Nuestros estudios en contextos residenciales de la Isla Mocha, denotan un aprovechamiento variado... more Nuestros estudios en contextos residenciales de la Isla Mocha, denotan un aprovechamiento variado de recursos vegetales durante los períodos Alfarero Tardío (1000-1550 d.C.) e Histórico Temprano (1550-1687 d.C.), relacionados con el Complejo El Vergel y los grupos reche-mapuche de la Araucanía, respectivamente. La evidencia arqueobotánica de los sitios P29-1 y P31-1 apunta al manejo de recursos vegetales tanto domésticos como silvestres desde al menos un milenio atrás, ratificando la evidencia previa de maíz (Zea mays L.) y quínoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) para la Isla Mocha, y complementándola con el hallazgo de poroto común (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), sin precedentes en los contextos arqueológicos de la Araucanía, pero mencionado en las crónicas.
Tracking kelp‑type seaweed fuel in the archaeological record through Raman spectroscopy of charred particles: examples from the Atacama Desert coast
The use of seaweed as fuel has been mentioned in ethnographic and historical sources of different... more The use of seaweed as fuel has been mentioned in ethnographic and historical sources of different coastal regions. Nevertheless, the archaeological record of seaweed burning is still limited to contexts where preservation is exceptional and macroscopic discrimination of charred remains is possible. Here, we evaluate the effectiveness of Raman spectroscopy in discriminating seaweed vs. plant/wood char. Our dataset (N = 92) consists of modern and archaeological seaweed and plant/wood charred remains, including specimens of unknown origin from the Atacama Desert coast, Northern Chile. The charred samples were processed to obtain 13 parameters which were then fed into five supervised machine learning models. The models, built on samples of known origin (seaweed and plant/wood), performed remarkably well in terms of accuracy, kappa, sensitivity, and specificity. The models were used for final predictions on 10 non-identified archaeological charcoals. Our results suggest that Raman spectroscopy combined with machine learning techniques is a robust methodology for discriminating seaweed and plant/wood charred remains in the archaeological record. The predictions on unknown samples confirm that seaweed was used as fuel in a specific funerary ritual in the southern Atacama Desert coast around 5000 cal BP. Furthermore, charred specimens of Lessonia spp. recovered from combustion features in other northern Chile coastal settlements, suggest that seaweed pyrotechnology developed by Atacama Desert coast people is likely a long-term process. As for coastal archaeology, this work encourages new research on seaweed as an alternative/main fuel in coastal deserts and evaluates possible bias for chronologies from coastal archaeological settlements around the globe.
New excavations at the late Pleistocene site of Chinchihuapi I, Chile, 2019
This paper presents new excavation data on the Chinchihuapi I (CH-I) locality within the Monte Ve... more This paper presents new excavation data on the Chinchihuapi I (CH-I) locality within the Monte Verde site complex, located along Chinchihuapi Creek in the cool, temperate Valdivian rain forest of south-central Chile. The 2017 and 2018 archaeological excavations carried out in this open-air locality reveal further that CH-I is an intermittently occupied site dating from the Early Holocene (∼10,000 cal yr BP) to the late Pleistocene (at least ∼14,500 cal yr BP) and probably earlier. A new series of radiocarbon dates refines the chronology of human use of the site during this period. In this paper, we describe the archaeological and stratigraphic contexts of the recent excavations and analyze the recovered artifact assemblages. A fragmented Monte Verde II point type on an exotic quartz newly recovered from excavations at CH-I indicates that this biface design existed in at least two areas of the wider site complex ∼14,500 cal yr BP. In addition, associated with the early Holocene component at CH-I are later Paijan-like points recovered with lithic tools and debris and other materials. We discuss the geographic distribution of diagnostic artifacts from the site and their probable relationship to other early sites in South America.
Lands in south-central Chile, long thought to have been marginal until the Spanish conquest, are ... more Lands in south-central Chile, long thought to have been marginal until the Spanish conquest, are here shown to have been developing complex societies between at least AD 1000 and 1500. Part of the motor was provided by coastland cultivation on raised platforms, here identified and surveyed for the first time. The authors date the field systems and suggest that they were introduced by farmers from the north seeking wetlands in the face of increasing aridity in the central Andes and southern Amazon.
Geófitas litorales en contextos arqueológicos de la costa arreica, norte de Chile
Se evalúa el aporte de geófitas en la alimentación de poblaciones de la costa arreica a partir de... more Se evalúa el aporte de geófitas en la alimentación de poblaciones de la costa arreica a partir del análisis de material arqueobotánico proveniente de nuevas excavaciones en el sitio Patache A, B, C. Junto con ello, se hace una revisión exhaustiva a la información disponible para sitios arqueológicos emplazados en la costa arreica, norte de Chile, que presentan en sus contextos cormos y bulbos recolectados en los oasis de neblina, comunidades vegetales que crecen en el farellón costero gracias a la bruma del litoral conocida como camanchaca, y que, junto a los ambientes de desembocadura, son las principales fuentes de recursos terrestres para esta costa desértica. Asimismo, se repasan ejemplos etnográficos e históricos que traten sobre la recolección y usos de geófitas, junto a información botánica sobre los ciclos de estas plantas, dispersión y visibilidad en los oasis de neblina. A partir de todo lo anterior, se reflexiona acerca de su disponibilidad, estrategias de recolección y aportes a la dieta de los antiguos habitantes de la costa arreica.
Mediante la revisión de evidencias arqueológicas y fuentes documentales, se indagó acerca de los... more Mediante la revisión de evidencias arqueológicas y fuentes documentales, se indagó acerca de los recursos alimenticios disponibles y consumidos por los antiguos habitantes del castillo de Niebla. Los datos permitieron concluir que el abastecimiento de esta plaza española dependía de las relaciones comerciales establecidas con los grupos mapuche-williche asentados en la cuenca de Valdivia. Asimismo, aun cuando los ingredientes utilizados eran básicamente de origen europeo (p. ej. vacuno y trigo), las preparaciones estuvieron a cargo de cocineras locales.
Nuestros estudios en contextos residenciales de la Isla Mocha, denotan un aprovechamiento variado... more Nuestros estudios en contextos residenciales de la Isla Mocha, denotan un aprovechamiento variado de recursos vegetales durante los períodos Alfarero Tardío (1000-1550 d.C.) e Histórico Temprano (1550-1687 d.C.), relacionados con el Complejo El Vergel y los grupos reche-mapuche de la Araucanía, respectivamente. La evidencia arqueobotánica de los sitios P29-1 y P31-1 apunta al manejo de recursos vegetales tanto domésticos como silvestres desde al menos un milenio atrás, ratificando la evidencia previa de maíz (Zea mays L.) y quínoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) para la Isla Mocha, y complementándola con el hallazgo de poroto común (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), sin precedentes en los contextos arqueológicos de la Araucanía, pero mencionado en las crónicas.
Tracking kelp‑type seaweed fuel in the archaeological record through Raman spectroscopy of charred particles: examples from the Atacama Desert coast
The use of seaweed as fuel has been mentioned in ethnographic and historical sources of different... more The use of seaweed as fuel has been mentioned in ethnographic and historical sources of different coastal regions. Nevertheless, the archaeological record of seaweed burning is still limited to contexts where preservation is exceptional and macroscopic discrimination of charred remains is possible. Here, we evaluate the effectiveness of Raman spectroscopy in discriminating seaweed vs. plant/wood char. Our dataset (N = 92) consists of modern and archaeological seaweed and plant/wood charred remains, including specimens of unknown origin from the Atacama Desert coast, Northern Chile. The charred samples were processed to obtain 13 parameters which were then fed into five supervised machine learning models. The models, built on samples of known origin (seaweed and plant/wood), performed remarkably well in terms of accuracy, kappa, sensitivity, and specificity. The models were used for final predictions on 10 non-identified archaeological charcoals. Our results suggest that Raman spectroscopy combined with machine learning techniques is a robust methodology for discriminating seaweed and plant/wood charred remains in the archaeological record. The predictions on unknown samples confirm that seaweed was used as fuel in a specific funerary ritual in the southern Atacama Desert coast around 5000 cal BP. Furthermore, charred specimens of Lessonia spp. recovered from combustion features in other northern Chile coastal settlements, suggest that seaweed pyrotechnology developed by Atacama Desert coast people is likely a long-term process. As for coastal archaeology, this work encourages new research on seaweed as an alternative/main fuel in coastal deserts and evaluates possible bias for chronologies from coastal archaeological settlements around the globe.
New excavations at the late Pleistocene site of Chinchihuapi I, Chile, 2019
This paper presents new excavation data on the Chinchihuapi I (CH-I) locality within the Monte Ve... more This paper presents new excavation data on the Chinchihuapi I (CH-I) locality within the Monte Verde site complex, located along Chinchihuapi Creek in the cool, temperate Valdivian rain forest of south-central Chile. The 2017 and 2018 archaeological excavations carried out in this open-air locality reveal further that CH-I is an intermittently occupied site dating from the Early Holocene (∼10,000 cal yr BP) to the late Pleistocene (at least ∼14,500 cal yr BP) and probably earlier. A new series of radiocarbon dates refines the chronology of human use of the site during this period. In this paper, we describe the archaeological and stratigraphic contexts of the recent excavations and analyze the recovered artifact assemblages. A fragmented Monte Verde II point type on an exotic quartz newly recovered from excavations at CH-I indicates that this biface design existed in at least two areas of the wider site complex ∼14,500 cal yr BP. In addition, associated with the early Holocene component at CH-I are later Paijan-like points recovered with lithic tools and debris and other materials. We discuss the geographic distribution of diagnostic artifacts from the site and their probable relationship to other early sites in South America.
Lands in south-central Chile, long thought to have been marginal until the Spanish conquest, are ... more Lands in south-central Chile, long thought to have been marginal until the Spanish conquest, are here shown to have been developing complex societies between at least AD 1000 and 1500. Part of the motor was provided by coastland cultivation on raised platforms, here identified and surveyed for the first time. The authors date the field systems and suggest that they were introduced by farmers from the north seeking wetlands in the face of increasing aridity in the central Andes and southern Amazon.
Geófitas litorales en contextos arqueológicos de la costa arreica, norte de Chile
Se evalúa el aporte de geófitas en la alimentación de poblaciones de la costa arreica a partir de... more Se evalúa el aporte de geófitas en la alimentación de poblaciones de la costa arreica a partir del análisis de material arqueobotánico proveniente de nuevas excavaciones en el sitio Patache A, B, C. Junto con ello, se hace una revisión exhaustiva a la información disponible para sitios arqueológicos emplazados en la costa arreica, norte de Chile, que presentan en sus contextos cormos y bulbos recolectados en los oasis de neblina, comunidades vegetales que crecen en el farellón costero gracias a la bruma del litoral conocida como camanchaca, y que, junto a los ambientes de desembocadura, son las principales fuentes de recursos terrestres para esta costa desértica. Asimismo, se repasan ejemplos etnográficos e históricos que traten sobre la recolección y usos de geófitas, junto a información botánica sobre los ciclos de estas plantas, dispersión y visibilidad en los oasis de neblina. A partir de todo lo anterior, se reflexiona acerca de su disponibilidad, estrategias de recolección y aportes a la dieta de los antiguos habitantes de la costa arreica.
Mediante la revisión de evidencias arqueológicas y fuentes documentales, se indagó acerca de los... more Mediante la revisión de evidencias arqueológicas y fuentes documentales, se indagó acerca de los recursos alimenticios disponibles y consumidos por los antiguos habitantes del castillo de Niebla. Los datos permitieron concluir que el abastecimiento de esta plaza española dependía de las relaciones comerciales establecidas con los grupos mapuche-williche asentados en la cuenca de Valdivia. Asimismo, aun cuando los ingredientes utilizados eran básicamente de origen europeo (p. ej. vacuno y trigo), las preparaciones estuvieron a cargo de cocineras locales.
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Papers by Claudia Silva
Part of the motor was provided by coastland cultivation on raised platforms, here identified and surveyed for the first time. The authors date the field systems and suggest that they were introduced by farmers from the north seeking wetlands in the face of increasing aridity in the central Andes and southern Amazon.
Teaching Documents by Claudia Silva
Part of the motor was provided by coastland cultivation on raised platforms, here identified and surveyed for the first time. The authors date the field systems and suggest that they were introduced by farmers from the north seeking wetlands in the face of increasing aridity in the central Andes and southern Amazon.