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Chenopodium Cultivation and Formative Period Agriculture at Chiripa, Bolivia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Maria C. Bruno  and
William T. Whitehead
Maria C. Bruno
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, MO 63130
William T. Whitehead
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
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Abstract

The emergence of agriculture during the Formative period in the southern Lake Titicaca Basin played a crucial role in the development of the region’s first complex societies. Our study of Chenopodium seeds from the site of Chiripa, Bolivia, sheds light on some of the small-scale processes contributing to the development of agricultural systems between 1500 B.C. and A.D. 100. Using a combination of scanning electron and light microscopy, we identified the crop/weed complex of the domesticate, quinoa (C. quinoa Willd.), and its weedy relative, quinoa negra (C. quinoa var. melanospermum Hunziker), at Chiripa by 1500 B.C. Analyses of quinoa/quinoa negra morphometry and seed frequencies suggest that during the Early Formative period, farmers maintained gardens where both the crop and weed grew and were harvested for consumption. Around 800 B.C., however, we find samples almost entirely of quinoa at Chiripa’s social and political center, the Montículo. The paucity of quinoa negra seeds suggests that Middle Formative period farmers became more meticulous cultivators of quinoa, perhaps through weeding, careful seed selection, and construction of fields. This study complements previous investigations of settlement patterns, landscape modification, and stone tool use in this region, providing a richer understanding of Formative period agriculture.

El surgimiento de la agricultura en la cuenca sur del lago Titicaca fue esencial para el desarrollo de las primeras sociedades complejas. Se presenta un estudio de las semillas de Chenopodium del sitio Chiripa, Bolivia, el cual permite aclarar algunos procesos particulares del desarrollo de la agricultura. Con el uso combinado de microscopio electrónico de barrido (MEB) y microscopía de luz, se identificaron semillas del complejo cultivo/hierbas adventicias de quinoa (C. quinoa Willd.)/quinoa negra (C. quinoa var. melanospermum Hunziker) alrededor del año 1500 a.C. Análisis adicionales de la morfología y la frecuencia de las semillas, revelan cambios significativos. En el período Formativo Temprano (1500 a.C--800 a.C.) los agricultores tenían jardines donde el cultivo y la hierba adventicia crecían juntas y ambas eran cosechadas para su consumo. Alrededor del año 800 a.C. en excavaciones del centro ceremonial, El Montículo, se encontraron muestras con pocas semillas de quinoa negras y muchas semillas de quinoa. La deficiencia de semillas de quinoa negra sugiere que los agricultores del período Formativo Medio (800 a.C.–100 d.C.) se dedicaron al cultivo exclusivo de quinoa tal vez utilizando nuevas técnicas de cultivo como el desyerbe, la selección cuidadosa de semillas y la construcción de campos para los cultivos.

Type
Reports
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , September 2003 , pp. 339 - 355
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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