Deyeuxia eminens (Poaceae, Agrostideae) in an archaeological site of the Argentine Southern Puna (Province of Catamarca).

Abstract

This study includes an analysis of the species of Poaceae recovered in an archaeological site in the Argentine Southern Puna, province of Catamarca: Quebrada Seca 3. The investigation was carried about the use of Deyeuxia eminens J. Presl by groups of hunter-gatherers during the Archaic period ca. 10000-3000 years BP (8000-1000 years BC). The starting point for the study of the archaeobotanical record was the recording of the present flora and the ethnobotanical information obtained in the area. The comparative taxonomic and anatomic analysis of the actual and the archaeological plants allowed the identification of the latter. The results indicate the abundance of Deyeuxia eminens in the archaeobotanical record of the site. As a result, the areas from which the species comes, its probable use and a certain seasonal occupation of the site were inferred.