From Cattails to Maize: An Archaeobotanical Discussion on the Relationship between Human Groups and Plants during the Archaic and Formative Period (ca. 4000–2000 BP) in the Atacama Desert

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In the Atacama Desert, northern Chile, human groups settled during the Archaic and Formative periods (ca. 4000–2000 BP) in the Tiliviche and Aragon sites, located between the coast and the hinterlands. We analyzed and identified the macrobotanical and microbotanical remains from the sites of Tiliviche-1 and Aragón-1 to evaluate the ontologies among the Tarapacá prehispanic groups by looking into their relationship with nonhumans (plants, animals, and nonliving beings such as mountains, etc.). The results indicate extensive use of wild taxa during the Late Archaic period (ca. 4000 BP), including cattails, reeds, algae plants, and others. However, during the transition to the Formative period (ca. 2500 BP), we identified a dramatic shift in plant use to cotton, maize, gourds, and algarrobo, while the “archaic plants” almost disappear from the Formative record. We discuss this dramatic shift according to the potential use of each taxon. Since the environmental conditions remained the same during those times, we explore the possibility that this replacement occurred due to new ontological views. Thus, we suggest a profound change in the relationship between human groups and plants.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37403.0