Books by andres troncoso
The Inkas in the Southern Andes
Una mirada a los procesos socio-históricos en el centro norte de Chile a partir de evaluar la var... more Una mirada a los procesos socio-históricos en el centro norte de Chile a partir de evaluar la variabilidad espacial, visual y tecnológica del arte rupestre
Papers by andres troncoso
Journal Archaeological Science Reports, 2021
The study of rock art production has been traditionally focused either on the tools used in the p... more The study of rock art production has been traditionally focused either on the tools used in the process and/or in the components of rock paintings. In this paper we consider the role of fire and soot as substances that participated in the dynamic process of rock art making by Late Holocene hunter-gatherers from the Limarí River Basin (North-Central Chile). Through Optical Microscopy, Raman Spectroscopy and SEM-EDS analyses, together with traditional strategies of rock art recording and radiocarbon dating of paintings, soot and materials recovered from a stratigraphic excavation, we study how fire and soot structured the practice of rock art making in Alero Cachaco. The results show that the deposition of soot on the walls and ceiling of the rockshelter, produced by fire associated with daily activities of the communities that inhabited it, covered paintings, leading people to re-paint the rockshelter for almost 3000 years.
Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2019
Technology has been a central theme in archaeological discussion. Different approaches have been ... more Technology has been a central theme in archaeological discussion. Different approaches have been developed in order to understand and better explain the processes that lead to the production of objects and things. The anthropology of technology has been one such effort, with its focus on technological style and the chaîne opératoire. In this paper we argue that, despite their many contributions, these approaches tend to isolate the process of production, as well as to see it as the imposition of culture over nature. Instead, we propose a relational approach to technology, one that considers the multiple participants in the social actions involved, stressing the affective qualities of the different entities participating in the process of making. We focus this discussion on the production process of rock art in North Central Chile by Diaguita communities (c. AD 1000-c. 1540), arguing that making petroglyphs was a central activity that aimed at the balancing of the world and its participants, creating a mediating space that facilitated connectedness between the multiple members of the Diaguita world, humans and other-than-humans.
Estudios Atacameños, 2019
Sculpted stone models or maquetas are a distinctive material expression of the inca occupation of... more Sculpted stone models or maquetas are a distinctive material expression of the inca occupation of the Atacama Desert. In this paper, we characterize a site with stone maquetas located along the Loa River above the town of Chiu-Chiu. Based on its formal attributes, the site can be dated to the Inca period. We consider the site’s internal spatial organization and relationship with the landscape to discuss how the maquetas acted as intermediaries between human and non-human beings in the region as part of agricultural rituality. Finally, we situate the agricultural rituality of the maquetas within the ritual and political dynamics established by the inca state in the Atacama.
Andean Ontologies: New Archaeological Perspectives
Oxford Handbook of Archaeology and Anthropology of Rock Art, 2018
spatial and temporal patterning. Second, we address the theoretical and methodological frameworks... more spatial and temporal patterning. Second, we address the theoretical and methodological frameworks that have been used to interpret this art in a more global context. Third, we make a brief evaluation of how practices of rock art production and consumption relate to different types of communities and sociohistorical contexts across the region. In doing so, we hope to provide a panorama that allows us to discuss both the challenges that we face, along with Central and South America's potential to contribute to a global understanding of rock art.
Archaeologies, 2019
The object of the present article is to study the relations between the forms of knowledge produc... more The object of the present article is to study the relations between the forms of knowledge production in archaeology and the existing systems of publication in academic journals. We explore the predominant criteria in peer-review processes and the relative importance of their epistemological dimension. The results are discussed in terms of the social, political and institutional implications of contemporary academic archaeology, suggesting a need to strengthen epistemological criteria in the peer-review processes, thus improving the justification of the assertions that archaeology makes about the past. This is important for archaeology as a discipline that claims to generate a contribution to present-day society, but it requires changes in institutional policies at local and regional levels in order to be effective.
Time and Mind, 2019
The affective and agentive capacities of other-than-humans have been widely assessed by archaeolo... more The affective and agentive capacities of other-than-humans have been widely assessed by archaeological approaches dealing with ancient and indigenous ontology. However, less attention has been given to how human, other-than-human and social practices were engaged in historical cosmopolitics. This paper aims to discuss how social practices related to rock art production and use, weaving a field of relations among carved rocks, landscapes, humans and other-than-humans in the Atacama Desert, Northern Chile, during the Inka period. Our results show these relationships participated in a cosmopolitics that emphasised the Inkas’ capacities to relate with ‘Earth-Beings’, to use de la Cadena’s term, central in the socio-political reproduction of local communities. This research provides an example of the understanding of rock art as a relational, historical, and social practice, rather than an exclusive focus on its visual features.
Australian Archaeology, 2018
The production of rock art was a recurrent practice in pre-Colombian America and continued after ... more The production of rock art was a recurrent practice in pre-Colombian America and continued after the arrival of Europeans in AD 1540 and conquest by the Spanish Empire. Contact rock art associated with this historical moment is known in various regions of the Andes. The main focus of study has been through characterisation, defining relative chronologies and assessing which rock art images are attributable to Indigenous communities. In this work, we explore the contact rock art of north-central Chile through two complementary lines of discussion. On the one hand, we assess how the manufacture of rock art in colonial times articulated with earlier production dynamics. On the other, the coexistence of agrarian and hunter gatherer groups in this region in the 16th century AD allows us to compare how the rock art of these two groups reacted to the imposition of Spanish colonisation. The results enable us to identify similarities and differences in the dynamics of contact rock art in the two groups, related both to Spanish policies and to the historical traditions of native communities. Despite the differences, the new visual productions were incorporated into the ancestral spaces of both the agrarian and hunter gatherer communities. ARTICLE HISTORY
Lugares, Monumntos, Ancestros, 2018
An unexplored aspect in archaeology is how middle range societies with low hierarchies and weak l... more An unexplored aspect in archaeology is how middle range societies with low hierarchies and weak leaderships did reproduce through the time. In this paper, we discuss how middle range societies from Central North Chile built public spaces through rock art manufacture. The unfolding of an organized and ritualized practice of making petroglyhps allowed the integration and the reproduction of a community with a scarce spatial integration. The placement of rock art sites in liminal spaces implied that petroglyphs manufacture was an activity which mediated among different kinds of actans as well as many scales. We discuss that idea of liminality and mediation of rock art sites using the andean concept of taypi
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2019
During the Late Holocene, important changes can be identified in the social dynamics of hunter-ga... more During the Late Holocene, important changes can be identified in the social dynamics of hunter-gatherer populations in different regions of the southern Andes. These transformations are associated with processes of demographic growth, territoriality, increased social complexity, technological innovations, and intensified exploitation of the environment. One of the technological transformations associated with these processes is the popularization of bone instruments. In this study, we discuss the functions of bone tools made by Late Holocene coastal hunters-gatherers of North-Central Chile, by carrying out a morphological characterization and identifying use-wear patterns on their surfaces. Our results show that bone technology was used for hunting, fishing, and gathering activities, from flint working to processing vegetal fibres and hide. A reduce number of artefacts had an ornamental use as well. These results suggest a varied and intensive exploitation of the surrounding space by coastal groups, where bones of land animals constituted an important part of the raw materials used in bone industry. Also, we argue that some bone artefacts were elements structuring social relations, as they participated in flows of information and social networks. We conclude by arguing that the popularization of bone industry reflects the dynamics of social complexity, as well as how bone was integrated as a productive, economic, and social resource in the process of coastal hunters and gatherers who inhabited the area.
Latin American Antiquity, 2018
Bedrock mortars recur in the record of many prehispanic communities. However, few studies discuss... more Bedrock mortars recur in the record of many prehispanic communities. However, few studies discuss their relationship with
social processes. In the present work, we discuss a regional study of bedrock mortars in the semiarid north of Chile, specifically
the Limarí River basin (30° S). Using a combination of formal, spatial, contextual, archaeobotanical, and absolute dating analyses,
we assess the chronology of bedrock mortars and how they related to social processes of hunter-gatherer populations of
the region (2000 BC to AD 1000). In particular, we suggest that an increase in production of bedrock mortars among potteryusing
hunter-gatherer groups (AD 1–1000) can be observed, associated with a greater intensity of plant collection and use, and
a diminution in the importance of hunting. This situation led to a set of new social relationships structured on the practice of
collective grinding and shared use of bedrock mortars. These results show the importance of this material record as a means of
approaching aspects of prehispanic social life, and demonstrates a methodological framework within which to interrogate this
materiality by combining different analytical levels of bedrock mortars’ variability.
Intersecciones en Antropología, 2018
En este trabajo discutimos las características de las ocupaciones cazadoras-recolectoras del Holo... more En este trabajo discutimos las características de las ocupaciones cazadoras-recolectoras del Holoceno medio y Holoceno tardío del sitio Alero Roca Fértil (30° Lat. S), las que han permitido reconocer una prolongada reutilización de este espacio con importantes modificaciones en la intensidad de la ocupación y su relación con el entorno. Estos resultados se integran y discuten con las dinámicas generales bservadas para ambos momentos a nivel regional, como en otros sectores de los Andes del Sur. La mirada microrregional del estudio y su incorporación en un contexto espacial mayor permiten reconocer particularidades de este proceso de cambios y la integración de este sitio con otros del área para un mayor entendimiento de estos grupos y su relación con el medio.
The Oxford Handbook of the Incas
In many provinces of the Tahuantinsuyu, the understanding of Inca domination has been focused on ... more In many provinces of the Tahuantinsuyu, the understanding of Inca domination has been focused on the political strategies implemented by the state. However, the political landscape developed during this time required an engagement with dynamic local communities. By studying the visual and spatial distribution of rock art in North-Central Chile, we discuss how traditional community practices were transformed during the Inca era. We propose that in the Late Intermediate Period rock art was key in the production of a corporate community, whereas in the Inca period it promoted the construction of hierarchy and social differences within the communities. This change was promoted by the local leaders, who took advantage of ancestral places and traditional community
practices. Simultaneously, the Inca political strategy made concerted efforts to invisibilize such places and practices.
Sentidos Indisciplinados, 2018
En este artículo discutimos cómo abordar la sensorialidad a través del estudio del arte rupestre ... more En este artículo discutimos cómo abordar la sensorialidad a través del estudio del arte rupestre y las experiencias que este promovió. Consideramos tanto a la sensorialidad como a las experiencias relacionadas con el arte rupestre como histórica y ontológicamente situadas. En este contexto, compararemos dos casos de estudios del Centro-Norte de Chile: pinturas rupestres de cazadores-recolectores y petroglifos de comunidades agrícolas (Figura 1). Abordamos estos casos de estudio desde la perspectiva del hacer, discutiendo cómo la producción y consumo del arte rupestre formaron parte de conjuntos multisensoriales que cambiaron a lo largo de la historia, entendiendo así al arte rupestre como mucho más que una simple experiencia visual, una idea previamente introducida por Ouzman (2001). Así también, examinaremos cómo estos diferentes conjuntos de arte rupestre son parte de ontologías específicas, discutiendo cómo los conjuntos sensoriales se relacionaron con la producción y reproducción de las ontologías de los cazadores-recolectores y de las comunidades agrícolas de la zona.
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Books by andres troncoso
Papers by andres troncoso
social processes. In the present work, we discuss a regional study of bedrock mortars in the semiarid north of Chile, specifically
the Limarí River basin (30° S). Using a combination of formal, spatial, contextual, archaeobotanical, and absolute dating analyses,
we assess the chronology of bedrock mortars and how they related to social processes of hunter-gatherer populations of
the region (2000 BC to AD 1000). In particular, we suggest that an increase in production of bedrock mortars among potteryusing
hunter-gatherer groups (AD 1–1000) can be observed, associated with a greater intensity of plant collection and use, and
a diminution in the importance of hunting. This situation led to a set of new social relationships structured on the practice of
collective grinding and shared use of bedrock mortars. These results show the importance of this material record as a means of
approaching aspects of prehispanic social life, and demonstrates a methodological framework within which to interrogate this
materiality by combining different analytical levels of bedrock mortars’ variability.
practices. Simultaneously, the Inca political strategy made concerted efforts to invisibilize such places and practices.
social processes. In the present work, we discuss a regional study of bedrock mortars in the semiarid north of Chile, specifically
the Limarí River basin (30° S). Using a combination of formal, spatial, contextual, archaeobotanical, and absolute dating analyses,
we assess the chronology of bedrock mortars and how they related to social processes of hunter-gatherer populations of
the region (2000 BC to AD 1000). In particular, we suggest that an increase in production of bedrock mortars among potteryusing
hunter-gatherer groups (AD 1–1000) can be observed, associated with a greater intensity of plant collection and use, and
a diminution in the importance of hunting. This situation led to a set of new social relationships structured on the practice of
collective grinding and shared use of bedrock mortars. These results show the importance of this material record as a means of
approaching aspects of prehispanic social life, and demonstrates a methodological framework within which to interrogate this
materiality by combining different analytical levels of bedrock mortars’ variability.
practices. Simultaneously, the Inca political strategy made concerted efforts to invisibilize such places and practices.
The approach was initially based on a combination of visual interpretation of high resolution satellite images (GeoEye 1) and fieldwork for mapping the layout and shape of most of the elements (canals, groups of fields, settlement areas). For the accurate documentation of smaller or densely built areas, an SFM-based photogrammetry approach was carried out, based on the use of a low cost UAV (Dji Phantom) and a consumer-grade compact digital camera for the acquisition of low altitude aerial images that allowed the generation of 3D models and orthoimages of some areas. Finally, ground based photogrammetry was also used to capture and represent some elements in greater detail.
The main result has been the construction of a highly detailed and accurate map of a complex group of archaeological structures, which has been used since for the analysis and interpretation of the area, and also for the design of new fieldwork seasons.
The main result has been the construction of a highly detailed and accurate map of a complex group of archaeological structures, which has been used since for the analysis and interpretation of the area, and also for the design of new fieldwork seasons.
A partir de este trabajo, se plantean algunas hipótesis relativas a su secuencia de formación y uso. En específico, por medio de un análisis formal constructivo de los elementos estructurales (canales y terrazas) y de las relaciones estratigráficas entre ellos, se plantea una secuencia hipotética acerca de la existencia de dos formas sucesivas de organización del espacio productivo en el lugar, una del PIT y la segunda de época incaica.
Junto con caracterizar estas dos modalidades, se discute el rol de los sistemas productivos agrícolas en las dinámicas sociales del período Intermedio Tardío y Tardío en el Loa Superior.