In defense of the soils. A hybrid perspective of Archaeology of agriculture in the Andean high valleys (Catamarca, Argentina)

María Laura Taddei Salinas^1,2*

• ¹Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
• ²Faculty of Natural Sciences, National University of Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina

This paper aims at presenting soils as a suitable object for archaeological inquiry and, therefore, as part of material culture. This perspective is based on my PhD research experience developed in three high valleys of north-western Argentina. Soils are the foundation of peasant landscapes, synthesizing a complex interplay of physical, chemical, biological, environmental and social processes. In agriculture, they function simultaneously as both a support and a provider for plant life and, in turn, contributes to a complex assemblage that transforms them into a locus of fertility, nurturing a caregiving environment. Therefore, I suggest conceptualizing this assemblage as the Soil-Earth-Territory Complex, emphasizing both its material and social dimensions. This conceptualization prompts the development of an Archaeology of Soils, which considers their temporal and spatial depth, the multiple vital materials that constitute them, and their dynamic relationship with the processes occurring in, on, and through them. To address such complexity, Hybrid Archaeologies emerge as the most suitable approach, as they allow understanding the central role of the Soil-Earth-Territory Complex in shaping peasant agricultural landscapes within a past-present continuum.The institutional review process for the doctoral programme in Archaeology at the University of Buenos Aires includes a series of sequential steps, each requiring an increasingly detailed development of the ongoing research leading up to the final thesis submission: a pre-project, a project, a plan, and finally the thesis itself. When I submitted my thesis project in 2023, it was returned to me with some harsh criticisms that shook the foundation of my proposal centered in working with soils as a means to develop an archaeology of agriculture. Although Ialong with my supervisors -agreed with some of the reviewers' comments, which ultimately contributed significantly to refining the justification of my thesis, a substantial portion of their feedback targeted the very idea of approaching soils through archaeology. In fact, in an informal comment, one of my supervisors was told: "She should study materialities, structures, artifacts… soil is not archaeology." Comentado [SyA1]: All additions and corrections are highlighted in green Comentado [SyA2]: Soils in Archaeology Comentado [SyA3]: Andean region or Northwest Argentina