Paleoethnobotany of the Mapuche facts for kids

The paleoethnobotany of the Mapuche is about studying old plant remains found by archaeologists. These remains, like seeds or tiny plant bits, tell us how the Mapuche people used plants long ago and how they use them today. Scientists look at these plant clues from different places in southern Chile and Argentina. Paleoethnobotany helps us learn about the history of farming in an area or how people used plants for food or medicine.

The Mapuche are a group of native people from South America. We know from archaeological finds that Mapuche people lived in what is now south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina as far back as 500-600 BC. The Mapuche have different names for their groups based on where they lived and their environment, like the Picunche, Huilliche, and Moluche.

Ancient Plant Use in South America

Chile's Central and Southern Regions

Chile is a long, narrow country in South America.

Cerro del Inga Site

The Promaucaes, a Mapuche group, were the last native people to live at this site in Chile's Cachapoal Valley. Scientists studied plant remains here to learn about cultures before the Spanish arrived, especially during the time of the Inca Empire. This site shows how people resisted both the Inca and later, the Spanish.

From seeds and other plant pieces found in the soil, we know these plants were at Cerro del Inga:

• Farm Plants: Maize (corn), Madi, Quinoa, Sunflower, and Gourd.
• Fruit Trees and Bushes: Guillave, Michay, Boldo, Quilo, Grape, Blackberry, Cocito, and Palm Nut.
• Legumes: Unidentified small legumes, and Lupine.
• Medicinal Herbs: Pata de Guanaco.
• Wild Plants: Various Grasses, Colliguay, Espino, Lengua de Gato, Sedge, and Chenopod.

Argentina's Central and Southern Regions

Argentina is a large country in South America, east of Chile.

La Pampa Area

In the La Pampa region of Argentina, there are five important sites (like La Lomita). These sites show that hunter-gatherers and farmers lived here from the Upper Holocene to the Lower Holocene periods. Scientists looked at food remains on 23 pieces of pottery found at these sites.

They discovered traces of:

• Corn (Zea mays)
• Prosopis (a type of tree)
• Grass particles (Poaceae phytoliths)
• Fungal spores and tiny threads (hyphae)

These findings suggest that people in La Pampa traded with farming groups from the Andean region in Chile.

West-Central Patagonia

Two cave sites, El Chueco 1 and Baño Nuevo 1, are important for studying hunter-gatherers in West-central Patagonia. This area usually has a dry climate. The environment has been quite stable for about 8,000 years, meaning the types of plants haven't changed much.

Scientists found tiny plant remains from different time periods at these caves. Many different types of plants were used, including:

• Alstroemeriaceae
• Apiaceae (like carrots or parsley)
• Berberis (like barberry)
• Brassicaceae (like mustard plants)
• Calceolariaceae
• Carex (a type of sedge)
• Chenopodiaceae (like quinoa or spinach)
• Convolvulaceae (like morning glories)
• Cyperus (a type of sedge)
• Eleocharis (spike-rush)
• Ericaceae (like blueberries)
• Fabaceae (like beans)
• Beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis)
• Galium
• Lamiaceae (like mint)
• Libertia
• Malvaceae (like mallow)
• Phacelia
• Poaceae (grasses)
• Polygonaceae
• Portulacaceae
• Rubus (like raspberries)
• Scirpus (a type of bulrush)
• Uncinia

Many other plant remains could not be identified.

Sierras de Córdoba

In Central Argentina, there is evidence of farming by about 1000 years ago. The Sierras de Córdoba are mountains west of the city of Córdoba. In one study, 15 sites in this area were examined for plant remains from the Late Holocene and Pre-Columbian periods.

Here are some of the plants found at different sites:

• Quebrada Norte 7: Sarcomphalus mistol, Lithraea molloides, Corn, Condalia, Prosopis, Schinus, Phaseolus (beans), Quinoa, and Amaranthus.
• Pozancón 1: Potato, and Morning glory/Manihot.
• Casa del Sol 8: Corn.
• El Alto 3: Polylepis australis, Maytenus boaria.
• Quebrada del Real 1: Chenopodium, Corn.
• Cruz Chiquita 3: Corn.
• Río Yuspe 11: Sarcomphalus mistol.
• Boyo Paso 2: Sarcomphalus mistol, Corn, Common bean, Prosopis, and Oxalis.
• Yaco Pampa 1: Corn, Prosopis.
• Arroyo Tala Cañada 1: Corn, Squash, Common bean, and Lima bean.
• Arroyo Talainín 2: Lithraea molloides.
• C.Pun.39: Prosopis, Chenopodium/Amaranthus, Corn, Common bean, Lima bean, and Squash.
• Río Yuspe 14: Sarcomphalus mistol.
• Puesto la Esquina 1: Corn, Common bean, and Lima bean.
• Cerco de la Cueva Pintada: Prosopis.
• Arroyo Tala Huasi: Corn.

Modern Mapuche Plant Use

The Mapuche people today still use many plants. Here is a list of some of them:

Modern Selk'nam Plant Use

The Selk'nam people, who live in Tierra del Fuego, also use many plants. Here's how they use some of them: