Territoriality, space fluxes and juxtaposed transit modalities on the Western Valleys road network (X-XX centuries)

Abstract

The Andean trail network constitutes a cultural heritage that sustained a continuous use from pre-Hispanic times until the second half of the twentieth century. This temporary persistence turns the road system into material and immaterial archives of the regional history, which underlies the importance of its study from an archaeological perspective during the last decades. Research on the mobility practices in the Andes, carried out at the side of the roads that cross the Atacama Desert, have revealed a more complex and dynamic panorama than what was initially proposed by the theoretical models. We reconstructed and analyzed the roads and trails structure system from satellite images photo interpretation, complemented with cartographic and ethnographic information. Later, the role of roads and mobility practices was evaluated for the construction of indigenous territoriality and its significance for the understanding of social dynamics and different ways of inhabiting. We conclude that the trail network was shaped by the confluence of different and multi-directional traffic modalities, revealing continuities in the use of space related to space practices that sink their roots in precolonial times.