Drained Fields at La Tigra, Venezuelan Llanos

A Regional Perspective

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4374751
AutoresCharles S Spencer, Elsa M Redmond, Milagro Rinaldi
Año1994
Volumen5
Número2
Páginas119-143
Fecha de publicación1994-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaLatin American Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/971559
OpenAlexW2314640223
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas21
Referencias citadas24

This paper discusses drained-field studies in Venezuela, beginning with the first investigations two decades ago that focused on field systems themselves and proceeding to recent research by the authors that examined the drained fields of La Tigra as part of a regional-scale project in the state of Barinas. The La Tigra fields are dated to the Late Gaván phase (A.D. 550-1000), a time of extensive habitation in the region. An analysis of excavated pollen samples from the drained fields and a nearby village site has revealed that whereas maize was the predominant plant, there was notable intersite variability in the secondary cultigens. The paper also considers whether population pressure could have prompted the construction of the La Tigra fields. A comparison of archaeological population estimates to estimates of potential population under varying assumptions of productive capacity yields no indication of demographic pressures. We suggest that drained-field construction in this case was motivated primarily by political-economic considerations, part of a strategy whereby the regional elite sought to stimulate and mobilize the production of surplus by village farmers

Archaeology · Elite · Geography · Political science · Politics · Population · Sociology · Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Latin American Legal and Economic Studies · Demography · Law