Abstract

BRACCO BOKSAR, Roberto; INDA, Hugo  and  DEL PUERTO, Laura. Complejidad en montículos de la cuenca de la laguna Merín y análisis de redes sociales. Intersecciones antropol. [online]. 2015, vol.16, n.1, pp.271-286. ISSN 1850-373X.

This article analyzes the prevailing interpretations of Merín Lagoon basin archaeology and proposes an alternative approach from a social network analysis framework in order to overcome limitations imposed by site-based archaeology and functional-analogical thought. This region saw one of the most remarkable anthropogenic modifications in the South American plains: from the Middle Holocene until the seventieth century thousands of mounds were built. In Uruguayan archaeology from the late 1980s mounds were interpreted as indicators of emerging complexity, and subsequently considered evidence of “Early Formative intermediate societies” or even of the monumentalization of space by hunter-gatherers. However, radiocarbon dates show that the constructive process took place from centuries to millennia. This fact, coupled with the lack of other evidence of complexity, highlights the apparent contradiction in such interpretations. In contrast, a social network analysis approach does not produce evidence of complexity, particularly with respect to the hierarchical and evolutionary connotations of the “monumentalist” interpretations. Following current evidence, a new approach is developed that addresses dimensions of complexity not explicitly considered previously.

Keywords : Merín lagoon basin Archaeology; Mounds; Complexity; Social Network Analysis.

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