Trincheras Tradition Plant Use Practices from ∼400 to 1450 CE

Abstract

The Trincheras tradition thrived in the Altar, Magdalena, and Asunción-Concepción valleys from 400 to 1450 CE. In the early twentieth century, archaeologists proposed that the Trincheras people were hunter-gatherers until around 1300 CE. This study investigates whether the plant use practices of the Trincheras tradition remained consistent across different regions and through time. I compare archaeological and macrobotanical data recovered at three Altar Valley Trincheras sites dated to ∼750–1300 CE (El Póporo, La Potranca, and San Martin) and integrate data from La Playa (400–650 CE) and Cerro de Trincheras (1300–1450 CE). The results revealed that the Trinchereños were agriculturalists from 400 to 1450 CE, disproving twentieth-century archaeologists' hypothesis. Between 1050 and 1300 CE, the ubiquity values of maize were the greatest at Trincheras Altar Valley sites. However, after relocating to the Magdalena Valley around 1300 CE, the percent presence of maize decreased, while that of agave and foraged foods increased.