Searching for the Archaeological Indicators of the Domestic Unit
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Abstract
In this paper, we begin by considering co-residence as the central axis for approaching the study of the household unit and its activities. Space and residential constructions thus become the material referent of this social concept. The artifact assemblages recovered and their spatial distribution allow us to establish initial hypotheses regarding the organization of the activities carried out there by the minimal residential group that cohabited the unit.
In order to evaluate this model, we began by analyzing certain surface evidence from the pre-Hispanic settlement of Los Amarillos, Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, identifying an apparently recurrent architectural pattern. We selected a unit that could correspond to the simplest conception of a domestic residential compound and began its excavation.
As a result of the initial work, we recovered a highly varied assemblage of de facto refuse. The diversity of the recorded materials seems to indicate the development of a wide range of activities, including lithic knapping and reactivation, food preparation, textile production, and metallurgical practices. The arrangement of the finds shows a high degree of spatial segregation and ordering, and makes it possible to formulate initial inferences and hypotheses.
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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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