![]() For pre- and post-Columbian communities, they were also geographical landmarks used for spatial orientation, especially by travelers and caravans that crossed the mountain passes and the Atacama Desert ( Núñez and Dillehay, 1979 Berenguer, 2004). Volcanic features were also used as geographic markers for the observation of astronomical events and the reproduction of the annual cycle as the case of the Llullaillaco Volcano ( Sanhueza, 2004). In Inka times, volcanoes and the high peaks of the Andes range were the scenario of complex rites and human sacrifices known as capaccocha ( D’Altroy et al., 2007 Reinhard and Ceruti, 2010 Mignone, 2010 Mignone, 2015). As was remarked by Harris and Bouysse-Cassagne, they are mediators that allow communication between the surface and the underworld known as the “ mancca pasha” ( Bouysse-Cassagne and Bouysse, 1984 Bouysse-Cassagne and Harris, 1987 Harris, 1987 Bouysse-Cassagne and Bouysse, 1988). ![]() ![]() In the Andean cosmovision, volcanoes represent deities that are the subject of devotion and offerings during both ceremonial occasions and everyday prayers. In the Andes region, volcanism is a multidimensional phenomenon that permeates different aspects of the everyday life and worldview of human societies. Our data suggest that the volcanic features of the Atacama highlands were integrated into the mobility and interaction networks of ancient hunter-gatherer groups at an early date. By comparing the artifacts with geological samples collected in the field, it was possible to assign the source of origin of a large part of the archaeological assemblages. In these places, we also document large quarry-workshops and campsites from different periods, indicating intense and repeated human occupation over time. Field surveys enabled us to detect many of their sources related to volcanic features such as craters, maars, caldera-domes, lava flows, probable hydrothermal deposits, and ignimbrites. Petrological classification of the lithic assemblages of three Early Holocene archaeological sites showed the procurement of a great diversity of volcanic and subvolcanic rocks, including pumice, granitic rocks, micro-diorites, a large variety of tuffs and andesites, dacites, cherts, basalts, obsidians, among others. By studying rocks used for stone tools and other everyday artifacts, we explore the volcanic landscapes of early hunter-gatherer groups (11,500–9,500 cal BP) of the highlands of the Atacama Desert (22–24°S/67–68°W). Since ancient times Andean societies have formed an intimate relationship with volcanoes, the beginnings of which can be traced right back to the initial peopling of the region. 6Departamento de Ciencias Históricas y Geográficas, Facultad de Educación y Humanidades, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile.5Millennium Institute of Astrophysics, Santiago, Chile.4Comunidad Atacameña de Toconao, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.3Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile.2UMR 8068 Technologie et Ethnologie des Mondes PréhistoriqueS, Université Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France.1Instituto de Investigaciones Arqueológicas y Museo, Universidad Católica del Norte, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.Rodrigo Loyola 1,2* Valentina Figueroa 1 Lautaro Núñez 1 Marco Vasquez 3 Christian Espíndola 4 Millarca Valenzuela 3,5 Manuel Prieto 6
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |