Archaeological Evidence of Zea Mays L. (Poaceae) in the Southern Argentinean Puna (Antofagasta De La Sierra, Catamarca)

Bibliographic Data

ID20162881
AuthorsMaría Fernanda Rodríguez (0000-0003-0708-4203, Instituto de Botanica Darwinion), Carlos Alberto Aschero (Instituto de Arqueología, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, San Martín 1545, 4000, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina)
Year2007
Volume27
Issue2
Pages256-271
Publication date2007-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Ethnobiology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0278-0771 • E-ISSN: 2162-4496
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2993/0278-0771_2007_27_256_aeozml_2.0.co_2
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited8

Different varieties of Zea mays L. (Poaceae) recovered from Punta de la Peña 4 and Punta de la Peña 9 archaeological sites were studied. These sites are situated in the vicinity of Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca, Argentina. C 14 dates obtained span 1970 ± 50 and 530 ± 50 BP, which correspond to the Late Holocene. The hypothesis proposes the intensive use of plant species in the studied archaeological sites as a preparation for the next stage, Late Holocene, when horticulture and herding were incorporated into hunter-gatherer practices in the Puna ecozone. Based on this data, the progress of the plant domestication process in the Southern Argentinean Puna is re-evaluated