Assessing Conflict and Exchange: The Defensive and Access Layout of La Alumbrera (c. AD 1000–1480, North-west Argentina)

Abstract

The Regional Development Period (c. ad 1000–1480) in north-west Argentina is characterized, among other important features, by the coexistence of two phenomena seemingly opposed: a constant situation of violent conflict between communities and the maintenance or even intensification of interregional goods exchange networks. Although recent studies recognize the simultaneity of these processes, only a few scholars asked how communities dealt with the necessity of protecting themselves as well as obtaining distant resources. In this paper we present the analysis of the defensive and access layout of La Alumbrera archeological site which has the peculiarity of condensing features that may illustrate an example of how conflict and exchange coexisted at a local scale.

Keywords:

• pre-Hispanic conflict
• exchange networks
• defensive architecture
• access layout
• North-west Argentina

We greatly appreciate the guidance of Dr Daniel Olivera and Dr Verónica Williams in our investigations. We also thank the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas (CONICET) for the scholarships provided to carry out our doctorate research, of which this article forms part. Research at La Alumbrera was supported by grants from UBACYT (F-122), ANPCyT (PICT 26023), and CONICET (PIP 6333).

Notes

1 We do not deny that the conquest of territories may have taken place, and it is possible that a first period of instability was related to the consolidation of territories when communities changed their residential places and erected defensive settlements. An example of this situation may be the high rates of trauma that Torres-Rouff and Costa Junqueira (2006) recorded for the initial phase of the Late Intermediate Period in San Pedro de Atacama (northern Chile), which later decreased.

2 The original quotation in Spanish is ‘En ningún momento dejan el arco, ni el carcaj cargado de más de cincuenta flechas, y tienen un gran renombre de ser valientes y diestros para tirar con el arco’ (Boman, 1908: 44).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pedro Miguel Salminci

Pedro Miguel Salminci is an archaeologist specialized in the relation between sociopolitical organization of north-west Argentina pre-Hispanic groups and their built environment. He has recently obtained a PhD degree from the University of Buenos Aires about residential architecture and hydraulic engineering among pre-Hispanic populations of Antofagasta de la Sierra. Among the main analytical tools he is familiarized with are space syntax analysis and 3D-computer reconstructions.

Correspondence to: Pedro Miguel Salminci, Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano (INAPL), 3 de Febrero 1378, C1426BJN, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Email: [email protected]

María Soledad Gheggi

María Soledad Gheggi is a bioarchaologist with a PhD degree from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her research has involved analyses of skeletal collections from archaeological sites from north-west Argentina, concerning the issues of paleopathology, paleonutrition, stable isotopes, and physical activities. Currently, her research is focused on the analyses of traumatic lesions on human bone related to violent encounters and its implications for the undestanding of warfare and conflict in past societies.