Post-harvest processing of quinoa grains (Chenopodium quinoa, Chenopodiaceae) in Late Pre-Hispanic period at northern Lípez (Potosi, Bolivia)

Abstract

On the basis of an ethnoarchaeological study of post-harvest quinoa processing in the Lípez Altiplano (Potosí, Bolivia), some diagnostic traits of each activity and methods of processing dried grains are established. The potential of these observations to investigate the ancient practices of processing and consumption of this pseudocereal is illustrated by analyzing grains recovered from four archaeologicalsites near Salar de Uyuni. The quinoas examined were at different stages of processing; some showedno traces of saponin extraction, suggesting that they had been stored immediately after harvest, whileothers exhibited saponification traces comparable to those observed in current contexts, suggesting thatthey had been prepared for consumption.