Abstract

GISELA LEFEBVRE, María et al. PHYTOLITHIC ANALYSISOF PEDOSEDIMENTARY SEQUENCES PRESENT IN THE LOCALITY OF MOLLE YACO (SANTA MARÍA-TUCUMÁN-ARGENTINA): PREHISPANIC AGRICULTURE AND PALEOENVIRONMENT. Comechingonia [online]. 2020, vol.24, n.2, pp.1-10. ISSN 1851-0027.

This paper presents the results of the analysis of biosiliceous microfossils recovered from profiles located in cultivation terraces of the place of MolleYaco (Santa María Valley, Tucumán, Argentina), belonging to the Formative period (ca. 100-1000 AD). Five profiles were analyzed, of which four were excavated in agricultural terraces and a witness profile excavated in a non anthropized area. The results showed that the phytolithicassemblages present in the anthropized profiles are characterized by the presence of elements related to the maideas in the levels of human occupation that would account for the management strategies used by human groups in this area in the past and that the environment during the Formative was from very humid to humid, which is consistent with what is known for most of this period in the valley (ca. 100-800 AD). Therefore, it could be established that the occupation of the Formative Period in this area of the Calchaquies took place in a relatively humid environmental framework, as in the rest of the Santa María Valley.

Keywords : MolleYaco, paleoenvironment, phytoliths,Pre Hispanic agriculture.