Abstract

CARIA, Mario Alejandro  and  GOMEZ AUGIER, Julián Patricio. Geoarchaeology of the northern part of the lowlands in the Tucumán province (Argentina): Patterns in the use of space during the pre-Hispanic epoch. Bol. Soc. Geol. Mex [online]. 2019, vol.71, n.2, pp.275-293.  Epub Oct 30, 2019. ISSN 1405-3322.  https://doi.org/10.18268/bsgm2019v71n2a4.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the different forms of occupation of the space, from a geoarchaeological perspective, during the Formative and Regional Development periods in the northern lowland sector of Tucumán province. To do this, we make a geomorphological-archaeological analysis as a framework of reference for a later determination of prehispanic space use.To establish prehispanic occupation patterns in the area, a formal and functional characterization of the archaeological sites was made first; then systematic excavations, together with a chronological analysis of the occupations were combined with a geomorphological approach through Systems Information Geographical and land controls. At the same time, the morphodynamic processes at different scales were evaluated to establish their incidence in spatial occupation modes, and in the possibilities of locating and preservation of the archaeological material record. It was established that although spatial occupation patterns show predominant trends for each of the two periods considered, that these differences would be given more by a result of the late influence of group occupations from the highlands, rather than internal processes of cultural differentiation of the original populations of the area, which are those that show a spatial regularity over time. From this analysis a discussion is made about the possibilities of inferring regularity criteria in the spatial occupation for the area during the considered temporal range, taking into account both the cultural variables and the intervening morphodynamic processes.

Keywords : lowlands; geomorphology; space occupation; prehispanic.

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