Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Keywords
Colombia, Cordillera Central, mountain rainforest, hunter-gatherers, plant cultivation, mobility, territoriality
Abstract
This article is about the mobility of hunter-gatherers and cultivators, who inhabited two regions of mountain rainforest
in the Cordillera Central of Colombia between the early and middle Holocene. It aims to demonstrate that in tropical
rainforests mobility is a more effective economic and social strategy than sedentary settlement. Given the poor soils
and low carrying capacity of these environments, mobility provides a strategy which allows for periodic regeneration
of resources. We argue that the hunter-gatherer cultivators who lived in the valleys of the Porce and middle Cauca
maintained mobility even though the first evidence for cultivars appears between 7000 BP and 6000 BP. The later
introduction of sedentary settlement was not due to plant cultivation, but rather to other factors such as the necessity
to control territorial resources. Social factors thus played their part in influencing the reduction of mobility to produce
the settlement patterns described by the Spanish chroniclers across the study area.
gatherers, agriculturist, etc. hand, groups that still preserve their mobility like the
Yet if one opposes the dualistic vision of mobility- Nukak (Colombian Amazonia) (Politis 1996) or the
savagery, sedentary-civilisation, it is possible to see Huaorani (Ecuadorian Amazonia) (Rival 1999:102)
that mobility in tropical rainforests (including those sited have achieved good animal protein access. We propose
in mountains), is a much more successful strategy than that until c 4000/3500 BP the early inhabitants of
long-term settlement if mobility is not restricted by a Colombia´s middle mountain range, despite the
high demographic density or by cultural or historical introduction of cultivation, kept a certain degree of
limits, as has happened with the majority of indigenous mobility as a resource access strategy.
soc ieties that have been comp elled to live in The purpose of this paper is thus, on the one hand,
res ervations. I n tropic al e nvironme nts, total to show the strategies of mobility in two regions of the
sedentarisation could be a risky subsistence strategy, Central Cordillera of Colombia and, on the other hand,
due to the soil´s nutrients deficit and, specially, to the to demonstrate the development of itinerant horticulture
low density of animal biomass1 compared with other in the middle Holocene in much the same way that slash
natural ecosystems. As some authors have pointed out, and burn cultivation is practised today among the small
the reduction of animal density is proportional to size scale societies of the Neotropics (Correa 1993:28). In
and duration of settlements (Castellanos 2001; Gross the study area it is necessary to adopt great caution
in colour, which contrast with the natural soils of the The archaeological sites of middle Cauca are
region (figure 2). These deposits contained provisioned located in the basin of Campoalegre River (Department
rocks, lithic artefacts (flaked tools, cores and waste), of Risaralda), a tributary of the right margin of the Cauca
carbonised seeds, animal remains, human remains at River, in the western base where the Middle Cordillera
site 021, and thousands of ceramic fragments (Castillo begins (figure 1). According to Espinal’
s classification,
et al 1999:23). In addition pollen, phytoliths and starch the settlements are located in the zone of very humid
grains, were recovered in the laboratory. These are submontane tropical rainforest (Bmh-PM) (Espinal
camps with regular2 occupation from c 9120±90 BP3 1990), between 1200 and 1600 m asl, with an average
(Beta 72375) to 4230±70 BP, at 045 (Beta 99858) and temperature of 21°C, average rainfall of 2600 mm and
from 8990±80 (Beta 114687) to 4350±70 (Beta 99853) a relative humidity of 80%. The geography of the zone
at 021 in a strategy of environmental exploitation that is narrow and rugged with deep V-shaped incisions with
included hunting, gathering, and the beneficial use of long waters heds mod elle d by mas s co lluvial
aquatic zones, and, from c 6500 BP, plant cultivation. movements, and covered by volcanic ashes (ibid). This
In addition, there are burials at site 021, which date geomorphology is the consequence of erosion cycles
between the period of c 7000 to 5600 BP, and which, that have denuded the colluvial watersheds to be
according to stratigraphy, are associated with animal deposited as small alluvial f ans, with a strong
remains and a higher quantity of carbonised seeds. component of fluvio-volcanic sediments coming from
Around 5000 BP, pottery appears in both burial and the Macizo Ruiz-Tolima. The result of the alluvial
occupation contexts, and this has been interpreted as sediments and volcanic flows of the region is a
an indicator of higher levels of socio-political interaction geography formed of small, round and flat-topped hills
in the region (ibid). The third archaeological site, site on which most of the settlements and fluvial plains are
107, whose occupation ranges from c 5000 BP to 3900 located (ibid:6).
BP (ibid:60), can be differentiated from the two previous The contexts studied were Jazmín, El Antojo,
sites by the absence of the pre-ceramic component, Guayabito, Campoalegre, which were all –with the
since both the ceramic and the lithic industries exception of El Antojo which is a single period site -
demonstrate the cultural correlation of all three sites. multi-period, open air sites, with evidence of occupation
by their stratigraphic position to around 8000 BP. By settlement is found. These provide the richest
this time, the logistically organised settlements, related ecozones, they attract animals from the forested interior
mainly to the peopling of the valley, transform into base in search of water, and the open vegetation favours
residential camps. This shift is indicated by the high the development of grains and herbaceous plants,
diversity and density of lithic tools, comprising axes, tubers and rhizomes. These provide nourishment for a
pounders (figure 3), querns, flaked tools and two new wide range of animals to which the local aquatic species
elements: quartz debitage and cores, and, above all, should be added. All of this means that the riverine
the construction of stone flooring to augment the space, ecozone is one of the most productive ecosystems,
which represents a considerable amount of work, while also being highly predictable in respect of access
related to longer dwelling at the sites and, as a possible to two types of resource that were fundamental for the
strate gy, with anticip ate d mo bility and regular hunter gatherer populations of the tropical forests: game
occupations of the riverside camps (figure 4). At the for the hunt and rapidly growing plants (grains and
same time, the pioneer camps disappear, adding herbs). It seems that the initial inhabitants of the middle
support to the interpretation of logistic mobility. Based Porce targeted a varied but limited spectrum of
on groups who practice residential mobility today, one vegetable and animal resources that was predictable
would have expected more sites in the 120 km2 of the and therefore easier to obtain in a restricted setting,
project had foraging occupation continued. In these before settling down to exploit those few resources
cases the average distance between camps is less than whose dispersion would lead to high mobility and higher
15km (Kelly 1995: 114-5). costs of access.
But what does this type of occupation model mean? During the preceramic stage II phase, represented
Colonisation in the valley took place through exploitation by level IV at sites 021 and 045, from c 7500 BP to
of the river margins, which is precisely where the human 6500 BP (7240±80 -021- Beta 99862; 7080±80 –021-
Subzone 2B 2A 1D 1C 1B 1 A 1 A1
Layer(Hz) I(A1) II(Ap) III(Ap1) III(Ap1) IV(Ap2) IV(Ap2) V (Ap3)
Sample cm 5 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95
Forest elements 22.24 32.84 35.56 23.37 31.65 24.32 13.31 17.43 21.48 24.66
Edge of forest 2.21 5.51 5.68 3.09 1.90 1.82 1.90 1.83 2.22 1.83
ferns 5.80 1.48 3.95 2.75 2.53 0.91 2.28 1.38 0.00 0.91
elements from cultivation 6.91 7.42 3.95 6.53 8.86 5.47 6.84 6.42 0.00 8.22
pioneering elements3.59 3.18 6.67 1.72 3.80 5.47 3.04 4.59 0.00 0.91
Arecaceae 3.59 4.66 3.95 3.44 1.90 0.91 2.28 1.83 0.74 0.91
grasses 9.39 7.20 4.44 6.53 9.49 8.81 6.46 8.26 11.11 12.33
cultivars (yucca and maize) 2.21 4.87 3.21 14.43 1.90 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
selective use [author query] 0.69 1.06 1.73 4.47 0.00 0.61 0.38 0.00 0.00 0.00
algae 1.38 0.00 0.99 0.00 1.90 0.61 1.52 3.21 0.00 0.00
moss 2.90 1.91 1.73 3.09 2.53 0.61 3.04 1.83 2.22 1.83
fungae 28.18 21.19 18.27 20.96 22.78 41.95 38.02 39.91 37.78 31.05
other 6.63 7.63 8.40 7.56 5.06 5.17 14.45 8.26 9.63 7.31
indeterminate 3.18 1.06 1.48 2.06 5.70 3.34 6.46 5.05 14.81 9.13
pollen sum 724 472 405 291 158 329 263 218 135 219
Subzone 2B 2A 1B 1A
LayerHz II(Ap) III(Ap1) IV(Ap2) V(Ap3)
Sample cm 5 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95
forest elements 15.1 18.6 20.5 34.7 25.5 28.3 11.0 7.1 8.3 3.9
pioneer elements 2.3 0.5 9.7 5.1 7.5 4.7 4.7 0.0 0.0 0.0
ferns 1.5 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
elements of cultivation 4.9 2.7 3.2 2.3 3.8 0.0 0.0 2.0 2.1 0.0
grasses 4.2 6.5 4.9 1.9 6.6 0.9 0.8 11.1 0.0 9.8
fungae 43.8 49.2 44.8 42.1 44.3 17.9 30.7 32.3 20.8 31.4
cultivars(maize, amaranto) 5.3 0.5 1.9 1.3 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
mosses 6.4 3.0 0.6 1.0 0.0 6.6 3.9 10.1 2.1 0.0
indeterminate 2.3 5.1 5.5 3.5 0.0 2.8 2.4 4.0 6.3 3.9
others 3.4 2.7 3.9 5.5 4.7 1.9 3.1 5.1 2.1 5.9
algae 10.9 10.8 4.5 1.9 5.7 36.8 43.3 28.3 58.3 45.1
pollen sum 265 370 308 311 106 106 127 99 48 51
Beta 99854; 7080±130 -045- Beta 114681; 6940±70 - evidence of plant cultivation, starch grains of Manihot
021- Beta 99863; 6540±50 -021- Beta 118091) from c 7000 BP (layer IVb, site 021) (table 3).
important changes in the archaeological record can be The alteration of the forest favours the increase of
seen and these clearly indicate a change in mobility. nutritional plants such as wild tubers, and the expansion
Both the density and diversity of lithic artefacts of palms and other fruit trees such as the Solanaceas
increases, new raw materials such as chert appear, and Anonaceas that grow well in disturbed ground. An
together with rejuvenation flakes which reinforce the additional attraction of such areas lies in the fact that
residential character of these base camps. The increase this pioneer vegetation also favours hunting, as the
in pioneer vegetation and weeds of cultivation in roots, fruits and seeds attract animals (Linares 1976).
subzones 1B and 1C at 021 (table 1) and 1B at 045 For this reason Posey (1984) has called them the
(table 2) clearly indicate higher levels of intervention ‘
allotment-grainstores’of the hunt. The alteration of
and alteration of the area. This type of environmental the forests increases the carrying capacity of the
management pre-dates the appearance of the first environment and the general degree of predictability
of the resources. This would explain the longer duration
of settlements and the more regular and predictable
reoccupation of sites. Both are factors that increased
from c 6500 BP, when cultivated species such as
Amaranthus sp; Manihot sp; Zea mays and Cayapoima
sp appeared in subzones 1D at site 021 and 2A at site
045 (tables 1 and 2). This strategy served to
complement hunting and the gathering of wild plants
(Castillo et al 1999: 107; Castillo & Aceituno 2000).
After 6500 BP the time spent in the residential
camps increased as garden plots were created from
introduced species and cultivars. Along with a reduction
in residential mobility, logistical movements must also
Figure 4 Flaking tools, layer IV, site 021 have increased, especially regarding hunting: in order
Figure 5 Left, point of projectile, right, axes, layer IV, site 021
to maintain high return rates. This strategy follows since 1983: 459) are forced to set up logistical camps that
the reduction in animal populations is proportional to can last for several weeks, in order to stock up with
the duration o f the se ttle ments, as has be en sufficient game to avoid nutritional deficits.
demonstrated in recent studies (Castellanos 2001). Up to now, we have not found archaeological
Currently, semi-sedentary groups such as the Yagua evidence for logistical sites that might relate to the
(Chaumeil 1994:224) or the Siona-Secoya (Vickers residential camps of the middle Porce. The only
indication is the presence of chert, an exotic raw specialisation. For this reason they probably maintained
material which could indicate access to more remote a high degree of versatility as a tactic to avoid the risk
lands during logistically organised expeditions. It could of losing access to a range of food which assured a
also, however, be an indication of a wide network of high nutritional level, as indicated by the broad spectrum
alliances between groups and based on the affiliation of plant remains in the archaeological record, both wild
of individuals. and cultivated.
The longer duration of the settlements and the This supports the thesis about the maintenance of
tendency of reducing the mobility of the residential camps, mobility. The pollen data does not show any great
therefore augmenting logistical mobility, increased in the impact, or pressure on the environment between c 5800
third pre-ceramic stage between c 6500 BP and 5000 BP and 4500 BP (table 1). These sites do not show an
BP (6280±120 -021- Beta 118994; 5880±80 -021- Beta increase in size and the soils do not present changes
99864; 5670±70 -021- Beta 118095; 5000±70 -045- Beta in struc ture, nor in chemical compone nts. The
114681). It is at this point that plant cultivation reaches archaeological and palaeoecological data suggest that
its highest level, as seen in subzones 2A and 2B at both the exploitation of the environment, despite the
sites 021 and 045 (tables 1 and 2) and according to implementation of cultivation, maintained a certain
phytoliths and starch data (table 3). Pottery appears c stability in relation to the primary elements of the valley’
s
5000 BP, and in the archaeological record of 021 and occupation. This means that there was a certain
045 one can see the first signs of structures that indicate continuity in land management, based on mobility,
more stable constructions, though no increase in the size group fission and, probably, on the amplification and
of the settlements can be observed (Castillo et al 1999; maintenance of broad kinship relations, as a way in
Castillo & Aceituno 2000). An important fact that which to exploit the environment and inhibit social
corroborates the theory that these settlements were conflict (Castillo 1998: 40; Castillo et al 1999; Castillo
regularly reoccupied is the presence of burials in 021 & Aceituno 2000).
between c 7000 and 5600 BP. The visibility of death is a The higher importance of plant cultivation does
way to create an ancestral memory, fusing past and not correspond with the considerable decrease in
future. This temporal dimension is expressed in the the quantity and diversity of lithic tools. This could
territory where all life cycles are experienced, thus making b e an indicatio n of the c hang ing role o f the
the cemetery a clear indication of the symbolic s e ttle m ents , which c o rre s p ond s with the
construction and appropriation of territory (Criado 1989; disappearance of human burials in 021. It is not
Castillo 1998:48). possible, therefore, to ignore that the role played
Although it is possible to observe an increase in the by the settlements between c 7500 and 5500 BP
duration of the settlements in the middle Porce, up to had been displaced to other sites. Between 5000
now there have been no other sites with which to make and 3500 BP settlements were associated with
a correlation. Therefore, this reduction in mobility should specialised activities such as the periodic gathering
not be confused with a sedentary life because in a of the harvest and making of ceramic vases. The
tropical forest environment there are risks to this semi-sedentary settlements of the previous period
strate gy. On the o ne hand, the pro duction of were abandoned. The later groups, rather than
carbohydrates is guaranteed and optimised through adapting to the gardens, adapted them as a strategy
cultivation (Flowers 1983: 389). On the other hand, the by which to exploit the environment, reoccupying
risk of a scarcity of meat protein has to be taken into disturbed areas, which were safe in the sense of
account (Castellanos 2001). This is why we suggest resource exploitation. Thus, the introduction of
that retaining some mobility is a more effective strategy gardens did not produce a rupture to the way of life;
at this stage than the completly sedentary life. The it was simply an evolution of the strategy by which
Middle Porce groups, until their sites were abandoned, the environment was exploited. In this way the
would have maintained the capacity for mobility groups continued to maintain mobility in order to
throughout their territories, despite having adopted the e xplo it the land . B ut this m o b ility was no w
cultivation of plants and having developed over time c haracte ris e d b y the d is pe rsio n o f gard ens
the exploitation of horticulture. To manage this, these throughout the territory.
groups had to evade becoming trapped into economic
5 The middle valley of the Cauca River between components 1 and 2 which explain almost 80%
In the case of the middle Cauca the differences of the variance (figure 6).
between the archaeological levels on the different In general terms an increase in diversity is shown
sites are also visible in the pollen record and indicate from the start of the Holocene. This corresponds with
that each settlement took advantage of separate the initial s ettlement of the region, and in bio-
resources. A heterogeneous distribution of plant stratigraphic terms it coincides with pollen subzone 2D
resources is indicated, not only as a result of natural at El Jazmín, dated to 9020±60 BP Beta 95061. It
factors such as soil types, but also due to the comprises a decrease in forest elements to 50% and
management of the area. A general diversity of the increase of pioneering plants, weeds and palms
species and the presence of various successive (table 4) all of which was indicators of the succession
stages of forest, suggestive of the evolution of processes set in train by the anthropogenic alteration.
pioneering plants, is all a part of this In order to Nutrient species include Solanum, Pasiflora, Manihot,
evaluate the dif fe re nce s be twe en c ontexts a Xanthosoma and Dioscorea. There are also inter-site
principal component analysis was carried out. This differences in the vegetation (tables 4 –6) which might
shows these differences clearly, starting from the reflect soil variation as much as human management.
opposition of the artefacts in the component graphs These also correlate with changes in the lithic
(figures 5 and 6). Component 1, with the biggest technology.
variance (60%) (table 7), marks the opposition of The earliest record comes from el Jazmín where
the content of El Antojo (flaked lithic residues, quartz axes, adzes, and querns have been recognised along
tools and one stone point) with respect to the other with a reduced quantity of debitage. This seems to
settlements (quern stones and crushing stones, indicate the use of plant based resources and is
edge ground cobbles and flaked debitage from other supported by the increase in diversity that has been
raw materials as well as axes and hoes) (figures 7 observed. As there is only one site it is difficult to look
and 8). at mobility, but we are dealing with a pioneer population
In contrast, component 2 picks up the variance that whose groups had to maintain a high level of mobility
is not explained in the first component, being mainly both to move into new territory and to learn about the
defined by hoes and axe/hoes (table 7). This clearly distribution of resources in the new zones. The
shows the differences between the rest of the sites, archaeological record of later occupation, between
due to the presence of hoes/axes in El Jazmín and 8500 and 7500 BP lies in level IV at el Jazmín (7590±90
their absence in the rest of the sites, as well as the BP Bdta 95888) and el Antojo (8380±90 BP Beta
exiguous presence of axes with polished edges in 93154), level V at Guayabito (7990±100 BP Beta
Campoalegre and Los Arrayanes. The opposition of 95064) and level IVa at Campoalegre (7600±90 BP Beta
the artefacts is clearly shown in the graphs of the 87730). These do not suggest change in terms of
principal components figures 5 and 6), especially diversity from the earlier occupation of level AP2 at el
Subzone 1A 1B 2A 2B 2C 2D 2E 3A 3B
Sample cm 16 37 51 65 84 100 106 112 120 126 136 139 143 146 155 170 188
Layer A1 A2 AB Ap Ap1 Ap1 Ap2 Ap2 BP BP B
forest elements46.6 45.9 50.4 55.6 45.4 47.2 48.1 49.1 50 49.4 62.1 56.9 61.8 48.9 62.0 49.470.2
Arecaceae 9.1 3.2 4.4 6.6 2.5 6.0 4.6 3.6 3.8 4.5 4.5 3.9 2.9 3.8 4.6 3.5 0.0
edge of forest 2.5 0.0 2.2 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.9 0.9 0.5 0.0 0.0 1.4 1.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.0
Pteridophyta 9.1 18.1 14.9 20.7 25.6 17.2 16.3 26.3 17.7 19.3 9.0 14.2 14.2 21.3 20.1 27.421.2
weeds 0.8 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 2.6 2.8 0.0 1.0 4.5 0.5 0.0 0.8 1.6 0.0 0.6 0.0
pioneering
elements 5.8 9.8 8.1 6.6 4.2 3.0 10.3 4.1 5.2 5.1 4.0 1.4 2.0 2.3 0.5 3.0 4.2
Gramineae 3.3 4.9 4.4 6.6 15.7 9.5 7.0 4.5 8.1 6.8 12.4 8.3 6.1 8.4 3.4 4.7 0.0
cultivars 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.5 2.1 0.0 1.3 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
mosses 0.8 0.0 3 0.0 0.0 2.1 0.9 0.4 0.4 1.1 2.2 0.5 0.4 1.5 1.7 2.3 0.0
fungae 11.6 9.8 5.1 2 0.0 5.5 6.0 7.8 9.5 3.4 4.5 11.2 6.9 9.9 6.3 4.8 4.2
other elements 3.3 0.0 2.9 0.9 3.3 2.1 1.4 1.8 1.9 2.8 0.5 0.5 3.2 1.5 0.6 1.8 0.0
indeterminate 5.0 8.2 3.7 0.0 0.0 1.7 0.4 0.0 0.9 2.8 0.0 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.8 0.0
pollen sum 360 183 405 318 242 233 214 220 210 352 354 204 246 262 174 168 141
Subzone 1A 1B 2A 2B
Sample cm 28 38 41 44 60 77
Layer A1 A2 AB AB Ap
Subzone 1 2A 2B 2C
Sample cm 18 27 37 47 57 67 77 87
Layer A1 A2 A3 AB Ap1
Rainforest elements 55.96 50.56 26.67 30.39 40.32 46.55 34.25 43.48
Arecaceae 3.37 5.06 1.33 0.00 3.23 0.00 0.00 0.72
edge of forest 1.12 1.12 0.00 1.96 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Pteridophyta 18.20 15.73 4.00 3.92 11.29 5.17 4.33 4.71
weeds 0.45 5.06 4.00 6.86 4.84 5.17 1.18 11.59
pioneering elements 6.29 3.37 4.00 1.96 4.84 6.90 11.81 2.17
Gramineae 7.64 3.93 6.00 3.92 4.84 5.17 1.97 4.71
mosses 0.00 4.49 4.67 1.96 1.61 0.00 1.57 1.45
fungae 4.94 7.87 42.00 36.27 19.35 22.41 36.22 20.29
other elements 1.80 2.81 1.33 7.84 3.23 3.45 7.09 5.07
indeterminate 0.22 0.00 6.00 4.90 6.45 5.17 1.57 5.80
pollen sum 445 178 150 102 62 58 254 276
c
o Milling stones
m .5 .5 Flakes Qz Hoes Nutting stones
Nutting stones Handstones
p Flakes Qz C Tools Qz Axes
o
o Point Qz Flakes other raw
n Tools Qz Milling stones E.G.C
m
e 0.0 0.0
p Handstones
n
Point Qz o
t
Flakes other raw n
e E.G.C
2
-.5 n -.5
Hoes t
3
-1.0 -1.0
-1.0 -.5 0.0 .5 1.0 -1.0 -.5 0.0 .5 1.0
Component 1 Component 1
Jazmín (subzone 2D), but there is clear evidence of intervention in the forest. The latter holds good even
differences between contexts, as seen in pollen when cultivars appear, the pollen of Xanthosoma and
subzones 2B at Guayabito and el Jazmín (tables 4 and Dioscorea, and starches from Manihot (table 8) do not
5) and 2C at Campoalegre (table 6), all of which fall correspond with change in the archaeological record.
within this chronological range. The predominant model appears to have been one of
If we look at the differences between Cauca and foraging, but neither the archaeological record nor the
the middle Porce, the archaeological record suggests minor impacts on vegetation data are conclusive. The
that the groups of the Cauca moved camp more lithic site of Antojo is specialised in the working of quartz
frequently. The lithic assemblages are less dense and and seems to relate to the base camps that were
show less variability, and there is less evidence of strategically located for visual control and reoccupied
a
Matrix of components
Component
1 2 3
a
Method of extraction: analysis of principal components
on a period basis. It is possible to suggest that these inference, built as it is on the basis of phytoliths, starch,
groups functioned more as collectors, but were well and pollen grains, is not completely fool proof, as it is
adapted to the specific conditions of the tropical subject to the conservation, sampling, and recognition
ecosystems. They occupied strategic sites from which of these microscopic vegetable particles. There are
all activities could be planned, taking into account the certain contradictions to be resolved.
seasonal changes of climate. Changes of base camp In the first place, there is not a great correspondence
were dictated by the demands of the management between the individual data sets relating to phytoliths,
regimes; there were more base camps but each was starch and pollen grains in the two areas, since the
re-occupied regularly. same type of plants were not found in both sets of
An important fact that marks the clear difference analysis (see tables 4 and 5). This signifies that more
with respect to the middle Porce is the co-incidence of analysis of this type is necessary. In the second place,
plant cultivation with m obility. Some degree of the fact that plant cultivation did not have a higher
contradiction can be observed in middle Cauca importance in a region with such fertile soils is still
because, although the evidence of cultivation goes back odd, as it would have been a strategy sufficiently
to c 7500 BP, as seen in the Manihot starches and effective to increase resources and minimise the risk
Xanthosoma and Zea pollen, perhaps as far back as of food shortage. Another important difference in relation
8000 BP, this means of food production is not as to middle Porce that can also be correlated with stability
important as in Porce. The lesser importance of plant in the strategy of environmental exploitation is the
cultivation in Cauca could be a reason why changes in absence of ceramics, since in Cauca pottery does not
mobility cannot be observed here, unlike the middle appear until the first millenium BC. All of these are
Porce, where a clear tendency of reduction in residential important differences that explain certain regional
mobility can be seen. Also because of plant cultivation, developments going back to the final periods of the
there is higher residential mobility and greater Pleistocene.
irregularity in the occupation of the sites. However, this
an ecological perspective, according to which, it is an territoriality patterns enabling them to control the
adaptable mechanism by which human societies riverside ecotone of the Porce river and its tributaries,
articulate control and access to resources depending on which they focused most of their activities of
on the size of the communities. This is done through subsistence.This idea of more rigid territorial control is
the maintenance of an optimal space per individual. reinforced by the presence of the cemetery in settlement
This strategy also works as a strong inhibitor of social 021. The visibility of death would work as a strong
conflict (Cashdan 1983; Dyson-Hudson & Smith 1978; symbolic act which legitimised the right to move and
Peterson 1975; Kelly 1995:163). Therefore, as a control an ancestral territory that had been transformed
strategy for resource access, territoriality has a strong and yet had various meanings for the inhabitants of
relationship with the mode of resource exploitation middle Porce (Criado 1989).
(Peterson 1975; Cashdan 1983). On the contrary, the information relating to plant
According to the theoretical framework proposed cultivation is more diffuse in middle Cauca where the
by Dyson-Hudson and Smith (1978), there are two types intensity of occupation of sites is less. The degree of
of territorial behaviour, depending on the abundance, mobility here was greater, and groups in this region
predictability and grade of resources (Brown in Cashdan had to develop more flexible territorial behaviour
1983). The first type concerns rigid territorial behaviour compared to the middle Porce. It is likely that individuals
based on the strict control of resources and on the had to change from one territory to another with greater
exclusive demarcation of territories. The second type frequency. This is supported by the ethnographic data
is a more fluid territorial behaviour in which there is which also emphasises individual affiliation as a
less control of resources, and where the spatial limits mechanism to support moves from one territory to
are very flexible. another.
The rigid territorial behaviour increases: However, the fact of developing different degrees
when resources are abundant and predictable, of territoriality does not mean that people lived in
both in time and space, as the costs of using and exclusive and closed territories.I It is necessary to
defending the area are compensated with the
remember that severe environmental crises such as
benefits obtained by this defence. However, the
resources must not be super abundant because soil depletion or the decrease of game can carry serious
the cost would be higher than the benefits. (Dyson- risks. A common strategy in hunter–gatherer groups to
Hudson & Smith 1978; see also Peterson 1975;
tackle the fluctuation of resources or strong intralocal
Cashdan 1983).
competition is the establishment of alliances between
On the contrary, in areas where resources are not
groups, allowing the flow of individuals among different
predictable, the costs of controlling them are much
bands as an act of reciprocity (Kelly 1995:186-187).
higher. As a result, in these circumstances a rigid
The mobility of individuals from one area to another
territorial system is not very effective (Dyson-Hudson
is not undertaken at random. Rather, it is regulated
& Smith 1978).
through individual affiliation. Mobility makes it possible
Assuming the relationship of availability of resources
for a community to adjust to the available resources
with degrees of territoriality, the inhabitants of the Porce
through the fission and fluidity of the individuals within
River’
s middle valley should have practised greater
different groups. This is also a mechanism by which to
territorial control of the resources than the hunter-
inhibit social conflict (Peterson 1975). This kind of social
gatherers of the Cauca River’
s middle basin. This
organisation of space is established by a system of
expectation is seen in the archaeological record with
alliance based on mutual reciprocity, (Peterson 1975;
the regular reoccupation of the base camps, greater
Cashdan 1983; Kelly 1995:194), which enables a
levels of alteration of the vegetation and the cultivation
balanced distribution of resources and inhibits conflicts
of gardens, especially from c 6500/6000 BP when
between groups.
foreign crops appear. The increased predictability and
If we look at the variables of abundance and
density of resources resulting from human intervention
predictability, the hunter-gatherers of Porce and the anthropogenic pressure. This tends to result in
middle Cauca ought to have been increasing their mediating strategies in order to increase the production
control over resources as both variables increased due of food-stuffs. Such strategies can be accompanied
to anthropogenic management. This is especially so by the development of cultural mechanisms which
at the time when the first indications of cultivars appear reinforce rights with respect to territory and the sense
in the archaeological record, around 6500 BP in middle of belonging. These can be marked in the landscape
Porce. However, the fact that they were able to exercise as is the case with burial in the middle Porce, thus
better control does not necessarily mean that these making a symbolic statement regarding appropriation.
groups lived in closed territories. Both ecological W ith the passage of time important changes
pressures and natural catastrophes such as the between the two regions are visible. In the middle Porce
volcanic events recorded in the middle Cauca (Toro et one can see a clear tendency for a reduction in mobility,
al 2001:29) could threaten survival at an individual level. which accords with a typical gatherer model regarding
In environm ents where resources are not very the use of space. This requires logistical movement in
abundant, especially game, and where soils are not order to maintain a high level of returns from hunting
very fertile, territorial flexibility can be a more effective (Vickers 1983). From around 5000 BP the advance of
strategy as it makes it possible to control larger cultivation, along with ceramics, and the presence of
territories for exploitation, and in this way fluctuations more substantial structural traces clearly indicate a
in resources may be dealt with by moving to other areas. semi-sedentary lifestyle, not withstanding the fact that
these hunter-gardeners kept up a certain amount of
7 Discussion
mobility in order to avoid over-exploitation and allow
In the middle valley of the Porce River and in middle for the re-generation of both soil and resources. This
Cauca, (San Eugenio and Campoalegre Rivers), we was fundamental given the low fertility of the tropical
propose that the hunter-gatherers who lived between soils. On the contrary, the archaeological record
c 9000 and 4000 BP in the tropical rainforest and indicates that in the middle Cauca the inhabitants could
submontane rainforest, maintained mobility as the most maintain higher rates of mobility compared to the middle
effective way in which to exploit the environment and Porce. This was largely due to the reoccupation of
control their territory. The initial populations of hunter- previously disturbed areas. Over and above the
gatherers based in other zones must have used ecological differences between the two regions, the
logistical camps from which to obtain resources and cultural specifics of each area were important. These
information relating to the lands they were in process determined relations between nature and the human
of colonising. This strategy required a process of population and are highlighted by many ethnographic
learning that was codified into the language of the group examples which show how the world view of each
in order to order their relationship with the natural world culture was a potent factor (see Echeverri 2001 and
(Hornborg 2001:68). Obviously, this exploratory phase Descola & Palsson 2001).
required strategies of mobility that related to pioneering One of the main conclusions is that the development
settlement and were different from those where the of plant cultivation did not mark a rupture in the lifestyle
ecology and symbolic worlds were better known. This of these groups. Conversely, hunting, gathering and
is seen clearly in the middle Porce where death plant cultivation became part of a continuum of
becomes a visible feature around 7500 BP. A reduction environmental exploitation (Aceituno 2001b; 2002).
in mobility is implied afterwards as repeated trips were This resulted in ‘
forest domestication’and had both
required where areas were controlled and this allowed economic and symbolic meaning. According to Rindos
the re-visiting of nutrional plants as they re-germinated (1990), it permitted the existence of agro-ecological
from the previously abandoned settlements. This systems based in a relationship of co-dependency with
increased the predictability, dispersal, and production the plants cultivated in the allotments. This implies
of resources, and thus made the periodic reoccupation that these groups, instead of adapting themselves to a
of sites a more effective strategy. life in gardens, were adapted to a system of hunting
W ith this type of management, a reduction in and gathering which allowed a high degree of continuity
mobility can lead to an imbalance between the in their interactions with nature. In this way, though plant
distribution of resources and population, due to domestication is always considered as one of the
triggering factors of cultural evolution it is necessary to Cárdenas & Politis 2000:33-37) are a good example of
separate the concept of plant cultivation from others, this mode of exploitation, based on the maintenance
such as sedentary life, agriculture, or social complexity. of mobility as a way by which to access a wide range
The adoption of plant cultivation in a nomadic of resources, including the harvest from the gardens.
system must be understood as a very effective strategy Finally, we would like to note that we do not intend
of adaptation, rather than a limiting factor. The to idealise these groups of hunter-gatherers. We are
maintenance of moblility within the framework of forest only trying to demonstrate that under specific
horticulture allowed the hunter-gatherer farmers from circumstances, dependent on time and space, mobility
these regions of the Cordillera Central to rely on various can be a more effective strategy for survival than a
gardens dispersed across the territory. On the one hand sedentary life. We also wish to counter the image by
they used a system of poli-culture in order to collect which plant cultivation is equated to a sedentary life,
throughout the year, and on the other hand periods of and the sedentary life to civilisation. we simply argue
fallow provided for the regenetration of the resource that plant cultivation is one of many factors and that it
(Aceituno 2001b:318). However, this strategy does not alone cannot explain cultural evolution.
appear with plant cultivation but must be traced back
Acknowledgements
to a long tradition of environmental exploitation: the
reoccupation of areas where, due to anthropogenic Research was supported by the Universidad de
Antioquia and Empresas Públicas de Medellín. We are
effe cts, re sources tended to be renewed and
concentrated. In this way, plant cultivation should be ind ebte d to Caroline W ickham-Jo nes for her
suggestions and unconditional support in the translation
understood as the prolongation of gathering, not as a
of the paper. Thanks to Nicolás Loaiza who also helped
rupturing of the system. This is demonstrated in the
in the translation. Our acknowledgements go also to
archaeological record of both regions, regardless of
the reviewers for for their accurate comments, but the
their differences. In this sense, the Nukak Makú of
paper contents are the responsibility of the authors.
Colombia (Sotomayor et al 1998; Politis 2000;
Notes
1 For Amazonia, Terborrgh et al (in Castellanos 2001) R, & Zechenter, E 1989. Hunting and gathering in
have calculated a 36,005 biomass (Kg/Km2) and tropical rain forest: is it possible? Am erican
Castellanos (2001) a 9,551 biomass for the humid Anthropologist 91:59-82.
forests of Guayana. Bailey, RC & Headland, T 1991. The tropical rain forest:
2 Regular here does not mean continuous occupation, is it a productive environment for human foragers?
but rather nomadic occupation at intervals, the Human Ecology, 19 (2):261-283.
periods of which it is, of course, almost impossible to Bettinger, RL1991. Hunter-Gatherers: Archaeological
determine with accuracy. and Evolutionary Theory. New York: Plenum Press.
3 Dates in this paper have not been calibrated. Binford, LR 1980. Willow Smoke and Dogs’Tails:
Hunter-Gatherer Settlem ent Systems and
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