PUCARA DE LOS SAUCES (DEPARTMENT SANAGASTA, LA RIOJA)

SPATIAL ACTUALIZATION

Abstract

In the year 1914 the Swedish naturalist Eric Boman carried out an archaeological expedition to La Rioja, recognizing several sites in the north and west of the province. Next to the city of La Rioja he identified a succession of located sites along the valley of the Río de los Sauces and he did the mapping of the site “Pucara de los Sauces” located 12 kilometres to the west of the capital city,
assigning the site a net defensive function based on their strategic geographical position and their architectural characteristics. Also, he mentioned the existence of other two sites linked to Pucara de los Sauces, which he considered as “advanced fortresses of the Pucara.”
The objective of this paper is to present a synthesis of the information of latter researches done after are carried out by Eric Boman and to actualize the spatial information of the Pucara de los Sauces site.
The methodology employed comprised prospectings and new planimetric reports that gave the identification of an alignment of circular structures located towards the northwest of the Pucará as well as other units formed by enclosures and structures related to agricultural activities.
The presence of this pattern, structures related to storage activities, in a context whose temporary location could extend from the Formative period up to historical period later on, constitutes an important contribution to the understanding of the socioeconomic development of these societies.