Roads and Changing Mobility in Northwest Argentina (AD 1400-1800)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Mobility defines human behavior; roads make that mobility possible. We study human mobility along route networks in an area of the Middle Calchaquí Valley, Salta Province, Argentina called La Hoyada Quebrada, a natural connection route to the puna. Archaeological research highlights the fundamental role of high ravines and valleys for communication between different environments, since at least the first millennium CE. Additionally, historical documents and secondary sources attest to the continued use and importance of this area as a transit zone until well into the twentieth century. As such, our case study focuses on analyzing the development of roads and networks in La Hoyada at two sequential periods in time: the Inka and the Colonial periods. La Hoyada incorporates an important Inka road segment that connects the Calchaqui Valley with the puna and then continues into the saltpans, linking this area with the Atacama Desert and northern Chile. The road segment included several ancillary structures, such as way-stations (tampu), that were then reused subsequently. With the introduction of the Spanish colonial system, this entire area became part of the Hacienda de Calchaquí, which had land dedicated to agriculture and pastures for the fattening of cattle that were then taken to Upper Peru.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38464.0