Assessing the use of allochthonous wood from xerophitic forests of the Neotropical and South American transition zones by ancient agro-pastoralist societies in the Puna high desert (1584–830 BP,northwest Argentina) through archeological charcoal analysis

Abstract

This paper presents the results of research on the use of non-local woods from xerophytic forests that develop in the Neotropical and South American Transition Zone biotic regions at archeological sites in the high Andean deserts of Northwest Argentina during ca. 1584–830 BP. Charcoal analysis from three sites in the Antofagasta de la Sierra area (southern Argentine Puna) identified 16 taxa originating in the Monte de Sierras y Bolsones and Chaco Seco ecoregions, indicating the transport of wood over distances between 100 km and more than 200 km as part of extensive Andean mobility facilitated by llama caravans. The majority of these introduced species were recovered at the Punta de la Peña 9 site, particularly in ritual and festive contexts such as ritual caches, combustion features associated with commensality, and ritual garbage deposits. This pattern suggests that their use was not merely utilitarian but also symbolic or related to final depositional practices. Ethnographic data on these taxa, together with the concept of fire plants, indicate that wood selection and transport may have been motivated by medicinal/veterinary, symbolic, or craft-related properties in addition to their value as fuel or timber. These findings suggest that fire plants played an active role in social practices that linked Puna societies with xerophytic forest regions. Overall, the evidence expands current understandings of how non-native plants were incorporated into agro-pastoralist practices and highlights the social agency of forest resources in shaping exchange networks and ritual life in the Andean past.