Distribution of archaeological sites of Ancient Peru is linked to climatology and natural vegetation

Abstract

In this article, we try to discover a parallelism among climate and bioclimate belts, use of the territory, and previously studied plant communities, taking into account historical and archaeological data to find an answer as to how different cultures perceived the landscapes. After a statistical analysis generating a Sørensen dendrogram, we were able to observe how archaeological sites were ordered according to bioclimatic belts, crops, and human activity; the results of a canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed connections among archaeological sites, crops, products, and plant associations of the landscapes. Groups with the most humid climate represent areas with crops with a seasonal rain regime and shepherding of llamas and alpacas, while groups with the driest climate represent areas whose crops need irrigation. Notably, occidental slope areas with cactus associations present a terrace agricultural system irrigated by water springs, while sites near riparian plant associations are joined to vegetable gardens. Amazonian and Oriental Andean crops are present in the same bioclimatic belt in comparison to the coast. Using a minimal spanning tree (MST), hypothetical roads to exchange products between different crop areas could be traced with a high coincidence with the Inca Road (Qhapaq Ñan).

Keywords:

• Archaeological sites
• bioclimatic belts
• humidity interval
• phytosociology
• landscapes
• Peru

Acknowledgments

This work has been carried out with the economic support of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (Madrid, Spain), the Chair of Sustainable Development and Environment of the San Pablo-CEU University- Santander Group (Madrid, Spain), the Antonio Guillermo Urrelo Private University (Cajamarca, Peru), and the Phytogeographic Studies of Peru Foundation (Arequipa, Peru). Our thanks to the Natural History Museum of the San Marcos National University (Lima, Peru), to the Faculties of Social-Historical Sciences and Biological Sciences of the San Agustin National University (Arequipa, Peru), to the herbarium of the National University of Cajamarca (Peru) and to the Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid (Spain) for their facilities to consult their collections and libraries. Thanks to the National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) for the authorization 086-2017-SERFOR/DGGSPFFS. Maria A. Matarazzo, PhD supported us repeatedly with her house, library and anthropological ideas during our stays in Lima. Also, we would like to thank our colleagues from the office of the National Institute of Culture in Arequipa who provided us with numerous archaeological data and references, and to Andrea Galán and Brian Crilly for their editorial assistance.

Author contributions

Design of research: AGM & ELP; performance research: AGM, ELP, JMAG & JAVO; collection and organization of plants data from archaeological sites of Northern Peru: CRZ, FMR, ITM, JMQ; collection and organization of plants data from archaeological sites of Southern Peru: AGM, CTV, ELP, FVB & JAVO; review of geological and geomorphological data: CTV; bibliographical and herbarium queries at Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid: JMAG; construction of maps with QGIS and composition of images: ELP; manuscript writing: AGM & ELP; revised by all authors.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.