From Mounds to Villages: The Social Construction of the Landscape during the Middle and Late Holocene in the India Muerta Lowlands, Uruguay

Nicolás Gazzán, Cristina Cancela-Cereijo, Camila Gianotti, Pastor Fábrega-Álvarez, Laura del Puerto and Felipe Criado-Boado
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Nicolás Gazzán: Laboratorio de Arqueología del Paisaje y Patrimonio del Uruguay, Centro Universitario Regional del Este, Rocha 27000, Uruguay
Cristina Cancela-Cereijo: Laboratorio de Arqueología del Paisaje y Patrimonio del Uruguay, Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación, Montevideo 11200, Uruguay
Camila Gianotti: Departamento de Sistemas Agrarias y Paisajes Culturales, Laboratorio de Arqueología del Paisaje y Patrimonio del Uruguay, Centro Universitario Regional del Este, Rocha 27000, Uruguay
Pastor Fábrega-Álvarez: Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Laura del Puerto: Departamento de Sistemas Agrarias y Paisajes Culturales, Centro Universitario Regional del Este, Rocha 27000, Uruguay
Felipe Criado-Boado: Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: This paper presents new data on the spatial organization of mound-builder groups in the India Muerta wetlands, Uruguay. This area presents the beginning of land architecture in the region (ca. 4800–5000 years BP), associated with more arid climate. This construction tradition continues and intensifies, mainly from ca 3000 years BP, from the establishment of warmer and damper conditions. New sources of information and geospatial technologies have made it possible to locate mound sites with greater precision, as well as to analyze settlement patterns. Indigenous communities occupied areas of hills, plains and wetlands, showing differences but also regularities in spatial organization in each area. In the whole area, earthen mound complexes form groups of different orders, from regional to domestic units, configured by mounds, negative structures and limited spaces. The location of the mounds is primarily in dry areas, known locally as islands, which are prominent in the landscape during floods in this wetland-dominated environment. Through this analysis of the landscape, this work delves into the underlying logic of the social construction of the territory. The results achieved in this paper are consistent with previous research suggesting planned occupation associated with villages integrated within broader regional systems.

Keywords: settlement patterns; landscape construction; earthen mounds; GIS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:3:p:441-:d:774944

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