The prehispanic indigenous populations from the lower and middle Paraná river

Abstract

This paper synthesizes and discusses the current state of knowledge regarding the archeology of the Paraná River in Argentina, with special emphasis on the systematic studies that our research team has been performing for more than 10 years in the Upper Delta, in the southwestern Entre Ríos Province. As a result of our investigations, a large sector of the study area was surveyed where more than 80 archaeological sites were recorded and eight of them were excavated. Thanks to the assembly of an interdisciplinary team, relevant information was obtained on topics such as the chronology of human occupations, use of faunal and botanical resources, production and use of pottery, and the characterization of mortuary practices. The integration of geoarchaeological and archaeobotanical information allowed confirming the anthropic genesis of the mound constructions or cerritos and the presence of horticulture of corn, beans and squash. The existence of a low-level social hierarchy (already mentioned in the earliest 16th century chronicles) was also evaluated for the populations associated with the Goya-Malabrigo archaeological entity, which could be a derivation of the southern expansion of the Arawak. Finally, the study of the dispersion of the Guarani and the ways of interaction with local populations was addressed. In sum, the advances made in the last decade of research paint a more complex panorama that integrates the local indigenous history into the general adaptive processes that occurred along South American Lowlands.

Keywords

• montículos
• prácticas mortuorias
• tecnología cerámica
• subsistencia
• nordeste argentino