Andean caravans: An ethnoarchaeology

Abstract

This dissertation reports on ethnoarchaeological research conducted among present-day llama pastoralists, (or llameros) in the community of Cerrillos (Province Sud Lipez, Department of Potosi, Bolivia). Using a theoretical framework that combines elements of Marxism and Practice Theory, it aims at defining archaeological correlates for Andean pastoralism and caravan traffic, identifying ways in which the material remains of these activities can be used to explore aspects of the political economy in which they were immersed. Pastoral settlement systems include a minimum of four settings where traces of this activity could potentially be found; these are termed main residences, herding posts, grazing areas, and gathering places. Caravan settlement systems involve six, i.e., caravanners' residences, routes, overnight stops, rest places, articulation points, and extractive loci. Each one of these settings is analyzed in terms of activities, location, artifact content, internal organization, and medium-term processes that condition the relative redundancy in their use. The principles that regulate the organization of behavior and its their material residues in these contexts are discussed, extracting several general propositions that could serve to identify the archaeological record of prehistoric pastoralism and caravan traffic. These remains could also provide important information regarding six variables that are crucial to understand the role of caravan trade in broader social and economic processes: degree of pastoral specialization of caravanners; goods transported; elites' involvement in traffic; ethnic context of trade; geopolitical context of trade; and network configuration.