espanolCon el fin de contrastar la hipotesis de la existencia de una vasta red de intercambio cul... more espanolCon el fin de contrastar la hipotesis de la existencia de una vasta red de intercambio cultural prehispanico entre la re - gion amazonica, el altiplano central y la costa del Pacifico, se analiza la evidencia arqueologica relacionada con el consu - mo y uso de sustancias psicoactivas en el Norte de Chile. Se interpreta luego la evidencia registrada configurando algunas propuestas en torno a las formas de manejo y la posible far - macoterapia vinculada a su consumo, para finalmente situar esta praxis en un contexto cultural, geografico y cronologico mas especifico. EnglishIn order to contrast the hypothesis of the existence of a vast cultural exchange network between the Amazon Re - gion, the Central Altiplano and the Pacific coast, the ar - cheological evidence related to the consumption of psycho - active substances in Northern Chile is examined. The available evidence is interpreted configuring some propositions concerning the manners of handling and the possible phar - mac...
Hunter-gatherers collected and used various woody species depending on the landscape, availabilit... more Hunter-gatherers collected and used various woody species depending on the landscape, availability of plant communities, and sociocultural considerations. With extensive paleo-wetlands and groundwater-fed oases, the Atacama Desert was interspersed with riparian woodlands that provided vital resources (fuel, water, and game) at the end of the Pleistocene in areas such as the Pampa del Tamarugal (PdT) basin. We use anthracological analyses to determine the fuel management strategies of hunter-gatherer societies in this hyperarid environment and explore whether the “Principle of Least Effort” applies. First, we present the combustion qualities and characteristics of woody taxa from the Atacama and analyze possible exploitation strategies. Second, we use anthracological analyses from Quebrada Maní 12 (QM12), a late Pleistocene archaeological site (dated from 12,750 to 11,530 cal B.P.) located in the PdT basin, to show the prevalence of two woody species that were either freshly collecte...
Researchers in the High Andes in northern Chile report the study of a fine cave sequence, support... more Researchers in the High Andes in northern Chile report the study of a fine cave sequence, supported by 19 radiocarbon dates. The initial occupation atc. 11 500 cal BP represents the earliest human occupation known at this altitude. The toolkit suggests a hunting (logistical) camp used to take advantage of the animals gathering in the rich wetland of the neighbourhood.
A distinct feature of many of the earliest archaeological sites (13,000-11,200 cal yr BP) at the ... more A distinct feature of many of the earliest archaeological sites (13,000-11,200 cal yr BP) at the core of the Atacama Desert is that they lie at or just below the surface, often encased in desert pavements. In this study, we compare these sites and undisturbed desert pavements to understand archaeological site formation and pavement development and recovery. Our results indicate these pavements and their soils are poorly developed regardless of their age. We propose that this is because of sustained lack of rain and extreme physical breakdown of clasts by salt expansion. Thus, the core of the Atacama provides an example of the lower limits of rainfall (<50 mm/yr) needed to form desert pavements. At site Quebrada Maní 12 (QM12), humans destroyed the pavement. After abandonment, human-made depressions were filled with eolian sands, incorporating artifacts in shallow deposits. Small and medium-sized artifacts preferentially migrated upwards, perhaps due to earthquakes and the action ...
CONSUMO PREHISPÁNICO DE SUSTANCIAS PSICOACTIVAS
EN EL NORTE DE CHILE SUGIERE REDES TEMPRANAS DE
I... more CONSUMO PREHISPÁNICO DE SUSTANCIAS PSICOACTIVAS EN EL NORTE DE CHILE SUGIERE REDES TEMPRANAS DE INTERCAMBIO CON EL ALTIPLANO CENTRAL Y LA AMAZONÍA
Current scientific evidence shows that humans colonized South America at least 15,000 years ago, ... more Current scientific evidence shows that humans colonized South America at least 15,000 years ago, but there are still many unknown aspects of this process, including the major and minor migratory routes involved, and the pattern of successive occupation of a diverse continental mosaic of ecosystems. In this context, the role of the Andean highlands (3400 meters above sea level) has been neglected, because of the supposedly harsh conditions for humans including hypoxia and cold climate. Nevertheless, the environmental and cultural resources available in the high Andes constitutes an important " megapatch " that should be assessed in terms of human settlement patterns. We review the evidence for late Pleis-tocene/early Holocene hunter-gatherer occupation of one part of this megapatch, the northern Chilean Dry Puna, in its palaeoecological context. We focus on lithic technology, faunal remains, radiocarbon dates, and other archaeological materials related to different social activities, which allow us to suggest that groups of hunter-gatherers organized and adapted their way of life to highland ecosystems through logistical mobility, and curatorial strategies for lithic tool kits that included projectile points and other formalized tools. The morphology and technological processes involved are recognized over vast territories along the high Andes. We identify this material expression as the high south central Andean Archaic hunter-gatherer tradition, which also featured long distance mobile settlement systems and communication processes over this broad and distinct megapatch. More speculatively, we outline the hypothesis that these highland ecosystems constituted a suitable migratory route that may have been key for the early peopling of the continent, and contrast it with the alternative hypothesis of the initially secondary and seasonally intermittent exploitation of this habitat by hunter-gatherers dispersing along the Pacific coastal corridor.
Hunter-gatherers collected and used various woody species depending on the landscape, availabilit... more Hunter-gatherers collected and used various woody species depending on the landscape, availability of plant communities, and sociocultural considerations. With extensive paleo-wetlands and groundwater-fed oases, the Atacama Desert was interspersed with riparian woodlands that provided vital resources (fuel, water, and game) at the end of the Pleistocene in areas such as the Pampa del Tamarugal (PdT) basin. We use anthracological analyses to determine the fuel management strategies of hunter-gatherer societies in this hyperarid environment and explore whether the " Principle of Least Effort " applies. First, we present the combustion qualities and characteristics of woody taxa from the Atacama and analyze possible exploitation strategies. Second, we use anthracological analyses from Quebrada Maní 12 (QM12), a late Pleistocene archaeological site (dated from 12,750 to 11,530 cal B.P.) located in the PdT basin, to show the prevalence of two woody species that were either freshly collected or gathered (very likely on purpose) from subfossil wood. Our results suggest that fuel selection strategies were based on prior knowledge of the qualities of these woody taxa and how they burned. Thus we conclude that fuel management was part of a number of social and economic decisions that allowed for effective colonization of this region. Furthermore, we stress the need for caution when using charcoal to exclusively date archaeological sites located in desert environments. Las sociedades de cazadores-recolectores del Cono Sur recolectaron y utilizaron diversas especies leñosas dependiendo de las condiciones del paisaje, las comunidades de plantas disponibles y consideraciones socio-culturales. Las cuencas hidrográficas, como Pampa del Tamarugal (PdT) en el Desierto de Atacama, contaban con extensos paleo-humedales y oasis sustentados con aguas subterráneas, intercalados con bosques ribereños que proporcionaron recursos vitales (combustible, agua y caza) hacia finales del Pleistoceno. Este estudio utiliza análisis antracológicos para definir las estrategias empleadas por los grupos de cazadores-recolectores para la gestión del combustible en este ambiente híper árido y explorar si dicho comportamiento social puede ser explicado por el " principio del menor esfuerzo ". En primer lugar, se presentan las cualidades y características de quema de los taxones leñosos del Desierto de Atacama y un análisis de sus estrategias de explotación. En segundo lugar, se utilizan los resultados de análisis antracológicos de muestras de carbones y maderas del sitio arqueológico Quebrada Maní 12 (QM12), ubicado en la PdT y asignado al Pleistoceno tardío (datado entre 12.750 y 11.530
Evaluación de meteorizaciones diferenciales en instrumentos líticos de sitios superficiales del á... more Evaluación de meteorizaciones diferenciales en instrumentos líticos de sitios superficiales del área quebrada de Chacarilla, Región de Tarapacá, Chile. - Paula Ugalde Vásquez.
Understanding how human societies interacted with environmental changes is a major goal of archae... more Understanding how human societies interacted with environmental changes is a major goal of archaeology and other socio-natural sciences. In this paper, we assess the human-environment interactions in the Pampa del Tamarugal (PDT) basin of the Atacama Desert over the last 13,000 years. By relying on a socio-environmental model that integrates ecosystem services with adaptive strategies, we review past climate changes, shifting environmental conditions, and the continuities and discontinuities in the nature and intensity of the human occupation of the PDT. As a result we highlight the importance of certain key resources such as water, an essential factor in the long-term trajectory of eco-historical change. Without water the outcome of human societies becomes hazardous.
espanolCon el fin de contrastar la hipotesis de la existencia de una vasta red de intercambio cul... more espanolCon el fin de contrastar la hipotesis de la existencia de una vasta red de intercambio cultural prehispanico entre la re - gion amazonica, el altiplano central y la costa del Pacifico, se analiza la evidencia arqueologica relacionada con el consu - mo y uso de sustancias psicoactivas en el Norte de Chile. Se interpreta luego la evidencia registrada configurando algunas propuestas en torno a las formas de manejo y la posible far - macoterapia vinculada a su consumo, para finalmente situar esta praxis en un contexto cultural, geografico y cronologico mas especifico. EnglishIn order to contrast the hypothesis of the existence of a vast cultural exchange network between the Amazon Re - gion, the Central Altiplano and the Pacific coast, the ar - cheological evidence related to the consumption of psycho - active substances in Northern Chile is examined. The available evidence is interpreted configuring some propositions concerning the manners of handling and the possible phar - mac...
Hunter-gatherers collected and used various woody species depending on the landscape, availabilit... more Hunter-gatherers collected and used various woody species depending on the landscape, availability of plant communities, and sociocultural considerations. With extensive paleo-wetlands and groundwater-fed oases, the Atacama Desert was interspersed with riparian woodlands that provided vital resources (fuel, water, and game) at the end of the Pleistocene in areas such as the Pampa del Tamarugal (PdT) basin. We use anthracological analyses to determine the fuel management strategies of hunter-gatherer societies in this hyperarid environment and explore whether the “Principle of Least Effort” applies. First, we present the combustion qualities and characteristics of woody taxa from the Atacama and analyze possible exploitation strategies. Second, we use anthracological analyses from Quebrada Maní 12 (QM12), a late Pleistocene archaeological site (dated from 12,750 to 11,530 cal B.P.) located in the PdT basin, to show the prevalence of two woody species that were either freshly collecte...
Researchers in the High Andes in northern Chile report the study of a fine cave sequence, support... more Researchers in the High Andes in northern Chile report the study of a fine cave sequence, supported by 19 radiocarbon dates. The initial occupation atc. 11 500 cal BP represents the earliest human occupation known at this altitude. The toolkit suggests a hunting (logistical) camp used to take advantage of the animals gathering in the rich wetland of the neighbourhood.
A distinct feature of many of the earliest archaeological sites (13,000-11,200 cal yr BP) at the ... more A distinct feature of many of the earliest archaeological sites (13,000-11,200 cal yr BP) at the core of the Atacama Desert is that they lie at or just below the surface, often encased in desert pavements. In this study, we compare these sites and undisturbed desert pavements to understand archaeological site formation and pavement development and recovery. Our results indicate these pavements and their soils are poorly developed regardless of their age. We propose that this is because of sustained lack of rain and extreme physical breakdown of clasts by salt expansion. Thus, the core of the Atacama provides an example of the lower limits of rainfall (<50 mm/yr) needed to form desert pavements. At site Quebrada Maní 12 (QM12), humans destroyed the pavement. After abandonment, human-made depressions were filled with eolian sands, incorporating artifacts in shallow deposits. Small and medium-sized artifacts preferentially migrated upwards, perhaps due to earthquakes and the action ...
CONSUMO PREHISPÁNICO DE SUSTANCIAS PSICOACTIVAS
EN EL NORTE DE CHILE SUGIERE REDES TEMPRANAS DE
I... more CONSUMO PREHISPÁNICO DE SUSTANCIAS PSICOACTIVAS EN EL NORTE DE CHILE SUGIERE REDES TEMPRANAS DE INTERCAMBIO CON EL ALTIPLANO CENTRAL Y LA AMAZONÍA
Current scientific evidence shows that humans colonized South America at least 15,000 years ago, ... more Current scientific evidence shows that humans colonized South America at least 15,000 years ago, but there are still many unknown aspects of this process, including the major and minor migratory routes involved, and the pattern of successive occupation of a diverse continental mosaic of ecosystems. In this context, the role of the Andean highlands (3400 meters above sea level) has been neglected, because of the supposedly harsh conditions for humans including hypoxia and cold climate. Nevertheless, the environmental and cultural resources available in the high Andes constitutes an important " megapatch " that should be assessed in terms of human settlement patterns. We review the evidence for late Pleis-tocene/early Holocene hunter-gatherer occupation of one part of this megapatch, the northern Chilean Dry Puna, in its palaeoecological context. We focus on lithic technology, faunal remains, radiocarbon dates, and other archaeological materials related to different social activities, which allow us to suggest that groups of hunter-gatherers organized and adapted their way of life to highland ecosystems through logistical mobility, and curatorial strategies for lithic tool kits that included projectile points and other formalized tools. The morphology and technological processes involved are recognized over vast territories along the high Andes. We identify this material expression as the high south central Andean Archaic hunter-gatherer tradition, which also featured long distance mobile settlement systems and communication processes over this broad and distinct megapatch. More speculatively, we outline the hypothesis that these highland ecosystems constituted a suitable migratory route that may have been key for the early peopling of the continent, and contrast it with the alternative hypothesis of the initially secondary and seasonally intermittent exploitation of this habitat by hunter-gatherers dispersing along the Pacific coastal corridor.
Hunter-gatherers collected and used various woody species depending on the landscape, availabilit... more Hunter-gatherers collected and used various woody species depending on the landscape, availability of plant communities, and sociocultural considerations. With extensive paleo-wetlands and groundwater-fed oases, the Atacama Desert was interspersed with riparian woodlands that provided vital resources (fuel, water, and game) at the end of the Pleistocene in areas such as the Pampa del Tamarugal (PdT) basin. We use anthracological analyses to determine the fuel management strategies of hunter-gatherer societies in this hyperarid environment and explore whether the " Principle of Least Effort " applies. First, we present the combustion qualities and characteristics of woody taxa from the Atacama and analyze possible exploitation strategies. Second, we use anthracological analyses from Quebrada Maní 12 (QM12), a late Pleistocene archaeological site (dated from 12,750 to 11,530 cal B.P.) located in the PdT basin, to show the prevalence of two woody species that were either freshly collected or gathered (very likely on purpose) from subfossil wood. Our results suggest that fuel selection strategies were based on prior knowledge of the qualities of these woody taxa and how they burned. Thus we conclude that fuel management was part of a number of social and economic decisions that allowed for effective colonization of this region. Furthermore, we stress the need for caution when using charcoal to exclusively date archaeological sites located in desert environments. Las sociedades de cazadores-recolectores del Cono Sur recolectaron y utilizaron diversas especies leñosas dependiendo de las condiciones del paisaje, las comunidades de plantas disponibles y consideraciones socio-culturales. Las cuencas hidrográficas, como Pampa del Tamarugal (PdT) en el Desierto de Atacama, contaban con extensos paleo-humedales y oasis sustentados con aguas subterráneas, intercalados con bosques ribereños que proporcionaron recursos vitales (combustible, agua y caza) hacia finales del Pleistoceno. Este estudio utiliza análisis antracológicos para definir las estrategias empleadas por los grupos de cazadores-recolectores para la gestión del combustible en este ambiente híper árido y explorar si dicho comportamiento social puede ser explicado por el " principio del menor esfuerzo ". En primer lugar, se presentan las cualidades y características de quema de los taxones leñosos del Desierto de Atacama y un análisis de sus estrategias de explotación. En segundo lugar, se utilizan los resultados de análisis antracológicos de muestras de carbones y maderas del sitio arqueológico Quebrada Maní 12 (QM12), ubicado en la PdT y asignado al Pleistoceno tardío (datado entre 12.750 y 11.530
Evaluación de meteorizaciones diferenciales en instrumentos líticos de sitios superficiales del á... more Evaluación de meteorizaciones diferenciales en instrumentos líticos de sitios superficiales del área quebrada de Chacarilla, Región de Tarapacá, Chile. - Paula Ugalde Vásquez.
Understanding how human societies interacted with environmental changes is a major goal of archae... more Understanding how human societies interacted with environmental changes is a major goal of archaeology and other socio-natural sciences. In this paper, we assess the human-environment interactions in the Pampa del Tamarugal (PDT) basin of the Atacama Desert over the last 13,000 years. By relying on a socio-environmental model that integrates ecosystem services with adaptive strategies, we review past climate changes, shifting environmental conditions, and the continuities and discontinuities in the nature and intensity of the human occupation of the PDT. As a result we highlight the importance of certain key resources such as water, an essential factor in the long-term trajectory of eco-historical change. Without water the outcome of human societies becomes hazardous.
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Papers by Paula Ugalde
EN EL NORTE DE CHILE SUGIERE REDES TEMPRANAS DE
INTERCAMBIO CON EL ALTIPLANO CENTRAL Y LA AMAZONÍA
EN EL NORTE DE CHILE SUGIERE REDES TEMPRANAS DE
INTERCAMBIO CON EL ALTIPLANO CENTRAL Y LA AMAZONÍA