Uso de técnicas edafológicas en el estudio de condiciones ambientales antiguas y de cultivos indígenas en el Ecoparque Golondrinas, Andes Colombianos

The Golondrinas archaeological site is in the Colombian inter-Andean Aburrá Valley hillslopes (2,000 m a.s.l). The initial archaeological assessment presented here included field observations, archaeological survey, soil chemistry, palynology, and micromorphological analyses in five locations, to identify a representative site. The complete pedostratigraphic sequence was analyzed to characterize depositional and post-depositional processes and to evaluate the effects of pedoturbation, pedogenesis, and anthropogenic features in relation to paleohydrological information. The archaeological record was assessed through a soil profile representative of the Golondrinas site (3,800 m2) described at microscale. The results provide a basis for testing hypotheses and proposing interpretations about past ecological conditions and historical land use dynamics at the study site. The findings and soil analyses suggest a history of land use that may have been associated with relatively high biological activity and high organic carbon content under hydromorphic conditions, as well as with alternating phases of agricultural activity and natural forest cover in the past. The study also identifies the presence of significant surface water flows and episodes of landslide activity associated with the site's geomorphological setting, which may have influenced both historical and contemporary land-use patterns.