Dendrochronological studies of indigenous and creole archeological remains in the Argentinean Pampas (19th and 20th centuries)

Dendrochronologia 55 (2019) 25–32

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Original Article

Dendrochronological studies of indigenous and creole archeological remains in the Argentinean Pampas (19th and 20th centuries)

T

⁎

Stella Boginoa, , María Laura Cangianoa, Esteban Dussartd, Andrea Medinae, Virginia Pineauf, Carlos Landag, Emanuel Montanarif, Jimena Dovalf, Alicia Tapiab,c a

Departamento de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, San Luis, Argentina Instituto de Arqueología, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina c Departamento de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Buenos Aires, Argentina d Facultad de Agronomía y Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina e Asentamiento Universitario San Martin de los Andes, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, San Martin de los Andes, Neuquén, Argentina f Instituto de Arqueología, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina g CONICET – Instituto de Arqueología, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina b

A R T I C LE I N FO

A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Water sources Argentinean Pampas Native constructions Prosopis

The Pampas is a natural flat region that covers 750 000 km2 in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. The driest part of the Argentinean Pampas is occupied by thorny forests dominated by Fabaceae species, mainly by caldén (Prosopis caldenia Burkart). The caldén's area was affected by large human immigration processes that started in the 18th century up to the last century. Semiarid climate in caldén's area has made water a critical source for the development of biotic communities and human settlements. Native people dug wells, lined by wooden poles, commonly named jagüeles, in order to have access to drinkable groundwater. Such poles, preserved in the subsoil, were submitted to wood anatomical and dendrochronological analysis, and 18 were collected from three archeological sites. Because the poles were undated, they were compared with two master chronologies of P. caldenia that belong to the area. Anatomical studies determined that the poles belonged to P. caldenia and Prosopis flexuosa. Poles of one of the sampling sites had their last tree rings between 1799 and 1838, which coincided with indigenous occupation period. On the contrary, the samples from the other two sites were placed chronologically between 1885 and 1918, which coincided with the first creole and European occupation. These results show the use of native people's traditional building strategies by other cultural groups such as the creole and European settlers since the strategies were useful in the semiarid environments.

1. Introduction

availability is critical for cattle and farming, and consequently, for human settlements. In such an environment, drinkable water sources have a strong influence on how the landscape is perceived, and its availability determines the nomination of places. For this reason, many indigenous names, some still in use today, designate lagoons, wells or wetlands in several locations in the dry Pampas; e.g. Realicó, which means plate sized water (Aráoz, 1987; Tapia, 2002; Vúletin, 1972). The earliest evidence of human occupation in the caldenal corresponds to hunter-gatherer groups settled (AMS – Beta 91937, bone) 4590 ± 60 años BP [cal 2s BC 3490-3455/3375-3045], in Tapera Moreira archeological site (Berón, 1995). In the same place, successive human occupations were registered until recent historical times: (14C – Beta 81694, charcoal) 480 ± 60 años BP [cal 2s AD 1410-1530/15451635] (Berón, 1995). From 1760 onwards, some native groups who called themselves Ranqueles (by ranquil or place where there are reeds

The Pampas is a natural region that covers 750 000 km2 in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. Pampa is a Spanish name that comes from the Quechua (indigenous language) and means “plain or flat area”. The occidental Pampas, also called dry Pampas, have dry and temperate climate with scarce precipitations, the soils are sandy and the dominant vegetation belongs to the caldén subecoregion, within the Espinal ecoregion (Cabrera, 1976; Oyarzabal et al., 2018). Caldén's subecoregion is occupied by thorny forests dominated by Fabaceae species, mainly by caldén (Prosopis caldenia Burkart) trees together with sweet mesquite (Prosopis flexuosa DC) and chañar (Geoffroea decorticans (Gill. ex Hook. &Arn.)) (Fig. 1a). Nowadays, only the 18% of the caldén's woodlands (approximately 8438 km2) remain as the result of massive changes of land uses. In arid and semiarid areas, the scarce water ⁎

Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Bogino).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2019.03.005 Received 12 September 2018; Received in revised form 11 March 2019; Accepted 11 March 2019 Available online 16 March 2019 1125-7865/ © 2019 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

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Fig. 1. Physiognomy of Prosopis caldenia woodlands (a). Tentative ranquel's emplacement at the end of the 19th century when the Alsina's frontier was set up in 1876 (dashed line) and sampling sites Las Vertientes and Naicó (red dots). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of the article.)

Fig. 2. Remains of a jagüel at Naicó sampling site (a) Pictures of two different types of jagüeles at La Holanda farm in 1900 with sheave and dumping bucket, not fenced (b), and with sheave and vertical poles fence (c) ®Private collection of the Ortiz Echagüe family.

wells” and “Painemanque, (another Ranquel chieftain) has four manmade fenced wells” (de las Casas, 1969 [1779]: 194–197). In 1781, Godoy informed about his observations in the Ranquel territory: “there were the Ranquel awnings, near eight wells which they had opened in the shores of three big rain water lagoons, from where they, their horses and their cattle take water.” (Viedma, 1938 [1781], our translation). In 1806, the traveler Luis de la Cruz wrote: “twelve blocks away, we ran into a lagoon and a fountain surrounded by poles, which the natives installed to protect the water” (de la Cruz, 1969 [1806]). In 1879, Racedo also pointed out the presence of jagüeles built at the edges of lagoons: “(…) the lagoons at Pichi-Quengan did not exist before. The origin of those, were some jagüeles dug by the natives, which the rain and the groundwater transformed into small lagoons afterwards” (Racedo, 1965). Ranquel occupation ended after the “Desert Conquest” (a military raid) between 1879–1882. After that, water source emplacements were registered between 1881 and 1885 by the first national surveyors. As a result of this, it was possible to inventory more than 80 jagüeles, 41 of which were located in the transition area between the caldén woodlands and the herbaceous steppe (DGT-AM, 1881–1885 and 1909). During an archeological research conducted at Las Vertientes site (36°34′50.1″ S; 65°28′42.2″ W, Fig. 1b), some fallen poles were found around drinkable water wells, together with other partially buried ones in vertical position (Fig. 2a). This site is located in the homonymous farm next to a permanent lagoon called La Vega lagoon. This used to be

in mapuche indigenous language) began to settle in the caldenal. They came from the North of the Neuquén province in Argentina and were socially and politically organized on chiefdoms or leadership (Tapia, 2005). The Ranquel native people had settled from the middle of the 18th to the end of the 19th centuries, occupying an extensive territory of around 350 000 km2 in the Pampas (Fig. 1b). Among the water sources in the Ranquel area, the Salado River was an important geographic and social signpost (Fig. 1b). The Salado being the only water current in the area explains why lagoons, wells and springs attracted the settlement of Ranquel villages from the beginning of this community occupation (León Solís, 2001; Villar and Jiménez, 2000, 2003). Historical reports mention that Ranqueles benefited from the shallow water table by means of wells called jagüeles that were placed near drinkable water sources, encampments and roads. These wells were enclosed with woody upright poles to avoid cattle entrance and consequently, to prevent water contamination (Fig. 2). According to historical sources, even if the lagoons had salty or bad quality water (i.e. containing sulfur), wells or jagüeles were dug on their shores in order to reach drinkable underground water. Such practices are thought to have been common, as expressed by Diego de las Casas in the survey he conducted in Ranquel villages in 1779 (de las Casas, 1969 [1779]). In 12 out of 46 villages he visited, he observed manmade fenced wells around lagoons and natural wells. Diego de las Casas wrote: “Lepián (one Ranquel chieftain)…has two watered dug and fenced 26

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Fig. 3. Jagüel at Naicó1 sampling site in August 2013 with abundant water and the vestiges of the pole fence (a) Cross-section after been polished with differentiated tree rings (b) and poles (c).

beginning of the 20th century (Bogino, 2014). These investigations stated the longevity of Prosopis trees to around 250–300 years and provided evidence to go back up to the first half of the 18th century. Despite the value of Prosopis species for dendrochronological studies, no archeological research based on tree-ring analysis has previously been carried out in the Argentinean Pampas, while only a few are available in South America (Morales et al., 2013). The objective of this research was to determine whether the findings in the archeological sites Las Vertientes, Naicó 1 and Naicó 2 correspond to the times of the Ranquel occupation, or if they belong to later periods. This aim was addressed by applying dendrochronological studies on woody material that was found in the three archeological sites.

Table 1 Chronologies of Prosopis caldenia used as master series references in this dendroarcheological study. Species

Period

Mean correlation

Number of samples

Site emplacement

Prosopis caldenia Prosopis caldenia Prosopis caldenia (Dussart et al., 2011) Prosopis caldenia Prosopis caldenia Prosopis caldenia (Velasco-Sastre et al., 2018)

1795–2008 1770–2008 1743–1997

0.41 0.42 0.43

13 11 10

Calden's forests Calden's forests Calden's forests

1804–1996 1755–1997 1738–2011

0.48 0.34 0.44

31 18 37

Calden's forests Calden's forests Calden's forests

2. Materials and methods The number of samples per site was distributed as follows: eight samples of scattered buried and semi-buried poles in Las Vertientes; three samples in Naicó 1 and seven samples from the poles around the well at Naicó 2 (Fig. 3ac). At Las Vertientes and Naicó 2 sites, all available poles were sampled while at the Naicó 1 site the samples were selected taking into account the natural conservation status of the poles. The samples were dried to improve their preservation. Some of them had bark remains and did not show signals of severe decay, which is the result of a well preserved wood due to Prosopis species has very high wood durability (Tortorelli, 2009). First of all, anatomical analyses were carried out in order to determine the species the poles were made of. Cubic samples of approximately 2 cm × 2 cm × 2 cm were sanded with sandpaper of increasing grit (from 80 to 400 grits inch−1) until the macroscopic anatomical characteristics were clearly visible. The sanding procedure was done in order to clearly determine the orientation of: transversal, longitudinal tangential and radial planes. Afterwards, microscopic 30 μm thin sections were cut, dehydrated and finally stained using the simple safranin coloration method. For the dendrochronological studies, cross section of the poles were

the Mamül Mapü (which means “wood land” in mapudungun language, which the Ranqueles still speak), where the cacique Ranquel Llanquetruz II and his followers settled at the beginning of the 19th century (Baigorria, 1975; Hux, 2003). Las Vertientes site is located within the caldenal phytogeographic area. Naicó is the place where the other two archeological sites are located (36°57′01.05″ S, 65°21′58.30″ W, Fig. 1b). From the environmental point of view, it is a transition area between the caldenal and the herbaceous steppe of the subregion of the wet Pampa. In both sites Naicó 1 and Naicó 2, structures made with poles were found around wells, in the form of an arched structure in the former and several scattered poles in the latter. The name Naicó means “spring that flows down” in mapudungun. In fact, the presence of clear water which surfaces from under sand dunes and flows following the slope toward the lower part of the valley is characteristic of the Naicó 1 site. Previous studies determined the suitability of Prosopis species en general, and of P. caldenia in particular, for dendrochronological analysis (Villalba et al., 2000; Bogino et al., 2015, Velasco-Sastre et al., 2018), being caldén the first species to be dated in South America at the 27

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Fig. 4. Transversal sections of microscopic samples of Prosopis flexuosa (a) and Prosopis caldenia (b) showing semi-ring porous to diffuse porous (a) and ring porous (b) respectively. Curly braces pointed out the tree-ring width (A). The irregular borders are the result of deteriorated material.

**p < 0.001; ***p < 0.001), Student's t-values (Baillie and Pilcher, 1973) and the Gleichläufigkeitskoeffizient (GLK) (Eckstein and Bauch, 1969) between master residual and each sample residual chronologies to estimate the correspondence between tree-ring growth patterns. The dplR system for Statistical computing was applied (R Core Team, 2016).

Table 2 Dendrochronological traits of the archeological samples compared with master chronologies of Prosopis caldenia that belong to the Las Vertientes (LV), Naicó1 (Na) and Naicó2 (Nai) sampling sites. Time spam

Trees

Years

r value

df

t-value

GLK

Master LV1 LV2 LV4 LV5 LV8

1738–2011 1758–1808 1724–1813 1732–1812 1727–1808 1659–1838

37 1 1 1 1 1

273 51 90 81 82 101

0.61*** 0.53*** 0.57*** 0.58*** 0.35***

49 74 73 69 99

5.21 5.41 5.98 5.58 3.72

72% 67% 62% 63% 64%

Master Na3

1804–1996 1838–1896

31 1

193 59

0.65***

57

6.38

72%

Master Nai1 Nai2 Nai4 Nai5 Nai7

1804–1996 1867–1910 1881–1915 1882–1918 1852–1885 1867–1906

31 1 1 1 1 1

193 44 35 37 34 40

0.59*** 0.52** 0.45** 0.50*** 0.40**

42 33 35 32 39

4.49 3.1 2.96 4.07 2.83

58% 56% 60% 67% 57%

3. Results Anatomical studies demonstrate that the samples could belong to the genus Prosopis, family Fabaceae, subfamily Mimosoidea, section Algarrobia. The species Prosopis caldenia, Prosopis flexuosa, Prosopis nigra Griseb., Prosopis alba Griseb. and Prosopis chilensis (Molina) Stuntz belong to this section. Nevertheless, according to Cabrera (1976), only P. caldenia and P. flexuosa grow in the phytogeographic ecoregion where the jagüeles are located. In agreement with these findings, our samples belong to P. caldenia and P. flexuosa. Previous studies on wood anatomy of P. caldenia (Castro, 1994; Tortorelli, 2009) and P. flexuosa (Castro, 1994; Giantomasi et al., 2009) allowed us to compare the wood anatomical features of these two species. The distinguishable anatomical characteristics were (1) P. caldenia has ring porous while P flexuosa has semi-ring to diffuse porous (IAWA, 1989). (2) P. caldenia samples showed a higher ray number (average frequency: 188 radii mm−2) than P. flexuosa (average frequency: 25.12 radii mm−2). (3) Tangential diameter of vessel lumina is 80 μm in P. caldenia and 120 μm in P. flexuosa (Fig. 4a, b). In our samples, it was impossible to distinguish Prosopis’ sapwood. This may be explained in terms of the difference in color in relation to the hardwood. The difference progressively disappears after the death of the tree, as the sapwood remains in the sample as well as portions of the bark. Prosopis wood is of high technological and economic value due to its physical characteristics: hardness, weightiness, density, and durability as a result of its high tannin content (Castro, 1994). Moreover, our samples show a longevity superior to 300 years, which may have been favored by the buried or semi-buried conditions. The samples from Las Vertientes site, although deteriorated due to the tearing of fibers during microscopic sample preparation, could be identified as P. caldenia species (Fig. 4b). For the samples from the Naicó site, wood anatomical observations on the transversal, tangential and radial sections showed that the wood remains are indeed P. flexuosa (Fig. 4a). All samples from Las Vertientes could to be dated. Their last tree ring was formed between the years 1799 and 1838 and the chronological series obtained from this material cover the period 1658–1838 (Table 2). From Naicó 1, two out of three poles were cross-dated and their last tree rings were dated between 1885 and 1918, whereas the series for Naicó 2 were dated between 1885 and 1918 after successful cross-dating of six out of eight series (Table 2). Statistical values that characterized the accuracy of the datation (Pearson's correlation index, Student's t-values and GLK) including

Significant values were: *p < 0.05. ** p < 0.001. *** p < 0.001.

cut and sanded. Increasing grit sandpaper was used (40–400 grits inch−1) until the tree rings were clearly visible (Fig. 3b). Subsequently, the tree rings of each cross section were marked manually using an Olympus SZ61 magnifying glass and finally, each ring width was measured using a dendrometer VELMEX Inc. with 0.001 mm accuracy. Two radii on each sample were measured and after crossdating, the average of both measurements was then calculated. Following this procedure, a data set of ring widths for each cross section was obtained. Tree-ring series of archeological samples were crossdated against two master ring-width data sets obtained from previous studies (Dussart et al., 2011; Velasco-Sastre et al., 2018) (Table 1) using the COFECHA (Grissino-Mayer, 2001). Comparing our samples against master data sets was the key to place the former correctly in time in order to assess the objective of this research. One of the master data sets, which spans 273 years (1738–2011), was developed/generated using cross sections of 37 caldén individuals collected from Las Vertientes farm. The other one spans 193 years (1804–1996) and this was developed/determined using cross sections of 31 caldén individuals from the Toay site (Dussart et al., 2011; Velasco-Sastre et al., 2018). In order to remove the biological trends inherent to radial growth and minimize the growth variations not related to climate, the tree-ring series were autoregressively modeled and detrended using a 32-year cubic spline filter in order to magnify the high frequency variability. The accuracy of the cross-dating of each sample was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient (significant values were: *p < 0.05; 28

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Fig. 5. Residual tree-ring chronologies of each individual at Las Vertientes sampling site (LV) (black color) and the residual master series of Prosopis caldenia that belong to Las Vertientes (1738–2003 period, gray color). Pearson's correlation coefficient and significant correlation was included at each sample (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.001; ***p < 0.001).

4. Discussion

both, the master series and the archeological samples, are included in Table 2. Samples from Naicó could not be cross-dated, and they are not displayed in the table. Residual tree-ring chronologies of each individual at Las Vertientes and Naicó sampling sites and the residual master series of P. caldenia that belong to Las Vertientes (1738–2003 period) and Toay (1804–1996 period) are shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Pearson's correlation coefficient and significant correlation were pointed out at each sample (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.001; ***p < 0.001). The dated tree-ring series from archeological site Las Vertientes allowed developing a chronology of P. caldenia for the 1658–2003 period (346 years, 20 series). Dendrochronological trails for the master chronology from COFECHA software were: mean correlation: 0.42 and mean sensitivity: 0.37. Standard, residual chronologies and the statistical values after detrending using spline minimum rigidity 64 years were shown in Fig. 7.

The successful synchronization and dating of Prosopis caldenia confirm its value for dendroarchaeological research. These dated tree-ring series from archeological timbers allowed developing a chronology that goes back to 1658, and as a result, we constructed the longest chronology for the Argentinean Pampas (1659–2003 period). Although the samples at Naicó site belong to the species Prosospis flexuosa, seven poles out of ten were cross-dated successfully against the master series developed from 31 P. caldenia trees gathered at the Toay department. The need to cross-date the samples against the chronology of other species was because there was neither a chronology for P. flexuosa in the area nor long-lived trees. This decision was supported by: both species belong to the same genus, coexist in the same environment, have a natural tendency to crossbreed and produce interspecific hybrids, have similar response to environmental changes, and therefore, display a similar dynamic in the production of tree rings, we can sustain the value of the cross-dating (Castro, 1994; Giantomasi et al., 29

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Fig. 6. Residual tree-ring chronologies of each individual at Naicó1 and Naicó 2 sampling sites (Na and Nai) (black color) and the residual master series of Prosopis caldenia that belong to Toay (1804–1996 period, gray color). Pearson's correlation coefficient and significant correlation was included at each sample (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.001; ***p < 0.001).

replicated probably due to their proven efficacy (Sbarra, 2015). Such is the case of the jagüeles built during the first years of the 20th century in La Holanda farm (neighboring Las Vertientes site) or in the Northern part of the caldén area at the end of the 19th century (Grelebin, 1924). The photographic and management records of this farm show the presence of native inhabitants assigned to diverse rural activities, which may imply that they applied their knowledge adapted to this unfavorable region. Several times, the transformation processes generated by the influence of Europeans and Creoles on the Native American societies have been exalted. Nevertheless, the inverse processes have been ignored, disregarded or unknown. The knowledge of the Ranqueles regarding the efficient use of water resources, which are so scarce in the dry Pampas, has been described in several documentary sources. As Diego de las Casas pointed out (1969 [1779]), from the beginning of the chiefdown settlement, wells were dug and, in order to prevent animal contamination, fenced by vertical poles. Nowadays, when traversing the area, similar structures can still be seen in use, as living memories of the native Ranqueles and their descendant.

2009Giantomasi et al., 2009; Verga and Gregorius, 2007). Cross-dating confirms that in the Las Vertientes site, the caldén poles were used to fence a well within the territory occupied by the Ranqueles. In 1838, the latest date of the material analyzed, the MamülMapü territory was occupied by native communities and they were led by the cacique Llanquetruz II, and fences were constructed during this period (Avendaño, 2000; Baigorria, 1975). Since the last years of both series of Naicó correspond to trees which died between 1885–1918, it can be assumed that the jagüeles were not built during the Ranquel occupation. They were built by creoles and European occupants after the Desert Conquest, when rural activities were already established in the area. As a matter of fact, after Juan Dillón's surveys in 1882, the General Julio Argentino Roca distributed the conquered territories among his relatives and closest friends, with the Naicó 1 and 2 sites included among the lands given to his brother, Ataliva Roca. Some years later, in 1909, Altaliva divided his 100 000 ha among his children (DGT-AM, 1909). His daughter, Arminda Roca de Luro, inherited the lots where the jagüeles were found. Afterwards, the ownership of these lands has changed several times until today. Nevertheless, it is important to highlight that the techniques used to build fences around wells used by the first pilgrims in these areas were similar to those used by the Ranqueles. These structures may have been 30

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Fig. 7. Tree-ring chronologies of Prosopis caldenia (standard and residual) for the 1658–2003 period (346 years, 20 series) and dendrochronological statistics.

5. Conclusion

Fundación Chadileuvú, Santa Rosa 94 pp. Avendaño, S., 2000. Usos y costumbres de los indios Pampas. Elefante Blanco, Buenos Aires 154 pp. Baigorria, M., 1975. Mis Memorias. Solar Hachette, Buenos Aires 175 pp. Baillie, M.G.L., Pilcher, J.R., 1973. A simple cross dating program for tree-ring research. Tree-Ring Bull. 33, 7–14. Berón, M., 1995. Cronología radiocarbónica de eventos culturales y algo más…Localidad Tapera Moreira, Área del Curacó, La Pampa. Cuad. Inst. Nac. Antropol. Pensam. Latinoam. 12, 261–282. Bogino, S., 2014. The centenary pluviometer: a first dendrochronological study in South America. Dencrochronologia 32, 52–54. Bogino, S., Roa Giménez, C., Velasco Sastre, A., Cangiano, M., Risio, L., Rozas, V., 2015. Synergistic effects of fire, grazing, climate, and management history on Prosopis caldenia recruitment in the Argentinean pampas. J. Arid Environ. 117, 59–66. Burkart, A., 1976. A monograph of the genus Prosopis (Leguminosae subfam. Mimosoidae). J. Arnold Arbor. 57, 219–525. Cabrera, A.L., 1976. Regiones fitogeográficas argentinas. Acme, Buenos Aires 85 pp. Castro, M., 1994. Maderas argentinas de Prosopis. Atlas anatómico. Secretaría General de la Presidencia de la Nación, Buenos Aires 101 pp. de la Cruz, L., 1969 [1806. Viaje a su costa del alcalde provincial del muy ilustre Cabildo de Concepción de Chile, don Luis de la Cruz, desde fuerte Ballenar, frontera de dicha Concepción hasta Melincué. In: In: de Angelis, P. (Ed.), Colección de obras y documentos relativos a la Historia antigua y moderna de las Provincias del Río de La Plata, vol. 2. Editorial Plus Ultra, Buenos Aires, pp. 45–385. de las Casas, D., 1969 [1779. Noticia individual de los caciques o capitanes peguenches y pampas que residen al sur (…). In: In: de Angelis, P. (Ed.), Colección de obras y documentos relativos a la historia antigua y moderna de las Provincias del Río de La Plata, vol. 4. Editorial Plus Ultra, Buenos Aires, pp. 195–203. DGT-AM. Dirección General de Tierras, Archivo de Mensuras, Catastro, Santa Rosa, La Pampa: 1881-1885. Secciones I, II, III, VII, VIII, IX, XIII y XIV (Libros azules) y 1909, Expedientes, 6 de octubre, 024839-34, n 216, letra j. Dussart, E., Chirino, C.C., Morici, E.A., Peinetti, R.H., 2011. Reconstrucción del paisaje del caldenal pampeano en los últimos 250 años. Quebracho 19 (1–2), 54–65. Eckstein, D., Bauch, J., 1969. Beitrag zur Rationalisierung eines dendrochronologischen Verfahrens und zur Analyse seiner Aussagesicherheit. Forstwiss. Centralblatt 88, 230–250. Giantomasi, M.A., Roig-Junent, F.A., Villagra, P.E., Srur, A.M., 2009. Annual variation and influence of climate on the ring width and wood hydrosystem of Prosopis flexuosa DC trees using image analysis. Trees 23 (1), 117–126. Grelebin, H., 1924. Fisiografía y noticia preliminar sobre arqueología de la región de Sayape. Tallesres gráficos Ferrari Hnos, Buenos Aires 24 pp.

The dendrochronological analysis of Prosopis caldenia and Prosopis flexuosa poles proceeding from three sites located within the Ranquel territory provide evidence to date structures known as jagüeles, and thus, answer the question of this research. For Las Vertientes site, the dates in which the trees died or were cut confirmed that the fence around the well was built by the Ranqueles. On the other hand, on both sites within the Naicó locality, different types of jagüeles may have been built by creole and European rural workers at the beginning of the 20th century. These results reconfirmed the dendrochronological potential of P. caldenia, and for the first time, we identify its value for archeological studies. This opens a new challenge in order to reconstruct environmental and social past changes in the Argentinean Pampas. Acknowledgements The authors thank José Navarro, Laura Eyheromonho and Rubén Navarro for allowing us to take samples from Los Mimbres farm. The archeological and dendrochronological studies were possible thanks to the UBACYT F01/W133 and 1/Q401 (Programaciones científicas 2011–2014 y 2014–2017) projects, and to the financial support of the National Universities of San Luis and La Pampa. We would also like to thank GAECI for their review of the language of this manuscript. We especially thank Jorge Leporati for graphical and statistical support and two anonymous reviewers for improving the quality of the manuscript. References Aráoz, F., 1987. Cobertura de Geonimia para el mapa de La Pampa. Biblioteca Pampeana,

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