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Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117

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Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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The construction of hunting sceneries: Interactions between humans,

animals and landscape in the Antofalla valley, Catamarca, Argentina
Enrique Moreno
Escuela de Arqueología, Universidad Nacional de Catamarca – ISES/IAM, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán – CONICET, Av. Belgrano 300, 4700 Catamarca, Argentina

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Through the history of human occupation in the south-central Andes, the interactions between south-
Received 9 December 2010 American camelids and human populations were essential in the social reproduction, being hunting
Revision received 27 October 2011 one of the appropriation modes of greater long term. In this sense, the way in which encounters between
Available online 25 November 2011
hunters and their preys were materialized becomes a relevant subject in order to understand these inter-
actions. That is why in this paper I pretend to show the way in which the landscape were constructed
Keywords: where the encounters between hunters and their preys were given. For this, I shall focus in the informa-
Hunting landscape
tion obtained from the intensive and systematic survey developed in the Antofalla valley, located in the
Camelids
South-central Andes
Antofagasta de la Sierra Department, Catamarca Province, Argentina. This information has allowed me to
Landscape archaeology identify a series of structures build with the aim of propitiate the encounter of herds by means of antic-
Antofalla valley ipating the movements of the animals, searching to obtain near and fixed targets in order to materialize
the attack.
Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Introduction. The story of hunting in South-central Andes
Through history of human occupation in the south-central An-
des, the interaction between camelids and human populations
were central in the social reproduction, in relation with the obtain-
ing of a series of resources such as meat, leather, bone, tendons,
wool, and transport. Among the strategies practiced by human
populations in order to appropriate these animals (sensu Ingold,
1987), hunting results the most important strategy because of its
realization in the long term of human occupation of the area, and
also because of its relevance in different social, economic, politic
and historical contexts. A multiplicity of investigations has pro-
vided information about these populations and the relevance of
hunting in this long historical process which covers approximately
the last 10,000 years. In this sense, these investigations have pro-
posed that during the early and middle Holocene, human popula-
tions were characterized by an economy based in camelids and
rodents hunting and in the exchange of vegetable resources from
lower areas, principally the mesothermal valleys (Aschero, 2000;
Elkin, 1996; Martínez, 2003; Yacobaccio et al., 1997–1998). The
archaeological investigations were able to advance in the charac-
terization of hunting strategies, as well as on the patterns of settle-
ments and the mobility of these groups. Among these studies it is
the one carried on by Aschero and Martinez (2001) who assure that
‘‘the hunting of camelids was the principal subsistence activity, includ-
ing during late moments under the full establishment of agricultural
E-mail address: enalmor@yahoo.com
practice (although) hunting and gathering dominated the strategies
of subsistence of most of the history of men in the puna desert, until
herdering and agriculture, as productive ways of subsistence, started
to become preponderant in these economies’’ (Aschero and Martinez,
2001, p. 216, author’s translation. Also see Martínez, 2003).
In the same way, Elkin (1996) analyzing the archaeofaunal re-
mains of Quebrada Seca 3 (Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca)
shows that the camelids were the principal resource of this zone
in the puna of Catamarca (Fig. 1). This author proposes the rele-
vance of hunting camelids without selecting ages nor sex of the
preys. An important conclusion she arrives at is that ‘‘the camelids
populations of the Antofagasta de la Sierra basin seem to have sup-
ported a hunting pressure through several millenniums without the
need of protecting the animal’s reproduction rate, systematically prey-
ing over family groups, the most vulnerable part of the population’’
(Elkin, 1996, pp. 134–135, author’s translation).
These authors, together with other investigations in the South-
central Andes, have proposed the realization of camelids hunting,
being a very important resource due to its caloric input as well
as the use of secondary products such as wool, leather, and bones.
In this way the mobility of human populations would also have
been related with the mobility strategies of troops of camelids in
moments of climate changes, occupying lower or higher ecological
levels (Fernández Distel, 1974; Gambier, 1981; Núñez, 1983;
Yacobaccio, 1991; Yacobaccio et al., 1997–1998).
Around 5500 BP, the process of domestication of plants and ani-
mals should have begun, which implies an important modification
in economic, social, political and religious contexts in the local

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doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2011.10.006
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E. Moreno / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117
Fig. 1. Antofagasta de la Sierra deparment map where the Antofalla valley is located as well as other sites named in the text (Modified from Aschero, 2000).
populations. This period shows a progressive decrease in the
importance of hunting camelids which Yacobaccio et al. (1997–
1998) proposed as a process beginning with a hunting-gathering
economy, passing through hunting-domesticating, hunting-herd-
ing until reaching a time of herding-hunting. This modification
would be given in the predominant strategy which is defined as
the one that determines the organizational structure over which
different economic activities are planed and realized. This process
implies a complexity of the hunting-gathering societies, character-
ized by aspects such as the reduced residence mobility, territorial
behavior, high population density and presence of bigger groups
of residents, intra-group inequalities, development of ritual prac-
tices as a form of social cohesion, as well as a marker of the
inequalities and hierarchies (Hocsman, 2006; Yacobaccio, 2001).
Around the start of the 1st millennium a.C. the agricultural-
herding societies are definitively established, which conform the
‘‘formative period’’ inside the chronology established by the regio-
nal archaeology (Olivera, 2001). These societies, in the case of the
Puna, have been characterized as small populations dedicated to
herding, with a differential grade of agriculture development and
with the input of hunting wild camelids (Vicugna vicugna and Lama
guanicoe) and rodents. In this way the economic organization and
therefore the reproduction strategies of human groups were based
around the control of the herds, subjecting the other practices to
the development of these activities (Yacobaccio, 2001).
However, information obtained in diverse archaeological inves-
tigations, show that this situation was more flexible, where there
can be noted a diverse economical organization, where different
economical strategies had a relevant importance at the moment
of reproduction of the every day life. Regarding agriculture, Ques-
ada (2001, 2007) has developed an investigation in the Antofalla
area, where he shows the agricultural development and the social
scale of work associated to these practices, remarking the impor-
tance of this activity. On the other hand, investigations centered
105
in the arcaheofaunal remains have shown a relative preponderance
of the exploitation of wild camelids, specifically vicuñas, in relation
to the already domesticated lamas (Lama glama). These are the
cases, among others, of Tebenquiche Chico 1 (Haber, 2006.
Revuelta, 2005), Quebrada Seca 3 (Elkin, 1996) and Real Grande 1
(Olivera, 1997), in the puna of Catamarca and Huachichocana III
(Yacobaccio and Madero, 1992) in the Puna of Jujuy. This allows
me to reflect about the role of hunting of wild camelids in the agri-
cultural-herding period, being an economy based on diversified
economic strategies. In this historical context, the relevance of wild
camelids, particularly of vicuñas starts to modify, particularly be-
cause of the quality of its wool and its role in the regional articula-
tion and in the reproduction of social hierarchies.
Following this imaginary timeline, in the Inka period and
according to what the historical chronicles show, the vicuñas
would have recovered an important ‘‘economical-ritual’’ role by
taking part of the celebrations of the chaku in honor of the Inka
(Puló, 1998, 2000; Ratto, 2003). This ritual consisted in the prepa-
ration by the participants of a great circle, in which a troop of vic-
uñas was entered and then they were hunted and the flesh and
wool were given to the Inka. It seems that this practice had a strong
control by the inka state as it is shown in several chronicles and
ethno-historical investigations (Cieza de León [1553], 1984; Murra,
1978; Polo de Ondegardo [1571], 1990).
Later on, during the colonial period (XVI and XVII centuries), the
vicuña would have turned in one of the principal resources to
accomplish the payment of tribute by the local populations due
to its characteristics (possible to be changed for metals, raw mate-
rial to be transformed into manufactures which could be placed in
the market or object which would be accepted as ‘‘money of the
earth’’) (Lema, 2004; Yacobaccio et al., 2007), However this is re-
ferred in the narrative construction of travellers of the zone from
a deterministic view, where the unique economic option for local
populations was the subsistence through the vicuña and it was
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106 E. Moreno / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117
not thought as a mechanism of articulation of the local societies
with the emerging colonial markets (Haber and Lema, 2006; Lema,
2004; Moreno and Revuelta, 2010).
Already in the republican period (XIX Century), the importance of
the vicuña hunting would continue being central for the local popu-
lations, providing a resource which was possible to be exchanged for
goods from other regions. So, the vicuña hunting added to the hunt-
ing of other species, would provided a surplus of resources even
more important than agriculture. This activity supplied resources
such as meat, wool and leather. However the principal resource
would have been the weave of the vicuña which would allow the ex-
change for other goods in places such as Cachi (Salta) or San Pedro de
Atacama and Toconao (Chile) (Benedetti, 2005). ‘‘The commercial ex-
change consists in selling the leathers and wool of the vicuña, llama,
sheep and goat leather, and there can be added the animal skins ob-
tained of hunting. . . Other products which they exchanged for corn or
flour are the woollens which they spin and knit by primitive methods
and which are very appreciated by experts’’ (Catalano 1930 in Bened-
etti, 2005, p. 400, author’s translation).
The materialization of vicuñas hunting and its introduction into
the European markets due to the fine quality of its wool, promoted
the realization of an excessive hunt of these animals, causing the
ban of hunting and marketing of vicuñas wool since approximately
60 years in the territory of the Province of Catamarca, as well as in
all the areas which own vicuñas in South America. These laws were
established because of the claim of different areas because of the
killing of vicuñas due to the high prices of the wool and the total
lack of control of this practice (Moreno, in press-a; Puló, 1998,
2000; Vilá, 2006).
The study of hunting practices
The construction of this long historic journey shows the impor-
tance of hunting in the puna context, in relation to changes in so-
cial, political or economic contexts, reinforcing the importance of
evaluating the characteristics of this practice. In order to construct
this narration, archaeology has centered itself in three principal
analytical strategies, although not exclusive, two of them with
more development than the third one. The first of these databases
is based in the study of the hunting technology which allows the
interpretation of hunting strategies taking into account the recon-
struction of the types of weapons (throwing spears, shuttles and
bow and arrows in the context of pre-hispanic South-central An-
des), to which can be added the characteristics of the natural envi-
ronment and the social relations among hunters. In this way
strategies are constructed such as ambush or wait and the possible
use of inciters (Churchill, 1993). These strategies were modified
depending on the weapons used, hand in hand, with changes in
the efficiency, the flight distance or the damage power (Aschero
and Martinez, 2001; de Souza, 2004; Escola, 1987, 2000; Hocsman,
2006; Martínez, 2003; Moreno, 2010; Ratto, 2003). The second
database allows the evaluation of the representation of the differ-
ent species and reconstructs the strategies used to improve the so-
cial reproduction. But this analysis also allows the understanding
of aspects such as the different exploitation of skeletal parts, trans-
portation, depositation, formation processes, etc. (Elkin, 1996;
Haber, 2001, 2006, 2007; Izeta, 2007; López, 2006; Mondini and
Elkin, 2006; Moreno and Revuelta, 2010; Olivera, 1997; Olivera
and Grant, 2009; Revuelta, 2005; Yacobaccio and Madero, 1992).
In the particular case of the area of Antofalla, there is relevant
information, which comes from the Tebenquiche Chico valley
about the importance of vicuña hunting in contexts corresponding
to the 1st and 2nd millennium a.C., where the representation of
vicuñas reached from 70% to 80% of the identified specimens per
specie (Haber, 2001, 2006; Revuelta, 2005; Moreno and Revuelta,
2010).
The third way of analysis, the landscape, has had a minor devel-
opment, being remarkable the investigations made by Ratto (2003)
in the Chaschuil basin (Department of Tinogasta, Catamarca)
where, by means of the realization of surveys in different land-
forms and the analysis of the hunting technology, the changes dur-
ing the hunting strategies in hunting-gathering and productive
context are assessed. Another background in which the hunting
landscape is analyzed, was performed by Aschero and Martinez
(2001) in Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca. These authors pro-
pose hunting models for early moments (8800-6600 BP) based
on an articulation among the design of projectile points, the ethol-
ogy of camelids, the topographical characteristics of the environ-
ment and the hunter’s interaction. Finally a relevant theoretical
and methodological background for this investigation is the study
performed by Haber (2003b, 2007, 2009) who proposes an analysis
of different types of structures registered in the Archibarca basin
(Antofagasta de la Sierra Department, Catamarca), which allow
him to construct a view of the landscape in terms of a trap, where
the anticipation and the interaction of the shared knowledge be-
tween hunters and preys explain the characteristics of the hunting
landscape.
I believe that this last aspect, the landscape, has a relevant
potentiality in order to be able to study the practice of camelid
hunting due to it is there where encounters between hunters and
preys take place and leave possible traces to be identified by spe-
cific analithical strategies. In addition, this landscape is con-
structed, lived and reproduced through the interactions between
human populations and between these and other relevant factors
which allows the materialization of the encounters. In this way
people, animals, topography, rocks, gods, weapons, water, wind,
etc. are important and necessary aspects so the hunting can take
place. In order to assess this issue, I will here present the Antofalla
valley case, located in the northeast area of the Antofagasta de la
Sierra department, Catamarca Province, Argentine Republic1. In
that place an intensive and systematic survey of the whole valley
was made in order to assess the characteristics of the hunting land-
scape and the modifications which can be registered using specific
analithical methodologies of archaeology (Moreno, 2010). This sur-
vey allowed me to interpret the construction of a landscape related
to the preparation of spaces which propitiate the encounter between
hunters and preys, based in the anticipation of the movements of the
troops by the hunters.
In this sense, the landscape is comprehended as a dynamic fac-
tor, being used and constructed by human populations, at the same
time that it participates in the maintenance or transformation of
social relations (Bender, 1993; Curtoni, 2007; Ingold, 1993; Tho-
mas, 1996; Tilley, 1994). The landscape, therefore, may be inter-
preted as a place created by people, that it is full of human
actions and meanings. In this way ‘‘. . . living in it, the landscape be-
comes a part of us, just as we become part of it’’. (Ingold, 1993, p.
154). So, at the same time humans structure, prepare, live the land-
scape, construct their identity in relation to the landscape, the as-
pects which form it and the other people which share it. In this
way, in the landscape a way of doing the hunting is composed
meanwhile in the body memory these techniques which tend to
propitiate the encounter through the anticipation of the movement
of the possible preys, are embodied (Haber, 2003a, 2003b, 2007;
Haber and Moreno, 2008; Moreno, 2010).
1
The intensive survey in Antofalla was made in the frame of the research projects
‘‘Arqueología e historia de la Puna de Atacama: paisajes arqueológicos de la región de
Antofalla’’, Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, and ‘‘Estudio
arqueológico de los límites agrícolas de los oasis del área de Antofalla’’, Universidad
Nacional de Catamarca, both directed by Dr. Alejandro Haber
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E. Moreno / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117 107

In this frame, hunting must be understood as a social practice;

as an action which has political connotations, being this concept
understood in a very broad sense; they might produce intentional
or not intentional changes in the social scope (Bourdieu, 1977;
Giddens, 1984). In this sense, hunting implies physical concrete ac-
tions, such as the weapon manufacturing, the hunting landscape
preparation and the selection of the prey, but at the same time, so-
cial actions (as for example the participants of communal hunting)
or religious (taboo of hunting certain animals or the ban of hunting
some animals in certain dates or places) give sense to this practice.
Taking into account this statement, in the Antofalla valley an
intensive and systematic survey which took into account as well
as the cultural modifications performed by the human groups
through time the relevant natural aspects for the conformation of
the hunting landscape, was developed.

The Antofalla valley

The Antofalla valley is located in the north-western area of the

Antofagasta de la Sierra Department, Catamarca Province. It is orig-
inated in two waterholes located, the bigger one at 4100 meters
above sea level and the smaller one approximately at 3900 meters
above sea level. The watercourse goes down through the valley un-
til it gets to the Salar de Antofalla, where it oozes. This character-
istic of the hydric regime contributes to the conformation of two
basic forms of distribution of vegetation. On one hand, a concen-
trated vegetation formed by marshes, which are characterized for
a grass cover which is more or less continuous, associated by
streams of slow water. On the other hand, dispersed vegetation
formed by ‘‘tolares’’ and ‘‘pajonal’’. The first formed by thorny
bushes of the genders Adesmia, Acantholipiam, Baccharis, Fabiana,
Senecio and Paratresphia. The ‘‘pajonal’’ is formed by clumps of
grasses of great forage value, predominating the genders Festuca,
Stipa and Deyeuxia (Cabrera, 1957; Elkin, 1992, 1996; Haber,
1991; Morlans, 1995).
The Antofalla valley has two well marked slopes, being in some
areas very steep and in others fairly smooth, varying between 0
and 22%. It was possible to identify some areas which could have
been used as paths, while other steep slopes are almost impossible
to climb, also because of the characteristic of the sandy soil (Fig. 2).
The Antofalla valley is located in what is called Puna Meridional
(Olivera, 1991) or Puna salada (Troll, 1980), formed by a climate of
extreme dryness with summer rains which reach 150 mm per year,
strong temperature variations between day and night, low vegeta-
tion coverage, topography with steep slopes and high altitudes. The
rain is principally snow, mostly occurring in the highest peaks.
Nevertheless the micro environmental characteristics of the Anto-
falla valley make the human settlement favorable due to the pres-
ence of water resources, soils able for agricultural production
(Quesada, 2007) and the necessary characteristics for the settle-
ment of territories for wild camelids such as water, vegetation,
smooth slopes and high rocks used to protection during night
times (Moreno, 2010).
Referring to the paleoenvironment information, I do not count
on data for the specific area, but there is studies made in near
areas, in which I focus (Fernández et al., 1991; Grosjean, 1998;
Markgraf, 1985, Núñez and Santoro 1988, Núñez et al., 1999,
2002; Olivera et al., in press; Santoro et al., 1991, Valero Garcés
et al. 2003, Ybert, 1991).This studies have allowed to identify that
around the early Holocene (11000-7500 BP) there would have been
a period of more humidity and lower temperatures, where the
lakes increased their levels, being the rainfalls capable to reach
up to 500 mm per year. Around 8700 BP there should have begun
a process of decrease of the humidity and an increase of the tem-
perature, characteristic of the middle Holocene. Later on between
Fig. 2. General view of the Antofalla valley where the characteristic of the
landscape are presented.
5500 and 3000 BP the characteristic should have been of erosional
processes, which resulted of flood events and colluvial deposits.
Starting the year 3000 BP a process of increase of the humidity
starts and has it highest point around 1600 BP. Meanwhile the ac-
tual conditions should have been established by mid of the XX
Century.
This valley, traditionally occupied by human populations in the
long term (Haber, 2004, 2006; Haber et al., 2002; Haber and
Moreno, 2008; Moreno, 2009, 2010; Quesada, 2007) is today
inhabited by the members of the ‘‘Comunidad Indigena Kolla-Ata-
cameña de Antofalla’’, who have reused some productive areas to
harvest potatoes, corn, garlic, using irrigation networks to trans-
port the water to the plots. They also raise sheep and lamas, repro-
ducing traditional forms of relations between people and
environment and reusing some structures constructed in previous
moments.
Considering all what has been presented until here, the Antofal-
la valley is a relevant case in order to assess the hunting strategies
performed by the human populations along time in order to obtain
wild camelids.
The systematic survey in Antofalla
In order to evaluate the characteristics of the hunting landscape
in the Antofalla valley a survey was designed covering the whole
valley. To do so, there were performed linear transects, separated
every 40 meters aiming to identify the distribution and the settle-
ment of the evidences (Criado Boado, 1999). The length of transects
and the quantity of people that participated in them changed,
according to the environment characteristics and the area where
were executed. A control factor of the survey was the performance
of systematic sampling (Binford, 1972). In each transect every
100 m a sampling of 1 m2 was performed in order to analyze distri-
butions in the landscape (Haber, 1999). This samplings aim is to
evaluate in detail in the selected area the presence of archaeolog-
ical materials that perhaps during the dynamic of the walk might
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108 E. Moreno / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117
not have been registered (Moreno, 2010). During the survey three
principal aspects were taken into account: the control of transects
and the samplings; the recognition of archaeological sampling
units and the landscape characteristics of the areas where these
units were located (vegetation, degrees of the slopes, water
sources, paths, etc.).
For the evaluation of the sampling units I took three analytical
macro-categories: structures, dispersion of archaeological material
and isolated findings. However in all the sampling units the follow-
ing variables were taken into account: geographic coordinates,
approximate dimensions, general description, superficial material
associated, differentiated according to its raw material (as for
example bone, lithic or pottery) spatial location (its association
with the characteristics of the environment as for example paths,
water, rocks, etc.) and its visual characteristics (visibility, intervis-
ibility) (Criado Boado, 1999). In the units where the superficial
material was scarce and could be transported, it was collected in
order to be processed in the laboratory. Otherwise it was described
in situ, through a general revision of the characteristics of the iden-
tified material. This situation happened only with the dispersions
of lithic material, since the other materials (pottery, glass, bone,
wood) could always be collected due to the small quantities of
pieces that formed these dispersions.
During the intensive survey in the Antofalla valley a total of
40 km2 was covered through the performance of 660 transects. I
identified 3301 sampling units which allowed the construction of
the general characteristics of the structuring of the hunting land-
scape. In order to achieve this, I shall start analyzing the identified
structures during the fieldwork.
The structures in Antofalla
In the intensive survey of Antofalla I identified a variety of
structures which refer to different cultural landscapes and histori-
cal times. In the particular case here presented, I refer to those
Fig. 3. Different types of trenches registered in the intensive survey of the Antofalla valley.
structures which could have played a relevant role in the perfor-
mance of hunting. For that I focus in some categories of sites pro-
posed by Haber (2003b, 2007, 2009) in the Archibarca basin, taking
into account relevant aspects such as the architectonic features,
the topographic location, the visibility, the association between
structures and materials and the information given by the people
of Antofalla. In this way the identified structures are:
Trenches
These are structures formed by stone blocks, in most of the
cases in arrow or half moon shape, always located in high zones
in relation to its environment, as for example paths, or slope breaks
(Haber, 2003a, 2003b, 2007). They are formed by a simple wall
with an average length of 1.5 m, being the maximal average height
of 0.7 m (Fig. 3). Different constructive forms are observed but they
might always been confused with other rock accumulations and
that is why they are almost imperceptible for the animals. These
structures were defined in the northern Patagonia Argentina as
parapets (Gradin, 1962). However, the denomination of trenches
rises of how these structures are named by the local people of
the area (Haber, 2003b; Martínez, 2003). The function of these
trenches is to give the hunter a place to hide from the possible
preys. Its functional interpretation was based in the characteristics
of its high location in relation to the environment (Fig. 4), as also in
the constructive form which the hiding presents towards the high-
er zone, so that the hunters that were there could hide of the preys
located in lower locations. Similar structures used nowadays by
herders, present the opening towards the lower zone in order to
observe the herds while they are herding and in order to protect
themselves from the climate characteristics, principally the wind
and the sun. Also the relation between these structures in some re-
stricted places is a factor which ground its interpretation related to
hunting practices.
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E. Moreno / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117
Fig. 4. 3d image of the Antofalla valley. Each spot represents a trench registered
during the intensive survey. This image shows the high topographic position of
these structures (Image obtained from Google EarthÒ).
Fig. 5. Distribution of trenches registered in the Antofalla valley.
I was able to identify a total of 503 during the survey (Fig. 5).
From the whole of the trenches, 370 (73.5%) are located in high
zones which present good visibility, at least in 180° towards the
lower zones where the preys would be located, obtaining in this
way a good hiding in relation to the position of troops.
Alignments
These are alignments of great dimensions starting from 25 or
30 m up to 100 m length (Fig. 6a). They are built by putting med-
ium size rocks (0.30 m average size) separated each 5 or 6 m and
that, at the beginning and at the end of them, they present small
landmarks. They are located crossing depressed zones and they
come together in higher areas, where the landmarks are located.
109
It is important to take into account that these alignments practi-
cally are not observed in the field when one walks near them,
but they are clearly identified when one is placed in the higher
zones and specially when one is placed in the zone where the land-
mark which start the alignments are. I registered a total of 13
alignments presenting some of them lithic associated material.
These structures might have functioned as devices to cause that
trying the troops to escape, the relincho, looking downwards, react
in the presence of the alignments avoiding them and changing the
direction; or possibly following the alignments as if they were a
route to escape and in that way the alignments would lead them
actually towards the trenches and the hunters (Haber and Moreno,
2008). Another possible use is that the rocks that form the align-
ments could have been used to locate sticks which would unite
threads or ropes building barriers for the animals. This barrier
would induce the animals not to escape through these places being
obliged to direct themselves towards the zones where the hunters
were located. Finally these structures might have been used as
material marks for the hunters, as for example, in order to know
when to start the attack, once the animals passed that place.
Table
They are the grouping of rocks whose flat surfaces are placed
upwards, of approximately 1 m diameter, prepared in order to
slaughter above them the animals without damaging the leathers
(Fig. 6b). The name of table and its use is given by the local people
to this type of structure (Haber, 2003b). I registered in total 19 ta-
bles in the Antofalla area. Half of these structures (n 10) have
associated cutting edge lithic material which would sustain the
functional interpretation of these structures.
Landmarks
They are accumulations of rocks of variable sizes and which
could be useful to point out guide posts in the landscape (in order
to separate territories, grazing areas, etc.), that is why they should
be seen from long distances. I identified a total of 149 landmarks
along the whole valley, observing a fairly homogeneous distribu-
tion. Most of these landmarks are found located in high areas
and very easily visible, as for example slope breaks or in the higher
parts of the hills. 78% of the landmarks are visible from long dis-
tances. In those cases where they were not noticed from long dis-
tances, they were always intervisible; this generates a kind of
alignment which could be marking territories. I have differentiated
two basic forms of construction of these kind of structures: one
through the setting of two or three medium blocks above one of
a bigger size (Fig. 6c), while the other one is constructed setting
rocks vertically located and supported with small blocks in its base
(Fig. 6d), These structures must have been articulated with differ-
ent landscapes because nowadays they are used to delimit the
grazing areas. However, I add them here because of its probable
participation in the hunting practice due to that I in some cases
identified the association between landmarks and trenches.
Shelters
They are small closed structures, generally circular or semicircu-
lar and which could give temporary shelter or a hiding place. They
are small, reaching an average of 1.5 m of diameter, although there
were structures found up to 3.5 m diameter and an average maximal
height of 0.8 m (Fig. 6e). I identified a total of 254 structures charac-
terized as shelters, which are homogeneously located along the val-
ley. These shelters are generally associated to lithic or pottery
material and this is why they might have been used as activity areas
during the stay of one person there. The shelters would have lodged
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110 E. Moreno / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117
Fig. 6. Different types of structures registered during the intensive survey in Antofalla. (A) Alignment; (B) board; (C and D) landmarks; (E) shelter; (F) water hiding.
one person only due to its small size, where 92.9% (n = 236) of the
structures present a smaller size than 2 m of diameter. In very little
cases, only 18, the sizes of these shelters were bigger, reaching up to
8  3 m, making it possible that more people could find shelter in
these structures. Nowadays shelters of these kinds are used in areas
near the marshes in order to let a person look after the animals while
they graze and in this way find shelter from the wind and the sun.
Meanwhile they are taking care of the animals they do other activi-
ties, as for example spinning. I have considered these structures in
relation to the construction of the hunting landscape because they
might have allowed one or more hunters to get shelter and perform
certain activities such as flintknapping or the observation of the
troops. These structures would show the greater variability of asso-
ciation with different practices, as they are used for practices such as
agriculture, herding, hunting, etc.
Water hidings
These are structures which take advantage of rocky outcrops
and form a type of eave which uses to be closed with some small
rocks, generating an inner space of approximately 0.70 m with
practically permanent shadow (Fig. 6f). In this way by putting a re-
cipient with water inside, it will remain fresh. These structures are
found in zones place away from the water sources, being necessary
for hunters to count on with water because they could not ap-
proach the water courses because that would be the areas where
the possible preys would be. I registered six structures of this type,
which in all cases presented pottery pieces inside, which could be
the result of broken containers with water.
These structures form a landscape which would be prepared in
order to materialize the encounter between hunters and preys.
Regarding this a question rises about the need of the construction
of this landscape in relation to possible hunting strategies per-
formed by different hunter’s populations. In this way, I believe
there are two relevant aspects in order to understand this interpre-
tation: on one hand the ethology of the potential preys and on the
other the characteristic of the weapons used to kill those animals.
Regarding the last of these aspects, I focus in the information
obtained from the projectiles points recovered during our surveys
performed in the Antofalla valley.
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E. Moreno / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117
The hunting technology in Antofalla
During the survey in the Antofalla valley I identified in total 192
projectile points, from which only 19 are complete, in a very poor
state of conservation. Two raw materials were mainly use to pre-
pare the projectile points: black basaltic-andesite (65%) and obsid-
ian (30%). The first of these raw materials have their sourcing in the
zone of the mouth of the Antofalla valley. There is a quarry of great
dimensions where it has been possible to identify evidences of the
different stages in the operative chain, starting with nodules, cores
and tested nodules up to base forms, debitage and manufactured
instruments. The obsidian shows two morphological types which
correspond to, at least, two different quarries. On one side 20% of
the whole of the projectile points come from a relative near quarry,
located in the Onas valley approximately 15 km from the Antofalla
valley. The other obsidian quarry could be located in the Archibar-
ca basin located approximately 60 km from the Antofalla valley
(Haber, 2003b), This implies the exploitation of raw materials rel-
atively near and of very high quality for the manufacture of differ-
ent instruments as in this case projectile points (Moreno, 2005,
2010)2.
One of the principal aims of the analysis of this set in relation to
the characteristic of the hunting landscape was to evaluate the dif-
ferent types of weapons used for the appropriation of the prey. In
order to analyze the types of weapons I considered two alternative
methodologies: on one side the proposal of Shott (1997) and on the
other side the one of Ratto (1994, 2003).
The first of this analysis is based in measuring the length, width,
thickness and neck width, relevant variables to difference the func-
tion of the weapon types, where the most significant is the last one
(Shott, 1997). With this information an equation is applied for
shuttle dart and another for bow and arrow, being the higher result
the one that corresponds with the type of weapon. In the Fig. 7 it is
shown the obtained results of the analyzed set, where of the total
of the pieces (n = 192) only 32 could be assigned to some kind of
weapon, from which 24 correspond to shuttle darts while the
remaining 8, to bows and arrows (Moreno, 2010).
The second analysis applied to evaluate the type of weapon is
based on the proposal of Ratto (1994, 2003) who state a series of
variables which measure (a) the reinforcement surface, which is
calculated taking the maximal density of the blade by the width
of the blade in its maximal point of density; (b) the aerodynamics,
which is obtained by the sum of various factors: the transversal
section of the piece, the proportion between contour and blade
and the relation between the length of the blade and the maximal
width of the blade. Due to this measurement perfect, normal,
imperfect and not aerodynamic measurements are obtained; (c)
the hafting which is calculate in lower measures than 10 mm for
bows and sensitively higher for spears and (d) the penetration ob-
tained through the angle on plane sight and the section of the
point.
Only 14 pieces presented all the variables in order to be incor-
porated to the analysis. Of this set, five pieces were assigned to
bow and arrow, three to throwing spears, three to hand weapon,
two to shuttle darts and one specimen could not be assigned to
any type of weapon (Moreno, 2010). In Fig. 8 it is shown the infor-
mation which allows me the assignment applying this
methodology.
Finally, while integrating both models, a value of 38 projectile
points assigned to different types of weapons is reached, from
which 10 were assigned to bow and arrow, 3 to hand weapons, 3
2
In 2004 we developed a tecno-functional analysis of the raw materials used in the
area of Antofalla, particularly of black basaltic-andesite and obsidian which allowed
us to observe a high quality, hardness and ductility for the flintknapping of both raw
materials (Moreno, 2005).
111
to throwing spears and 22 to shuttle darts. This allows me to ob-
serve the exploitation of different weapons through time, which
have relatively short shooting distances and with a very low con-
trol of the flight path, against the firearms introduced at the begin-
ning of the XX Century. These characteristics of the hunting
technology has a strong relation with the construction of the land-
scape because it would need near targets in order to perform the
attack and succeed, which would be possible by the preparation gi-
ven by the structures presented above.
In order to deepen in the relation between the hunting technol-
ogy and the structuring of the landscape I wonder about analytical
strategies in order to evaluate the association between the
trenches and the projectile points, assuming they were thrown
out from behind these structures. So I performed a buffer analysis,
where it is possible to graph the incidence area of the projectile
points from the trenches, taking into account the flight distance
of the first ones, according to the corresponding type of weapon
(Fig. 9). The flight distances were taken from Ratto (2003) although
reduced to the half due to that this author uses flight distance mea-
sured as free throw and with modern weapons. By applying the
buffer analysis I observe that 7 projectile points assigned to bow
and arrow were found at distances minor to 75 m, while the three
others did not. For the case of the specimens assigned to shuttle
dart, of 22 of the specimens, half of them were encountered less
than 34 m and for the case of the throwing spears only one speci-
men was found less than 16 m from some trench (Moreno, 2010, in
press-b). Therefore from the sample of projectile points assigned to
some type of weapon, 50% is found at a flight distance of at least
one trench. This percentage could even increase if certain forma-
tion processes are considered which have an important role as
for example the corresponding to the slope gradients, the charac-
teristic of the soils or the water resources. However I believe that
this value shows an important key to understand and deepen in
the relation between hunting structures and the weapons that
were used.
The other aspect I believe is relevant in order to understand the
need of structuring the landscape is the ethology of the potential
prey. In order to evaluate this aspect I considered studies about
the behavior of the vicuñas (V. vicugna) wild camelid which is
found in this area. In this investigation I center in the vicuña for
several reasons. On one hand because the general research from
which this paper comes from, pretends to perform a long term
analysis about the significance of this specie for human popula-
tions (Moreno, 2010). On the other hand, because I have got cur-
rent information about vicuña’s behavior in the Antofalla area
and not about guanacos, due that the last ones cannot be seen
nowadays in the zone. Another reason because I center the inter-
pretation of hunting practices in relation with vicuñas, is that the
faunistic analysis performed in locations near the Antofalla valley
showed a major relevance of the vicuña among other species in dif-
ferent historic context (Haber, 2001, 2006, 2007; Moreno, 2010;
Moreno and Revuelta, 2010; Revuelta, 2005). However, I think it
is necessary to deepen in the future the possible implications the
guanaco (L. guanicoe) hunting would have in relation to the spaces
build for that purpose, because they present another kind of social
organization, movements, fixation of territories, etc. (Pintar, 2008).
The behavior of the prey
The social organization of vicuñas is characterized by the exis-
tence of familiar groups, troops of single males and lonely males.
In this case I will focus on the familiar groups because some inves-
tigations have shown the exploitation of animals of both sexes and
different ages which implies the exploitation of family groups
along time (Elkin, 1996), and also because it is the kind of grouping
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112 E. Moreno / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117

Fig. 7. Table showing the measurements used to the analysis of types of weapons using the method proposed by Shott (1997).

Fig. 8. Table showing the measurements used to the analysis of types of weapons using the method proposed by Ratto (1994, 2003).
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E. Moreno / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117
Fig. 9. Schema of the buffer analysis applied to evaluate the association between
trenches and projectile points in Antofalla.
which has a daily movement which is complementary to the infor-
mation obtained regarding the hunting landscape in Antofalla
(Tomka, 1992). However, this does not deny the possibility of per-
forming hunting over troops of single males or lonely males. The
family groups are defined by a dominant male or relincho, who
maintains and controls the territory, a variable quantity of adult fe-
males, young females over one year old and the litters of both
sexes under one year (Bonacic, 2005; Franklin, 1982; Tomka,
1992; Wheeler, 2006). The relincho is in charge of taking care of
the troop, staying alert to possible dangers while the females and
the litters graze and it is who starts the escape if it is necessary.
These animals have the possibility of escaping at a very high speed
and through steep slopes, so that hunting through persecution, is
not a viable option.
The way of delimit the territories is based in the conformation
of dung piles (Bonacic, 2005; Tomka, 1992; Wheeler, 2006). In this
territory there is a high area included, which is used to rest, taking
advantage preferably of rocky areas which give certain protection,
and lower areas with grass and water resource. Their daily move-
ment is routine, they sleep in the higher zones and descend during
the sunlight hours to graze and drink, going back at twilight time
to the rocky areas used to rest (Cajal, 1998; Franklin, 1982; Haber,
2003a; Haber and Moreno, 2008; Hoffmann et al., 1983; Koford,
1957; Tomka, 1992). Due to the physiology of these animals they
must drink water every day and that is why their movements are
inevitably daily made.
The ethologycal characteristics of the possible preys show the
need of the structuring of the landscape in order to promote the
encounters and appropriation of certain animals. In this sense, they
are animals which have a routine movement, relatively predictable
who at the same time perceive the predators using different senses
(smell, sight, hearing) and they can escape very fast away of prac-
tically any obstacle they find. A relevant aspect of these animals is
the special material mark they develop through the dung piles and
the ways recurrently used which materialize the territories of the
troops. The hunting strategy by interception would be the most
appropriate for preys that respond to small groups and of high pre-
dictability with patterns of repetitive daily movements (Tomka,
1992). In this sense, the structuring of the landscape refers to a
preparation of the spaces tending to the materialization of the
encounter between hunters and preys. In this way, the construc-
tion of a landscape in which it is tried to encourage the encounter
through hidings of the hunters, would be linked to this aspect
(Haber, 2003b, 2007, 2009; Haber and Moreno, 2008 Moreno,
113
2009, 2010). But the troops do not only perceive their predators
by viewing them, as other senses like hearing and smelling are also
important factors of perceiving jeopardy and therefore must be
considered by the hunters. In this sense, the direction of the pre-
dominant winds must be considered in order to achieve that smells
and noises direct in the opposite direction regarding the hunter. In
the case of the Antofalla valley, the dominating winds, due to the
topography of the area, use to rise through the slopes from
the lower zones, and that is why, again, the high position of the
trenches would be based in this peculiarity of the Antofalla valley.
The hunting landscape
The structures identified in the Antofalla valley show the con-
formation of a landscape which refers to hunting practices. In this
sense, trenches would be the most important structures at the mo-
ment of the encounter, due to that the hunters could be waiting,
entrenched behind these structures, the possible preys to go along
there and start the attack from nearer positions. An aspect that
shows the link between these structures with hunting practice is
its topographic high position in relation to its enviroment which
allows a better hiding, and is reinforced with the construction of
the structure. There is also an important association between the
projectile points and the trenches which would sustain the func-
tional interpretation of these structures. I have identified lithic
material associated, mainly flakes, potentially used for the manu-
facturing of instruments and in some cases debitage. I have also
registered a relevant association between these structures which
vary from trenches without association, up to areas where there
are 30 associated structures. The criterion to evaluate the associa-
tion between these structures is the possibility of performing the
attack from the trenches at the same time and therefore there
should not be any topographic obstacles which could avoid this sit-
uation. In order to visualize with more accuracy the structuring of
the hunting landscape and the association between structures, I
performed a topographic survey in the hunting landscape of Playa
Negra.
This zone, located in the lowest part of the valley approximately
3400 meters above sea level (see Fig. 5), is characterized by a path,
possibly used by troops to climb towards the rest areas, after feed-
ing in the marsh of La Orilla (Fig. 10). Above the slopes and almost
forming two alignments, 30 trenches are located (Fig. 11). As well,
cutting the low section of the path I registered an alignment of
blocks, as well as a small landmark, a board and two piles of blocks
(Fig. 12). All the trenches are located approximately towards the
south, that is, the lowest zone and towards where the marsh of
La Orilla is located. This landscape where an important quantity
of trenches articulate with other types of structures and with the
topographic characteristics of the area, implies a high possibility
of success, as well as an important logistic and the control of sev-
eral variables which in other cases would not be necessary.
It is clear that this landscape has been constructed through
time, starting with the preparation of certain structures and the
interaction between hunters and prey. I do not know the construc-
tion’s sequence, as well as if all the structures were used at the
same time or if they were just used once. The register obtained is
based on the final picture and showing practically the biggest
expansion of the hunting landscape, because of the very good state
of preservation of the structures. However, the structuring process
of this landscape must have implied a long time for preparation
and use, but where the reproduction of the same logic is evident:
the construction of trenches in the higher zones which allow the
hunters to hide. A key to understand this long term is provided
by the projectile points which give information for the construc-
tion of a relative chronology. Beginning with the comparison of
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114 E. Moreno / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117

Fig. 10. View of Playa Negra path and the position of the trenches identified.

Fig. 11. Topographic survey of Playa Negra hunting landscape.

the designs of the projectile points with the obtained specimens in

other contexts which count with absolute chronologies such as the
Antofagasta de la Sierra basin and the northern Chile (De Souza,
2004; Hocsman, 2006; Martínez, 2003; Núñez, 1983; Ratto,
2003) I was able to identify a variety of designs which correspond
to different historic moments, from approximately 9000 AP up to
the 1st millennium a.C., although I count with information above
the practice of hunting even in historic moments, due to the find-
ings of bullet cartridges during the survey of the Antofalla valley
(Moreno, 2010). The Fig. 13 resumes some of these designs, as well
as its relative chronological assignment.

The ways toward the traps

From the intensive and systematic survey of the Antofalla valley

I was able to identify the general characteristics of the hunting
landscape, given by certain structures, principally trenches, used
Fig. 12. Detailed view of the Playa Negra hunting landscape showing the by the hunters to hide from the preys, taking advantage of the
association between trenches and the alignment. characteristic of the landscape, particularly the higher zones in
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E. Moreno / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117 115

Fig. 13. Different types of projectile points registered in Antofalla. (A) Specimens of projectile point assigned to shuttle darts and to specimens from QS3 (Antofagasta de la
Sierra) and Tuina (Chile) corresponding to Early Archaic period (Martínez, 2003; Núñez, 1983); (B) Specimens of projectile points assigned to throwing spears, corresponding
to specimens placed around 6080 ± 80 BP in QS3 (Hocsman, 2006); (C) Specimens of projectile point assigned to shuttle darts, corresponding to a design placed between
3864–4226 BP (Hocsman, 2006); (D) Specimens of projectile points assigned to bow and arrow and to the 1st millennium a.C. (Escola, 1987, 2000; Hocsman, 2006; Moreno,
2005).

order to locate these structures. Trenches were also generally asso-
ciated in a variable number which would have allowed the partic-
ipation of several hunters, increasing in that way the possibility of
success during the hunt. The location of these structures would
have allowed the control over other aspects, as for example, the
smell and noises through the location of these structures against
the direction of the predominant winds. Other structures also
formed this landscape, related to previous and later moments
regarding the encounter between hunters and preys. Some struc-
tures could have served to seek shelters from the climate condi-
tions or for certain products, as could be water or firewood. In
the same way, other structures would be related to later moments,
as for example, the boards used for slaughtering the preys. Also,
along the valley I have identified lithic instruments and projectile
points, which also construct and reproduce these sceneries.
To sum up, the scheme of the functionality of the hunting land-
scape clearly shows an idea of anticipation of the movements of
prey and in this way decrease or inclusive dilute the adaptive
advantage which the camelid’s troops have against the hunters
(Haber, 2003b, 2007, 2009; Haber and Moreno, 2008). In this sense
the shared knowledge between preys and hunters are relevant. The
animals should have certain awareness of their predators, which
result in ways of perceiving jeopardy (as for example the senses)
and which install escape strategies, where the advantage of the
animals makes the hunt almost hopeless. The hunters, being aware
of this knowledge, have to put into practice, strategies in order to
reduce to the minimum the possibility of the troops to perceive
jeopardy (Haber, 2003b, 2007, 2009; Haber and Moreno, 2008;
Moreno, 2010). This structure where the mutual knowledge is
shown has been interpreted by Haber (2003b, 2007, 2009), Haber
and Moreno, 2008) in terms of a trap, applying to the concept pro-
posed by Gell (1996). In this sense, when to say that a trap ‘‘repre-
sents’’ the knowledge, it does not imply the naïve sense of
representing it as a reflex, but that it is in that representation that
the knowledge condenses in a way that acts actively in the relation.
It is not only that a trap has to be done in a special way so as to
anticipate the behavior of the prey, but also the knowledge that
the prey could have of the hunter, has to be anticipated and, finally,
any possible effort has to be made in order to get the prey feel at-
tracted (Haber and Moreno, 2008). This traps would also have been
constructed once and then reused or recondition, but reproducing
the knowledge about the interaction between hunters and preys,
which is materialized in each trench and in each hunting scenario.
Conclusion
Through the survey performed in the Antofalla valley, I have
registered a multiplicity of structures related with hunting, which
form a space tending to propitiate the encounter between hunters
and prey. How this situation was achieved? Hunters, which knew
the possible movements of their prey, characterized by a strong
predictability built trenches designed to increase their hidings in
higher positions, on the paths the prey used to go through when
linking the drinking and feeding zones with the sleeping areas.
Through the organization of this landscape, a scenario was built
in which the adaptive capacities of the preys are reduced and hunt-
ers get possible nearby targets to be hunted with the technology
they had. In this sense, the identified weapons for this area are
shuttles, throwing spears, hand weapons and bows and arrows,
in all cases with lithic heads, which have a shooting distance and
a capacity to generate relatively low damage, especially in relation
to firearms, introduced during the XIX Century (Moreno, 2010, in
press-b). In this sense, the concept of anticipation is central be-
cause hunters, knowing the possible movements of their prey, con-
structed the space so as to anticipate the troop’s attitudes (Haber,
2003, 2007, 2009) and implement the most appropriate strategy in
order to catch the greatest number of prey.
In addition to the trenches, whose functionality and character-
istics have been presented and developed here and in other papers
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116 E. Moreno / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012) 104–117
(Haber, 2003, 2007; Moreno, 2009, 2010, in press-b) other struc-
tures form these hunting scenarios, such as shelters, alignments,
tables, etc. related to former and later moments in the encounter
between hunters and prey. For example, some shelters located in
very high zones, which allowed a complete view in all directions,
could have been used to observe the troops and select the area
to perform hunting and the tables would have been used to slaugh-
ter hunted animals. Therefore, the hunting landscape included
structures that refer to large time scales. Equally, this temporal
hunting scale included the interpretation of the moment in which
the attack would have taken place, because the location of the
trenches allow to interpret the performing of hunt at late after-
noon, because as they locate with the protection towards the lower
zone, hunters would have waited, hidden behind trenches, the mo-
ment to attack when the troops returned to their sleeping zones
(Haber, 2003; Haber and Moreno, 2008; Moreno, 2010). Further-
more, through the comparison of the projectile points registered
during the survey in the Antofalla valley with samples of other
nearby areas such as the basin of Antofagasta de la Sierra, northern
Chile or the basin of Chaschuil (De Souza, 2004; Escola, 1987, 2000;
Hocsman, 2006; Martínez, 2003; Núñez, 1983; Ratto, 2003), I inter-
preted a reuse of the same spaces for hunting performance, which
would allow reproduction of hunting strategies and use of these
scenarios in a long term of human occupation in the Antofalla val-
ley (Moreno, 2010, in press-b).
I was also able to focus in the social scale of hunting, which im-
plies the performance of individual or group hunting, being the
quantity of hunters variable, according to the strategy used.
I must consider some aspects which necessarily will have to be
deepened in the future in order to understand in a better way the
characteristics of this relevant practice in the history of human
occupation of this area. For example a very thorough evaluation
of different strategies related to the use of different species must
be performed (Pintar 2008). The identified structures must also
be analyzed carrying out excavations. It would be also necessary
to deepen about some questions, as for example, when does the at-
tack starts? How many people participate? etc.
In brief, camelids hunting in the Antofalla valley has been re-
lated to the construction of a scenario tending to anticipate the
movements of these troops and to obtain nearby targets with the
minor possible movement. These sceneries should have been
reproduced along time, showing the relevance of this practice in
the long term of human occupation in the area.
Acknowledgments
I want to thank to Alejandro Haber for let me start the investi-
gations about this problem in the Antofalla valley and his constant
advice. Also to all the student and professionals that participates in
the intensive survey in Antofalla valley, especially to Enzo Acuña,
Cecilia Cuello y Leandro D’Amore, as well as to Marion Schwarzen-
berger for the translation of this article. Also to the reviewers for all
the precise comments made. Finally to the people of Antofalla for
let me do this research in their lands.
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