20225403(en)/2 - A Biogeographic Approach to Farming Limits in Northern Patagonia, Argentina

Gustavo Neme, Adolfo Gil, Laura Salgán, Miguel Giardina, Clara Otaola, María de la Paz Pompei, Eva Peralta, Nuria Sugrañes, Fernando Ricardo Franchetti y Cinthia Abbona

The south of Mendoza province has been characterized as the southern frontier of South American pre-Hispanic agriculture on the eastern slope of the Andes. This characterization has been based on the presence of crops at the archaeological sites and adopting a dichotomic perception of hunter-gatherers and farmers. During the last few decades, the archaeological record has shown a complex and shifting situation both at a spatial and temporal level in relation to the dependence of human groups on this type of resource. Based on a biogeographic model, we evaluated different lines of analysis from the archaeological record to assess the impact of environmental factors on the emergence of agriculture within the region. The results obtained confirm the low importance of agriculture among human groups as well as their flexibility in facing different environmental and demographic scenarios. Finally, we propose that the environmental structure of Patagonia would have played a central role in limiting the spread of domesticated plant use in this region of South America.

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