Mother Earth: soil and people relationships during the prehispanic period (Northwest Argentina)

The objective of this paper is to explore the relationship between agricultural soils, land and cult behaviour. We consider that soils, as they were modified by humans, contain key information for the reconstruction of past behaviour linked to super-structural beliefs, not necessarily visible throug...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Sampietro Vattuone, Maria Marta, Neder, Liliana del Valle, Roldán, J., Vattuone, Marta Amelia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2008
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/80464
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/80464
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Prehispanic Agriculture
Formative Period
Geoarchaeology
Archaeological Soil
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5.4
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5
Descripción
Sumario:The objective of this paper is to explore the relationship between agricultural soils, land and cult behaviour. We consider that soils, as they were modified by humans, contain key information for the reconstruction of past behaviour linked to super-structural beliefs, not necessarily visible through the conventional material record. In this sense, the manipulation of lands and soils in the Andean region represents the unification of ritual activities and beliefs focused on the Pachamama (Mother Earth). We present the results of a study to examine soil management at a prehispanic agricultural settlement in Northwest Argentina, together with other evidence related to the agricultural symbolic universe, which reveals evidence of land categorization and land use preferences.