Note on evidence about the use of plants in Soria 2 site from microscopic analisys of pipe contents

Abstract

This paper present evidences of plants use for the formative site Soria 2 (Santa María Valley, Catamarca Province), from the identification of vegetable micro-remains contained in charred materials adhered to the inside walls of two ceramic pipe burners found at the area. The study indicates the presence of maize starch grains (Zea mays) and cotton fibres (aff Gossypium sp.), among others elements. We discuss briefly some im-plications of these results; for the case of cotton, it is the earliest evidence of use registered so far for the pre-inkaic Northwestern Argentina. This research highlights that archaeobotanical studies carried out on these implements not only provide information about the smoking practices in which they were involved, but may supply more general data on the use of plant and the human activities in the past.