La configuración espacial de El Pobladito como una aproximación a la organización social preincaica (Quebrada de Humahuaca, Argentina)

• Published in: Antípoda : revista de antropología y arqueología 2019-01, Vol.34, p.3-118
• Main Author: Agustina Scaro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Author: architectural analysis; late pre-Hispanic period; Quebrada de Humahuaca; South-Central Andes; Thesaurus: Social organization
• ISSN: 1900-5407; 2011-4273
• DOI: 10.7440/antipoda34.2019.05

I present an analysis of the spatial configuration of El Pobladito, as an approximation to a culturally constructed space that provides information on the way in which landscape was created in relation to the social organization of the second half of the Late Intermediate Period (c. 1000-1430 A. D.). From this perspective, I seek to assess alternative approaches that consider pre-Inca Andean societies constituted based on heterarchical relations within a corporate organization. Comparing El Pobladito to a sector of Pucara de Volcán allows an approach to a means of building and inhabiting the space of the populations, at the same time as evaluating the changes introduced by the Incas. Methodology: For this study, I developed the space syntax methodology of external spaces according to the methodology of Hillier and Hanson (1984), who proposed that spatial organization responds to the social solidarity of the group that created it. Conclusions: The analysis allowed an approximation to the underlying social organization, considering the ways of inhabiting that would have developed in late pre-Hispanic period. By comparing the results obtained for El Pobladito with those obtained for a sector of Pucara de Volcán, it was possible to establish the differences in the spatial organization of the two settlements, associated to different forms of solidarity and social organization. Originality: The spatial analysis of El Pobladito is relevant given that it is one of the few settlements in Quebrada de Humahuaca where no Inca occupation has been recorded (1430/80-1536 A. D.). The study proposed can reveal aspects of pre-Inca social organization in this part of the South-Central Andes, as well as contribute to the study of societies regarded as “chiefdoms” in other regions. Even though space syntax has already been applied by other researchers, in Quebrada de Humahuaca, this has not been broadly explored. As such, in this study, I explore this line of evidence in the context of the study of the landscape.