Anthracological approach to the U4 pits of the Mortero Quebrado site (Anfama, Tucumán, Argentina)

Abstract

This paper presents the anthracological study of charcoal samples from the occupation floor and seven sub-surface pits detected in Unit 4 of the Mortero Quebrado site. It is a residential structure from the first millennium AD, located in the Anfama basin (Tucumán, Argentina). The taxonomic identification analyses —using low-magnification lenses and optical scanning microscopy—, the identified combustion degrees, the ethnographic-ethnohistorical information, and the development of species distribution models allowed for the correlation of anthracological records from each pit with functional hypotheses of their past use. Three charred genera were identified: *Alnus* sp., *Schinus* sp., and *Lithraea* sp., which correspond to plant species known in the region and presumably have implications beyond their use as fuel, including population mobility and domestic rituality.