The Lorohuasi Cemetery (Catamarca, Argentina): Ritual and Symbol in a Mortuary Context
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Abstract
We report here the discovery and initial results of the excavation of the late prehistoric cemetery of Loro Huasi, in Catamarca. The evidence recovered so far makes it possible to recognize, on the one hand, the spatial relationship—both centripetal and centrifugal—between the burials and the important focal figure represented by a notable mortar carved on a stone block. On the other hand, it suggests a possible positional segregation of individual immature burials with respect to adult and collective burials.
Alternative interpretations concerning the ritual and symbolic meaning of the findings and their spatial distribution within the funerary context are discussed.
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The author/s grant exclusive license without temporary limit for the manuscript to be published in Cuadernos-FHyCS edited by Humanides the Faculty of Social Science, National University of Jujuy.
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