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K’OA, ANDEAN ENTITY OF A PLANT AND OTHER BODIES. AN INTERPRETATIVE POSSIBILITY FOR FUNERARY OFFERINGS IN THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF ARICA

K’OA, ENTIDAD ANDINA DE UNA PLANTA Y OTROS CUERPOS. UNA POSIBILIDAD INTERPRETATIVA PARA OFRENDAS FUNERARIAS EN LA ARQUEOLOGÍA DE ARICA

Magdalena García, Francisca Gili, Javier Echeverría, Eliana Belmonte and Valentina Figueroa

We present a reflection on a set of amulets made of k’oa (Diplostephium cinereum Cuatrec.) stems found as funerary offerings in the prehispanic cemeteries of Arica. We analyze them from a transdisciplinary perspective with an emphasis on Aymara ethnography and the ontology behind their terminology and cultural use. This approach has allowed us to verify that the termk’oa refers to different bodies or elements treated independently in the literature, including a group of smoker plants from the puna; the smoke emanating when burning them; the Pan-Andean myth of the winged feline; and even Illapa and San Santiago. We postulate the existence of a connection between all of them where k’oa is proposed as a complex and polyvalent entity, with a ceremonial and sacred connotation, of great chronological depth, associated with rains, fertility and transformation. Finally, the presence on the coast of Arica of these prehispanic artifacts made with materials from the puna on the coast of Arica is interpreted as an expression of the cultural and ideological integration of the ecological and social zones that existed in the South Central Andes before the arrival of the Inka.

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SOCIAL RELATIONS TO THE SOUTH OF COLLASUYU. A STUDY OF FUNERARY POTTERY CONTEXTS OF THE LATE PERIOD (1400-1536 AD) IN THE MAIPO-MAPOCHO BASIN

INTERACCIÓN SOCIAL AL SUR DEL COLLASUYU. ALFARERÍA FUNERARIA DEL PERIODO TARDÍO (1400-1536 DC) EN LA CUENCA MAIPO-MAPOCHO

Cristian Dávila, Constanza Cortés, Andrea Martínez, Juan Hermosilla, Nicole Fuenzalida and Daniel Pavlovic

Although there are several studies focusing on late sites in Central Chile, there is no consensus about how the interaction between local Aconcagua settlements and the Inka took place in this frontier of the Collasuyu. Through local ceramic variability, different levels of interaction have been proposed; however, there is a lack of systematic comparative studies that allow us to explore this issue. This work aims to contribute in this regard by analyzing ceramic vessels of seventeen funerary sites in the Maipo-Mapocho basin, identifying the emergence of a new local ceramic type and the presence of vessels of Inka style that seem to be locally manufactured. Throughout the basin, between the Chacabuco, Maipo and Mapocho areas, different behaviors are identified, which could account for the varied levels of interaction between the local populations and the Tawantinsuyu.

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TECHNOLOGICAL EVIDENCE IN PAMPAS DEER ANTLERS FROM THE CENTER OF THE HUMID PAMPAS, ARGENTINA

EVIDENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS EN ASTAS DE VENADO DE LAS PAMPAS EN EL CENTRO DE LA PAMPA HÚMEDA, ARGENTINA

María Clara Álvarez

Antler remains of Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) are frequently recorded in the sites located in the center of the Argentinian Humid Pampas. These materials, however, are usually scarce and, in general, they are only collaterally mentioned in the archaeological literature. This article presents the analysis of antler remains from two archaeological sites -Empalme Querandíes 1 and Calera-. Results indicate that these elements were used with technological purposes. However, some parts of the antler (the tines) are not the more diagnostic ones to identify this behavior. This is because a large part of the modifications that are classified as “of cultural origin” also occur in the animal’s life. The bases, on the other hand, can present evidence of abrasion and flake negatives, which could be good indicators of the use of these elements as tools. In this study, several specimens with modifications, which could have been used as soft hammers, were identified. Finally, the technique that was used in the obtaining of blanks would have been débitage by segmentation.

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A PHENOMENOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE “ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBJECT”

UNA DESCRIPCIÓN FENOMENOLÓGICA DEL “OBJETO ARQUEOLÓGICO”

José María Vaquer

In this paper I present a phenomenological description of the “archaeological object” from the perspective of Husserl ́s phenomenology. For this philosopher, there are no differences between the ways things appear to our experience and this being. Therefore, phenomenological description implies an ontological categorization of the “archaeological object” which in many cases remains implicit and slips into the interpretations we make of the past. From this methodology, I suggest that the “archaeological object” takes its sense from three horizons (the “lifeworld” of researchers, the “academic world” to which we belong and temporality), and, therefore, it’s “giving itself” is always relative. This relativity implies the impossibility of totalization and closure, and constitutes a first step in recognizing our theoretical assumptions and performed a Critical Archaeology that dialogues with alternative interpretations of the past.

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PALEOENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT OF THE ARCHEOLOGICAL OCCUPATION IN CORRAL GRANDE (ANTOFAGASTA DE LA SIERRA, CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA)

CONTEXTO PALEOAMBIENTAL PARA LA OCUPACIÓN ARQUEOLÓGICA EN CORRAL GRANDE (ANTOFAGASTA DE LA SIERRA, CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA)

Pablo Tchilinguirian, Lorena Grana and Daniel Olivera

This paper aims to reconstruct the palaeohydrological changes in Corral Grande (Antofagasta de la Sierra Department, Catamarca Province, Argentina), relating the formation and growth of a paleowetland with the hydrological balance in the high catchment area. This study provides, therefore, an environmental context for human occupation in this region. To this end, geomorphology, sedimentology, and microfossil (diatoms) analyses as well as radiocarbon datings were carried out in the confluence of Mojones and Los Nacimientos streams. Results indicate that between ca. 2000-1800 BP the rivers were permanent and the floodplains, where the Formative occupation occurred, had organic soils and a shallow water table. Between ca. 1800 and 300 BP the paleowetlands were eroded and/or were covered by sediments associated with debris flows. This environment was sometimes contemporary with the occupation of the Late Inca Period, and the settlements were located in geoforms away from the paleowetland. Later, between ca. 300 and 240 BP, the Mojones river developed new, but less extensive, paleowetlands, and were shortly after deteriorated and retracted upstream.

paleohydrology

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