuentro internacional buscó desarrollar una mirada crítica sobre los procesos de patrimonialización, según una perspectiva contextual y local acerca de la fabricación de patrimonios culturales que tengan significados sociales pertinentes y participen del reconocimiento y emancipación de las realidades sociales indígenas.
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​​Estas actas digitales exponen los resúmenes de las presentaciones realizadas, con vista a estimular el desarrollo de futuros proyectos de ciencia participativa para la investigación y puesta en uso social de los patrimonios culturales locales. Las exposiciones están clasificados por temáticas: Mapuche, Andes, Qhapaq ñan y Herencias. Una página adicional presenta el libro Sobre los caminos de los Altos de Arica, fruto del encuentro entre los mundos científicos e indigenistas en los Andes de Arica y Parinacota.

>>> http://cihdeconicyt.wixsite.com/diversidad2016

Recorrer los caminos antiguos de la sierra andina significa mucho. Mediante el caminar, se desvelan los paisajes y sus lugares: la naturaleza y su estética, el territorio y su historia. Para quienes sienten una relación familiar con paisajes heredados de sus padres, el caminar es también un acto de memoria: estimula el recuerdo de los hogares, de los estilos de vida y de sus viajes.

Quizás la iniciativa de los científicos, eternos curiosos por las historias que no fueron (del todo) escritas, no sea tan ajena a ello. Pues, recorrer los caminos antiguos permite experimentar el pasado tal como lo vivían sus habitantes siglos atrás y, de esta manera, explorar pistas para la producción de nuevos conocimientos sobre la historia de los territorios y de los paisajes culturales.

Los caminos constituyen sobre todo un escenario de encuentro para la investigación participativa entre quienes estudian la historia y quienes se interesan por ella.

Please see our attached flyer for the LAC call for papers to our session and our abstract.
OTHER KEYWORDS include:
Isotopic or DNA Analyses and Landscape Reconstruction, Settlement Archaeology, Landscapes of Identity, Iron Age Landscapes, Funerary Landscapes, Agricultural Landscapes, Living landscapes, Landscape Analyses, Indigenous Landscapes, Supernatural Landscapes, Animal Landscapes, Imaginary Landscapes, Ceramic Landscapes, Wooded Landscapes, Waterscapes, Megalithic Landscapes.

https://lac2020.cchs.csic.es/call-for-abstracts/
You are welcome to contact us if you have any questions or ideas you would like to discuss with us. gail.higginbottom@incipit.csis.es, thibault.saintenoy@incipit.csis.es, cristina.tejedor-rodriguez@incipit.csic.es