Agropastoral landscapes at the Andean region of Northern Calchaquí Valley (Salta, Argentina): An archaeological and anthropological analysis

Abstract

Traditionally, in archaeological and anthropological literature, the environment of the Andean valleys of northwest Argentina has been considered a mainly arable agricultural region, in contrast to the environment of Puna where the traditional way of life was generally associated with pastoral activities and seasonal mobility. However, new evidence suggests greater importance for animal grazing and associated mobility strategies strongly connected with arable agriculture in the valleys. This work is framed as an ethno-archaeological research project that aims to explore multiple dimensions of practices involving animal management and its relevance to the way of life in the Northern Calchaquí Valley (Salta, Argentina) and how they contribute to shape archaeological landscape. A mixed methodological strategy was applied to construct a contemporary model providing analytical tools for the study of archaeological landscape. This model looks at an agropastoral way of life in this region since pre-Hispanic times, on the basis of a strategy that combines ethnographic information and GIS-based spatial analysis, supported by archaeological evidence. Is expected that this work could make a contribution to the interpretation of the archaeological record and the study pre-Hispanic landscapes in the area, through a greater understanding of the local way of life, its spatial dimension and its temporal depth.