Vidrios entre sierras y pircas : Estudio de los materiales vítreos de las construcciones de piedra del Sistema de Tandilia (región pampeana, Argentina)

• Autores: Bagaloni, Vanesa; Pedrotta, Victoria
• Año de publicación: 2010
• Idioma: español castellano
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Antropología; Arqueología región pampeana; Materiales vítreos; Pircados; Pampean region archaeology; Glass material analysis; Stone structures
• Institución: Universidad Nacional de La Plata

En el Sistema de Tandilia, uno de los dos cordones serranos que atraviesan la pampa húmeda, existe un conjunto de construcciones de bloques de piedra de distintas formas y dimensiones, que ha sido estudiado por historiadores y arqueólogos desde hace más de tres décadas. Las interrogantes planteadas se refieren fundamentalmente a la función, cronología y adscripción cultural de dichas edificaciones, cuestiones que se han abordado a través de las fuentes documentales y, en algunos casos, mediante la evidencia arqueológica. En la actualidad existe cierto consenso en asociarlas a las poblaciones indígenas posthispánicas que habitaron la región, que hasta entrado el siglo diecinueve aprovecharon el ambiente serrano, dentro de una economía basada en las actividades pecuarias y el intercambio comercial intraétnico e interétnico. Este trabajo forma parte de una investigación sobre un conjunto de construcciones situadas en la porción central de Tandilia y presenta los resultados del análisis de los restos vítreos hallados en excavaciones y recolecciones superficiales efectuadas en cuatro edificaciones: Sierra Alta IV, Santa Inés IV, Manantiales I y Manantiales II. Los materiales vítreos estudiados incluyen botellas, frascos y tarros, procedentes principalmente de Europa, que datan de la segunda mitad del siglo diecinueve. El análisis de los mismos permite discutir la cuestión de la reutilización de dichas construcciones.
The humid pampa is crossed by two mountain systems. In one of them –named Sistema Serrano de Tandilia- there is a set of structures of various forms and dimensions built with bared stone blocks, which have been studied by historians and archaeologists for more than three decades. The questions mainly raised during this period were concerned primarily with function, chronology and cultural assignment of the buildings, issues that have been addressed mainly through documentary sources and, in rare cases, through the archaeological record. Nowadays there is some consensus about the relationship between the stone structures and the native population which inhabited the region after the Spanish conquest up to the nineteen century. The economy of these native groups was then based on livestock activities and both intra and inter ethnic trade, in the hilly environment of the grassland pampas. Nevertheless, there was a constant pressure over the same resources by the Spanish and Creole societies, materialized in the decade of 1820 through the establishment of a military border line with the Independencia Fort. Along the second half of the nineteen century this conflictive process finally meets the expulsion of native peoples of the region, followed by the settlement of criollos with agricultural ranches, villages and cities. This paper is part of an investigation focused on a set of stone buildings located in the central portion of Tandilia system and presents the results of the analysis of the vitreous remains that were found in excavations as well as surface collecting in four sites: Sierra Alta IV, Santa Inés IV, Manantiales I and Manantiales II. Studied vitreous materials include containers mostly elaborated in Europe, such as remains of various cylindrical and square bottles, flasks and jars. Estimated chronology of some of those containers date to the second half of the nineteen century and coincide with a period of great export flux into the Río de la Plata. In addition, according to documentary, iconographic and archaeological evidence, the identified bottles correspond mainly to alcoholic beverages and other imported products commonly consumed and used at that time in the rural border of the pampa region. The analysis of glass material from the four buildings presented here suggests that the deposition of these remains appears to be associated with different processes of reuse and recycling of the stone buildings during the nineteen and the early twentieth century. To this respect, vitreous material study provides an important source of chronological information and, furthermore, contributes to the general discussion concerning the functionality of the group of stone structures located in the study area (together with the other analytical approaches such as documentary sources, cartography, architectural studies and chemical analysis).
Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo