DAAD-funded project presented to 7th Argentinian Congress on Archaeometrics
The first successfully-funded DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) research project at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History has seen Lic. Verónica Zuccarelli (phD candidate, National Research Council of Argentina) present data relating to her research stay in Germany to the VII Argentinian Congress on Archaeometrics, that took place between 17th and 20th April in Amaicha del Valle (Tucumán, Argentina).
The travel scholarship allowed Verónica to travel to Germany to undertake the project ‘From the highlands to the rainforests: comparing different archaeobotanical approaches in the study of anthropogenic landscapes in Prehispanic Northwestern Argentina’ supervised by Dr. Patrick Roberts in the Department of Archaeology. Verónica analyzed soil samples from subtropical forests in northwestern Argentina to phytolith and starch remains in collaboration with Dr. Monica Tromp and Dr. Jana Zech. The results highlight the extent of human landscape modification in this part of Argentina in the past, included deliberate soil fertilization, extensive terracing, and erosion control. This is the first time that multidisciplinary approaches to crop use, and field and forest management, in the southernmost sub-Amazonian forests has been investigated, and provides the possibility of obtaining long-term perspectives on conservation issues and ecological range in the region today.
It is hoped that this successful visit will inspire scientists from around the world to apply to undertake similar research stays at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. More information can be found at the DAAD website.