Human Impact on an Inhospitable Plain: New Insights into the Hydraulic System of the Rio Huaycho (Lake Titicaca, Bolivia)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Water Management in the Andes: Past, Present, and Future" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The ALTI-plano research project (Archaeological Lake Titicaca Inventory-Mapping) aims, in particular, to provide a complete map of archaeological sites along the eastern shores of Lake Titicaca. Our focus lies primarily on refining our grasp of local chronologies, human settlement patterns, and the environmental change effects on agropastoral activities in this less explored area. The study and mapping of archaeological sites in a portion of this region, located between the municipalities of Titali (Peru) and Puerto Acosta (Bolivia), were particularly undertaken. Remote sensing enabled preliminary mapping of a 35 km² hydraulic system in the Huaycho plain (Bolivia), highlighting channels flowing south-southwest to north-northeast toward the river to the east. Some structures indicate direct flow into the lake to the west. Despite the presence of natural features, human activity significantly shaped the landscape. Our results suggest the ancient communities exploited local water tables, qochas, and river meanderings to develop an expansive irrigation system for this semiarid plain. On-site investigation of these channels has highlighted the region’s anthropization, provided chronological insights, and revealed usage patterns. This communication presents the results of integrating data collected both by remote sensing and by a six-week pedestrian survey conducted in the region in 2023.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Water Management in the Andes: Past, Present, and Future   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37810.0