Pre-hispanic wetland irrigation and metallurgy in the South Andean Altiplano (Intersalar Region, Bolivia, XIVth and XVth century CE)
2024
Guédron, Stéphane | Roy, Clément | Sarret, Géraldine | Tolu, Julie | Ledru, Marie-Pierre | Campillo, Sylvain | Bureau, Sarah | Develle, Anne-Lise | Guiguet-Covex, Charline | Alves, Eduardo Queiroz | Boudin, Mathieu | Joffre, Richard | Cruz, Pablo | Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre) ; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Gustave Eiffel-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (Fédération OSUG)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) | Geological Institute [ETH Zürich] ; Department of Earth Sciences [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - ETH Zürich] (D-ERDW) ; Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich)-Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich) | Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (UMR ISEM) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR226-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM) | Environnements, Dynamiques et Territoires de Montagne (EDYTEM) ; Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (Fédération OSUG) | Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique = Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (IRSNB / RBINS) | Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) ; Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [Occitanie])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Montpellier ; Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Université de Montpellier (UM) | The coring at Saitoco was funded by a grant “projet Sud” at ISEM.
International audience
Afficher plus [+] Moins [-]anglais. The high-altitude Andean Altiplano has been subject to abrupt climate changes during the Holocene. The resulting impact on the hydrological cycle has obliged ancient societies to adapt and develop strategies to face droughts and sustain agropastoral activities. Here, we present the results of archaeological prospections together with the biogeochemical characterization of a well-dated core collected at Saitoco wetland in the arid southern Altiplano (Intersalar Region, Bolivia). Archaeological survey allowed the mapping of a network of channels collecting water from the surrounding mountains to the wetland, and the presence of small copper mines and metallurgical installations. Traces and major element concentrations and accumulation rates, together with elemental and isotopic characterization of organic matter (OM) (i.e., Corg and δ13Corg) in the wetland core have been used to document the evolution of the landscape in relation to climatic and anthropogenic pressure. While OM, bromine (Br), selenium (Se) and mercury (Hg) data were used to assess the variability of precipitationsduring the Late Holocene (4.2 ka BP to the present), local and regional mining activities have been reconstructed through the variations of lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and antimony (Sb). Our results show an abrupt change in OM composition during the 14th and 15th century CE, characterized by an abrupt shift in δ13Corg synchronous with a rise in Br, Se and Hg, testifying for the waterlogging of the wetland during a known arid period in the region. This change is attributed to anthropogenic transformation of the landscape through the irrigation of the wetland by channeling streams from the surrounding mountains. At the same time, a mining pollution signal was recorded supporting local Cu mining and metallurgy. The mining signal then reached its maximum values during the Inca and Colonial periods, which matches with reported enhanced mining activities in the region. From the colonial era onward, the wetland progressively dried up, likely resulting from the abandonment of the site. Through the combination of a biogeochemical record and archaeological prospections, this study provides evidences that societies of the arid Intersalar region have transformed their landscape and developed wetland irrigation and mining during the arid 14th and 15th century CE Period.
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