An Ancient Irrigation Canal in the Pampa Tamarugal (Chile)

被引:7
作者
Barnard, Hans [1 ,2 ]
Dooley, Alek N. [3 ]
机构
[1] Univ Calif Los Angeles, Cotsen Inst Archaeol, Los Angeles, CA USA
[2] Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Near Eastern Languages & Cultures, Los Angeles, CA USA
[3] SCIEX Ltd, Dubai, U Arab Emirates
关键词
Chile; hydrology; Inka Empire; irrigation; Late Horizon; QUINOA CHENOPODIUM-QUINOA; NORTHERN CHILE; CLIMATE-CHANGE; PREHISPANIC IRRIGATION; ATACAMA; TARAPACA; VALLEY; ARCHAEOLOGY; SYSTEM; WATER;
D O I
10.1080/00934690.2017.1338117
中图分类号
K85 [文物考古];
学科分类号
0601 ;
摘要
Southwest of Tarapaca Valley, in the Pampa Tamarugal of northern Chile, the remains of a canal were discovered running south for more than 6 km. Mapping and excavations indicated that this narrow (about 3 m) and shallow (about 0.5 m) construction was intended to divert water from the perennial Tarapaca River, combine this with occasional run-off from the mountains to the east, and irrigate a system of agricultural fields in a depression on the pampa. Several piles of rocks (cairns) and cleared lines (geoglyphs) were seen in the vicinity of the canal. The recovered pottery sherds were identified as belonging to the Pica-Charcollo tradition (800-1500 C.E.), while four radiocarbon dates from excavated wood and charcoal clustered around 1400-1600 C.E. This places the canal around the time of the colonization of the area by the Inka Empire, which made Tarapaca Valley into a regional center for mining and marine resources. The rationale behind its construction is likely a combination of the need to mitigate fluctuations in the availability of water for agriculture and the production of a larger food surplus.
引用
收藏
页码:259 / 268
页数:10
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