Cooking practices were an integral part of the political, social and roductive life of pre-Hispanic communities. During the Inca domination, new cooking and commensality practices were put into practice for the first time, which brought together new forms of status and social recognition. This paper focuses on Andean crop processing techniques and consumption during the Inca period. Through inter-disciplinary analyses of plant-foods and ceramic vessels we investigate culinary practices associated to domestic and non-domestic elite contexts and evaluate the role of different foods for the Inca communities of the area of Quebrada de Humahuaca (North of Argentina). The analysed materials were recovered at two major archaeological sites in the southern part of Quebrada de Humahuaca, called Pucara de Volcán and Esquina de Huajra. They are conglomerated settlements with an Inca occupation dated to circa 430 BP. In order to study culinary techniques we followed and developed two main approaches: archaeobotanical studies of plant micro-remains and use-wear analysis of pottery. The first study was carried out on grinding stone tools recovered in Pucara de Volcán and dental calculus of two individuals buried in Esquina de Huajra. Use-wear analysis were carried out in ceramic vessels from both sites, and abrasive and non-abrasive processes were considered to infer functional aspects linked to plant processing activities. These analyses are complemented with the contextual study of the materials, to highlight differences between domestic and non-domestic contexts. The results of this study highlight that Zea mays (maize), Phaseolus sp. (beans) and tubers were important ingredients of ancient recipes. The presence of diverse grinding stone tools indicates the preparation of flour. Finally, vessels with traces of soot and abrasive processes point out to the processing of stew-like foodstuffs.

Quinoa has been a staple food for Andean populations for millennia. Today, it is a much-appreciated product on the international health-food, organic and fair-trade food markets. Quinoa producers in the southern Altiplano of Bolivia initiated this change approximately 40 years ago. On high desert land, they succeeded in developing a thriving agricultural crop for export. Although they enjoy lucrative niche markets, quinoa producers are not specialized farmers, nor do most of them live yearround in the production area. These are some of the paradoxes that characterize quinoa production in the southern Altiplano of Bolivia. Following a description of the origin, diversity and biological traits of the ‘Quinoa Real’ ecotype, on which production in this area is based, this chapter explores the importance of quinoa in local agrosystems and in the systems of agricultural and non-agricultural activities managed by southern Altiplano families. Geographic mobility and pluriactivity are part of the ancestral lifestyle of these populations and have to date determined how territorial resources are used and producers are organized in the context of quinoa’s commercial success. Quinoa production in the region is presenting signs of agro-ecological and social vulnerability; however, it has the capacities to respond and adapt accordingly. Key points for the sustainability of local agrosystems are: i) harmonization of communal and individual regulations concerning access to and use of land in socially equitable agrosystems with a balance between crops and animal husbandry, ii) international standards for the recognition of ‘Quinoa Real’ in export markets, iii) continuous updating of rules and regulations so that local agrosystems can adapt to unpredictable changes in the socio-ecological context on different scales of space and time.

Quinoa crop (Chenopodium quinoa) has been cultivated since the last seven thousand years in Latin America. However the nutritional and functional properties have been diffused only since the last decade. The exportation market to Northern countries is increasing at levels not seen previously for an organic product. Its ancient cultivation practices were normally sustainable even in Chile. However strong isolation of today' small farmers in Chile has provoked less access to international markets and also great genetic distances among cultivars from the long latitudinal and ecological gradient where this crop is cultivated (4000 m.a.s.l. at 19oS to coastal areas at sea level between 18oS to 40oS). The nutritional diversity along this gradient has not been previously studied. This study focuses on the nutritional properties of five distinctive local land races found along Chile, belonging to different genetic pools, but collected from farmers that have not developed formal crop imp...

This study analyzed starch grain residues from 65 ceramic artifacts recovered from excavations of inhabited forest islands situated near raised fields in the Llanos de Mojos region of the southwestern Amazon Basin. The assemblage of starch grains from the forest island contexts represents a diverse array of plant resources including maize and manioc, but also other plants such as achira, arrowroot, and the first archaeological evidence for arracacha in the southwest Amazon. The artifacts sampled and plants identified in this study represent resource use by people living on forest islands who constructed and maintained adjacent raised fields for cultivation. The study highlights the importance of research into the diversity of local and regional foodways in the Llanos de Mojos.

The Tiwanaku civilization (around AD 500–1100) originated in the Bolivian altiplano of the south-central Andes and established agrarian colonies (AD 600–1100) in the Peruvian coastal valleys. Current dietary investigations at Tiwanaku colonial sites focus on maize, a coastal valley cultivar with ritual and political significance. Here, we examine Tiwanaku provincial foodways and ask to what degree the Tiwanaku settlers maintained their culinary and agrarian traditions as they migrated into the lower-altitude coastal valleys to farm the land. We analyze archaeobotanical remains from the Tiwanaku site of Cerro San Antonio (600 m asl) in the Locumba Valley and compare them to data from the Tiwanaku site in the altiplano and the Rio Muerto site in the Moquegua Valley during the period of state expansion. Our findings show high proportions of wild, weedy, and domesticated Amaranthaceae cultivars, suggesting that Tiwanaku colonists grew traditional high-valley (2,000–3,000 m asl) and altiplano (3,000–4,000 m asl) foods on the lowland frontier because of their established cultural dietary preferences and Amaranthaceae’s ability to adapt to various agroclimatic and edaphic conditions.

This paper presents the results of archaeobotanical studies of plant microremains adhered to the surfaces of charred cooking-pot residues, corresponding to a context of hunter-gatherer societies in semiarid environments (Western Pampa, Argentina). Microparticles (starch granules, phytoliths, micro-charcoal, ochre-coloured organic matter and fungal remains) were identified, and the taphonomic factors that affected the plant microremains were described. Results indicate the use of ceramic containers for processing wild plants (Poaceae and Prosopis sp.), cultivated plants (Zea mays L.) and other ingredients. This study suggests the importance of plants in the diet of Pampean hunter-gatherers and the effective use of ceramic containers for processing and preparation of these resources. Keywords Hunter-gatherer Western pampas of Argentina Pottery Phytolith Zea mays and Prosopis starch grains In