El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar, a través del estudio de isótopos estables (δ13Cap, δ13Ccol y δ15N), paleodietas y patrones de subsistencia en grupos cazadores-recolectores de la transición pampeano-patagónica oriental (Argentina) durante el Holoceno medio-tardío (ca. 6000–250 aP). Se analizaron 44 individuos adultos de ambos sexos. Los resultados indican que durante el Holoceno medio los herbívoros terrestres, peces marinos y, posiblemente, pinnípedos tuvieron un rol importante en la dieta. Sin embargo, hacia el Holoceno tardío se observó un predominio en el consumo de herbívoros terrestres y peces fluviales, con la consecuente disminución en la ingesta de recursos marinos. También se detectó una ingesta mayor de vegetales a partir de aproximadamente 1000 aP. Durante el Holoceno medio y, probablemente, el Holoceno tardío inicial se registró una tendencia en la distribución espacial de los valores de isótopos estables, ya que los individuos enterrados hasta una distancia de aproximadamente 20 km de la costa presentan dietas marinas y mixtas, mientras que aquellos localizados a una distancia mayor (hasta ca. 130 km) se caracterizan por dietas terrestres. Estas diferencias podrían estar relacionadas con rangos de acción acotados o una demarcación del espacio que pudo involucrar comportamientos territoriales. Los cambios en la dieta a través del tiempo se asemejan a los reportados para el sudeste de Pampa Húmeda, ya que se observa una tendencia hacia una dieta más continental durante el Holoceno tardío.

A través de la morfometría geométrica, este estudio explora la influencia del contexto cronológico y de procedencia en la variabilidad morfológica de 75 anzuelos de concha de Choromytilus chorus provenientes de siete sitios arqueológicos de la comuna de Taltal, en la costa sur del Desierto de Atacama, Chile. Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas en las formas de los anzuelos provenientes de distintos sitios y períodos. El rasgo que explica el mayor porcentaje de variación morfológica es el largo de una de las puntas, seguido por la abertura del anzuelo. Se identifican tres momentos clave en la evolución morfológica de estos artefactos. Entre 8500 y 7500 cal aP aparecen los primeros anzuelos, predominantemente sin vástago y de abertura amplia pero variable. De 7500 cal aP en adelante, la tecnología prolifera y se diversifica: los anzuelos sin vástago y con abertura amplia siguen predominando, pero formas con vástago y abertura media también están presentes en el kit de pesca. Finalmente, entre 5500 y 4500 cal aP el número de anzuelos disminuye, desaparecen las formas circulares y se mantienen las formas con vástago, pero con abertura más estrecha. El caso de estudio de Taltal contribuye a enriquecer el conocimiento sobre la tecnología del anzuelo en concha a lo largo del Pacífico.

In this article we present a study that seeks to explain the nature of, and the mortuary practices behind, the burials containing multiple individuals at the site of El Caño, Panama (part of the “Gran Coclé” archaeological tradition, ca. AD 700–1000). We set out to test our first impression of these burials as products of sumptuous funerals held upon the death of the rulers that included, among other practices, human sacrifice. With this in mind, our research aims to elucidate the status relationships between individuals, the circumstances of their deaths, and the religious and symbolic significance of their burials. The results reveal the presence of an individual of higher status within every tomb, the existence of a pattern with respect to the status of those who accompany that individual, the practice of mortuary treatments typical of sacrificial contexts, toxic substances, an iconography referring to human sacrifice, and the clear intention of using a burial as a representation of social order. Considering all this, we conclude that multiple burials at this site should be interpreted as high status. Our study highlights the practice of human sacrifice in funerary rituals linked to that status.

Throughout its 200 years, the Museu Nacional (National Museum) in Rio de Janeiro has been the principal museum of natural history in Brazil. It certainly has been among the most important research institutions in the Americas. Many of the greatest national and international scholars worked in or visited its collections, exhibitions, and laboratories. Botanists, zoologists, ecologists, geologists, paleontologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and so many other scientists frequented the research facilities of the São Cristóvão Palace, its hallways, internal gardens, associated buildings, and park. They established friendships, scientific partnerships, and antagonisms, engaging in intense and productive exchanges that advanced science in each discipline yet with a multidisciplinary spirit. This thriving space, which we all always referred to as “our home,” was utterly destroyed by the tragedy of September 2018, when we watched in astonishment as the fire consumed our lives.

El estudio del registro arqueobotánico asociado a un individuo femenino del sitio de Quilicura 1 permitió acercarnos a entender cómo los contextos funerarios del periodo Tardío (1400-1536 dC) contribuyen a la comprensión de los procesos sociopolíticos asociados a la presencia inka en la zona central de Chile. A través de los carporrestos y microrrestos de los residuos de uso de piezas cerámicas ofrendadas, se logró determinar el uso de plantas silvestres y domesticadas en la preparación de alimentos para los difuntos. Estas comidas y preparaciones tipo chicha, además de la presencia de un conjunto de artefactos vinculados a su preparación y consumo, habrían sido la esencia de la hospitalidad, una actividad fundamental en la integración eficiente de las poblaciones locales y, por ende, del funcionamiento del Tawantinsuyu.

What kind of times are these when a talk about trees is almost a crime? Among other things, they are times of forgetfulness. Forgetting does not mean that reminiscences just vanish as time goes by. It is, on the contrary, a major cultural force grounded in a politics of anti-memory. One needs to forget in order to keep repeating oneself. In this article, I argue that the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro did not burn to the ground merely because of the lack of resources, but because being burned to the ground has always been a virtual feature of the existence of the museum since it was created in 1818. It burned as part of a long-term politics of anti-memory in Brazilian history.

En Mendoza (Centro-Oeste argentino), ciudad colonial meridional, los alfareros indígenas locales manufacturaron cerámica desde el siglo dieciséis, aunque su origen étnico fue documentalmente invisibilizado. La presencia de platos tipo Viluco Colonial en los contextos urbanos evidencia que los artesanos integraron técnicas locales, ligadas a la anterior dominación inca, con técnicas y formas de origen europeo. Con el objetivo de conocer las tecnologías de producción de los platos, realizamos análisis macroscópicos, petrográficos y con microscopía electrónica de barrido. A partir de esto, caracterizamos sus pastas, microfábricas y huellas de superficie. Proponemos que dichas vasijas fueron producidas tempranamente en la colonia por alfareros huarpes —sin excluir la posibilidad de participación de artesanos de otros grupos— quienes incorporaron el torno, pero continuaron con la tradición alfarera prehispánica y los lenguajes visuales andinos ligados al imperio inca. Analizar la producción cerámica como parte de la agencia social permitió visibilizar a los alfareros como agentes de cambio en la conformación de las nuevas identidades y culturas coloniales mendocinas, ya que sus productos híbridos pudieron ser usados por los colonos europeos, generando transformaciones identitarias como parte del proceso de etnogénesis.

Paleodemographic simulations are rare in the Maya region, because generally the skeletal collections do not represent well the ancient living population, are poorly preserved, and lead to flawed age-at-death estimations. The skeletal collection of Xcambó, however, is suitable for paleodemographic analysis and is large enough to enable comparison of paleodemographic trends between the Early (AD 250–550) and Late Classic (AD 550–750) periods. Three demographic simulations were generated; two relied on growth rates calculated from the site's previous archaeodemographic data, and a third simulation was based on a stationary scenario by applying Weiss's (1973) and Séguy and Buchet's (2013) models. All simulations indicate that Xcambó’s Late Classic population was growing faster than its Early Classic peers, with higher rates of survivorship and more severe mortality rates. We argue that the differences are more likely due to shifts in lifestyle and wealth than to environmental changes, as is confirmed by other bioarchaeological and skeletal indicators.

During the Epiclassic period (AD 600–900), the northern frontier of Mesoamerica consisted of a regional network of polities focused on large, hilltop centers, including the site of La Quemada in the Malpaso Valley of Zacatecas, Mexico. Although extensive archaeological research has been conducted at the site, the refinement of its chronology is essential for two reasons: (1) to establish the chronological control necessary to characterize social processes diachronically and (2) to ensure that the occupational history of La Quemada is accurately integrated into the regional chronology of the northern frontier. A combination of frequency seriation, correspondence analysis, and discriminant function analysis results in the recognition of three occupational phases across the areas excavated by the La Quemada-Malpaso Valley Archaeological Project (LQ-MVAP). Our three-phase chronology independently confirms both the intra-context ordering of analytic units and the previously proposed growth trajectory of the site: beginning in the monumental core, expanding into the western flank, and later retracting back into the core. The separation of the LQ-MVAP material record into chronological phases means it is now possible to track changes in the social processes that may have contributed to the formation, maintenance, and decline of La Quemada and other northern frontier polities.

In the Lake Titicaca Basin during the Late Intermediate period (LIP; AD 1100–1450), people's lives were overwhelmingly structured by warfare. Previous research in the region has shed light on how martial conflict between and possibly among competing ethnic groups motivated people to live in fortified villages on defensive hilltops. At the same time, there was a centuries-long drought that threatened agricultural production. Little is known about the plant use of people living in hillforts during this arduous time. Drawing on macrobotanical information collected from Ayawiri, one of the largest hillforts in the northern Titicaca Basin, I argue that the food stuffs and plants used were locally grown. Additionally, these findings indicate a possible departure from earlier symbolically charged and ritually important plant consumption practices based on the lack of imported maize. This research sheds light on how people adapted their domestic and agricultural strategies to warfare and climate change during the LIP.

Since Kaminaljuyu was first systematically excavated in the 1930s, the chronology of the site has been fraught with confusion and scholarly disagreement. In recent years, scholars generally adopted the chronology presented by Shook and Popenoe de Hatch (1999) as the most authoritative account. In 2014, however, Inomata and colleagues proposed a revision of this chronology by shifting its Preclassic portion (including the Las Charcas and Providencia phases) roughly 300 years later in time. In this article, we analyze a total of 108 radiocarbon dates with Bayesian statistics, tying them to detailed ceramic analysis. These dates include previously reported dates, measured after the year 2000, as well as 68 new radiocarbon dates obtained from Kaminaljuyu and nearby sites. The results largely support Inomata and coauthors’ (2014) revised Preclassic chronology, placing the Las Charcas–Providencia transition around 350 BC and the Providencia–Verbena transition around 75 BC. In addition, we present new dates on the Early Classic period, although some ambiguity remains for the Esperanza phase, when Teotihuacan-related elements were introduced to Kaminaljuyu. The revised chronology, combined with environmental data, suggests an explosive increase in population and construction activity during the Verbena and Arenal phases.

In this article, I take a close look at the objects collected over the last 200 years from the indigenous people of the Upper Rio Negro, northwest of the Brazilian Amazon, that were part of the ethnographic collection of the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro. Examination of these objects allows us to explore the main characteristics of the ethnographic archive of the museum, as the Upper Rio Negro collections were connected to different topics associated with indigenous societies and histories in Brazil, including enslavement, forced displacement, religious conversion, and indigenous territorial, artifactual, and cultural knowledge. This article also highlights the professional commitment of Brazilian anthropology to amplifying indigenous voices over the course of the history of the discipline, and by doing so, it pays homage to the women and men whose work built the National Museum collections.

El estudio de la génesis de los montículos de la cuenca de la Laguna Merín, Uruguay, se focalizó en el aporte de sedimentos y elementos descartados. Investigaciones basadas en la geoquímica de la matriz llevaron a considerar el rol del fuego en su elevación. Ensayamos contrastar su presencia por medio de las técnicas de datación por luminiscencia. Si las edades o paleodosis medidas por luminiscencia ópticamente estimulada (OSL, por sus siglas en inglés) y por termoluminiscencia (TL) de diferentes fracciones de la matriz son similares, próximas o con cierto grado de superposición, entonces el agente de blanqueo tiene que haber sido el calor. La hipótesis fue verificada en montículos de tres sitios arqueológicos ubicados en el sur de la cuenca. La evidencia de que estaríamos frente a prácticas recursivas que producen acumulaciones de sedimento termoalterados nos condujo a los hornos de tierra y los oven mounds de Australia. La presencia de hornos de tierra prehistóricos ya fue reconocida en Uruguay. Los oven mounds son un potente análogo etnográfico-arqueológico que ilustra sobre procesos de formación de acumulaciones de sedimento termoalterado, al mismo tiempo que permite abordar aspectos socioeconómicos y simbólicos. Por último, a partir de las implicaciones de la hipótesis, señalamos la pertinencia de abordar los montículos a dos escalas: la de los comportamientos que los elevaron y la de su realidad como parches dentro del paisaje.

San José 520 is a Classic period hamlet of single-family residences in the urban periphery of Teotihuacan, just beyond the southeast edge of the city. Three burial features were associated with one of the residences, AF2. One of the features contained the burial of a single adult, another the successive burials of eight adults and one neonate, and the third held a neonate. We analyzed 29 bone and enamel samples from the adults for bioapatite phosphate oxygen-isotope composition; we also considered isotopic data for another five bone samples analyzed in a separate project. The isotopic results suggest a pattern of birth in the Teotihuacan region and then movement in early childhood to a “relocation” region, the geographic location of which is unknown. Later, probably in adolescence, the individuals returned to live, and eventually die, in San José 520. Without knowing more about the occupation of the relocation region, it is difficult to say what concerns or beliefs underlay this unusual but long-established settlement system.

The Santa Elina rock shelter (Central Brazil) was recurrently occupied from the Late Pleistocene to the Late Holocene. We compare sets of previously published anthracological analyses with new data to reconstruct the landscape, vegetation, and climate over the several thousand years of occupation, providing information on firewood management from about 27,000 to about 1500 cal BP. Laboratory analyses followed standard anthracological procedures. We identified 34 botanical families and 84 genera in a sample of almost 5,000 charcoal pieces. The Leguminosae family dominates the assemblage, followed by Anacardiaceae, Bignoniaceae, Rubiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, and Sapotaceae. The area surrounding the shelter was forested throughout the studied period. The local landscape was formed, as it is today, by a mosaic of vegetation types that include forest formations and open cerrado. Some regional vegetation changes may have occurred over time. Our data corroborate the practice of opportunistic firewood gathering in all periods of site occupation, despite a possible cultural preference for some taxa. The very long occupation of Santa Elina may be due not only to its attractiveness as a rock shelter but also to the continuously forested vegetation around it. It was a good place to live.

En este trabajo se describen las relaciones que las sociedades humanas establecieron con su entorno durante el período Formativo (3000-1000 aP) en la Pampa del Tamarugal, Desierto de Atacama, desde una perspectiva teórico-metodológica que pone el acento en el potencial del registro ecofactual. Éste, al mediar entre lo cultural y lo ambiental, proporciona información vital para una mejor comprensión de la relación entre naturaleza y cultura construida por estas sociedades. Queremos demostrar que este proceso forma parte de una larga historia de racionalización del desierto y de sus recursos silvestres, locales e introducidos, así como de la vivencia particular que tuvieron estas comunidades andinas. Por consiguiente, proponemos que la intervención humana en la Pampa del Tamarugal puede ser entendida como un cambio no sólo ecológico y económico, sino también cosmológico.