Faunal exploitation in southeastern Lípez (Potosí, Bolivia) during the late prehispanic period

Abstract

Southeast Lipez (Bolivian altiplano) is an arid and cold region where agriculture is not feasible. Archaeological evidence, however, shows a continuous occupation since the Archaic Period. Sixteenth-century colonial sources (Capoche, Lozano Machuca) characterize the population of this region as engaged in a combination of herding, hunting, gathering, and fishing in lakes and marshes, with a dispersed and mobile residential pattern. Modern populations specialize in a combination of herding and long-distance caravan trade. Archaeological survey aimed at characterizing general aspects of Prehispanic subsistence and settlement confirmed the presence of a dispersed settlement pattern, apparently associated with an archi-tecture of perishable materials. This paper presents the results of the analysis of archaeofaunas recovered through the excavation of nine test pits in two Late Prehipanic sites (ca. AD 1200-1600). We conclude that llama herding was the main subsistence activity at the sites, supplemented by hunting of wild camelids.