El mundo en movimiento: Circulación de bienes, recursos e ideas en el valle Calchaquí, Salta (Noroeste Argentino): Una visión desde La Paya

Understanding Heterarchy: Crafting and Social Projects in Pre-Hispanic Northwest Argentina

“…revealed a paucity of imported craft goods, especially at Late Period sites. In a recent study of exchange (through re-analysis of burial goods from the town of La Paya and neighbouring sites) Sprovieri (2008Sprovieri ( -20092012) reached a similar conclusion. Obsidian is an exception, as it appears frequently in surface collections made at sites throughout the region.…”

“…The region encompasses diverse altitudinal zones, with a corresponding gradient in resource availability. While archaeologists generally agree that an interaction sphere involving llama caravans existed from the Archaic Period (c. 6000 bc-200 bc), debate continues over the intensity and nature of these con-tacts (Berenguer 1986;Dillehay et al 2006;Nuñez 1991;Nielsen 1997-98;2006a;Albeck 2002;Sprovieri 2012;Tarragó 2006). Some archaeologists emphasize circulation of ritual paraphernalia and psychoactive plants, although more evidence is needed.…”

“…The diversity and range of the assemblage of elaborate, decorated objects made during both the Formative and Late Periods arguably reflects the influence of a ritual mode of production. Mortars, tablets and pipes (particularly those of the Formative Period) are elaborately decorated with miniature sculptures of humans and animals (Sprovieri 2012). The circulation -and ritual ingestion -of psychoactive plants is thought to have had deep roots in the south Andean past (Pérez-Gollan & Gordillo 1993;Torres 1998;Sprovieri 2008Sprovieri -2009.…”

“…12a & 12b). Some evidence (in the form of craft goods) indicates the continued use of hallucinogens during the Late Period (Sprovieri 2008(Sprovieri -20092012). Additionally, Nastri (2008) interprets the iconography of Late Period infant funerary urns as evidence of a 'shamanic cosmovision'.…”

Stones to Build a World: Circulation and Value of Materials in Pre-Columbian Northwestern Argentina

“…This overall pattern of predominantly domestic usage, albeit with a few examples of intentional deposition scattered across the vast area of NWA, contrasts with the pattern seen for the Late Period. After the first millennium ad, although obsidian continued to travel far and wide across the region, large quantities of everyday artefacts were deposited as offerings in some graves across NWA, along with a wide variety of other non-local resources (Sprovieri 2013). Thus while the withdrawal of obsidian from circulation may have begun in some communities during the first millennium ad, through storage or intentional deposition, it is not until the Late Period that this can be seen as a recurring practice.…”