Distribución de fragmentos cerámicos prehispánicos en abanicos aluviales de regiones áridas del noroeste argentino (valle de yocavil)

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Abstract
In this article we examine the effects of surficial runoff on the visibility, preservation and spatial distribution of pre-Hispanic pottery sherds (ca. 100-1.535 a.C.) in alluvial fans of the Sierra de Quilmes (Northwest of Argentina) to evaluate the validity of spatial patterns of occupation based in part on them. Archaeological surveys across the slope-foothill-bottom of the valley with surface collection and pits were made. Archaeological places were located and chronologically differentiated in geomorphological and hydrological maps. Finally, traces of hydric displacement in the ceramic fragments were macroscopically analyzed. The results show, that pottery sherds were mainly found in the proximal and distal parts of the fans, but they markedly decrease in the middle sectors, eliminated by runoff and channeled through the gullies after a short distance displacement. However, formal modifications of the sherds due to displacement are uniformly slight in all three sectors, and, importantly, there are spatial and chronological-stylistic correspondences between surface and pit assemblages. Consequently, the pottery distribution reflects the archaeological spatial structure at local and microregional scales, even under spatially differentiated water and wind erosion / sedimentation, favored by aridity, differences in slopes and vegetation cover.

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