Historical archaeology at frontier and rural spaces in Pampa and Patagonia regions:

trajectories, advances and challenges

Abstract

This article presents the main lines of research and activities developed by a newly formed team that brings researchers from different disciplines and institutions together. All the projects have in common the focus on the process of expansion and construction of the frontiers of the Spanish Empire (in the Colonial period) and the State (post-independence stage) in interaction with the indigenous societies of the Pampean-North Patagonian region until the military conquest of the late nineteenth century. Through the identification and interpretation of different materials, institutional and symbolic mechanisms deployed by the Crown, the State and part of the Euro-Creole population, we seek to understand the landscape transformations of border and rural territories. For the development of these projects, innovative site detection techniques and analytical lines are used in the study of material culture. Likewise, we made various scientific divulgation activities for and with communities at different scales -local, regional, national and international-. Among those, we would like to highlight conferences, workshops, educational material and accompaniment to the communities of the studied areas as well as conjoined actions related to the preservation of the archaeological heritage. Through historical archeology and the critical integration of different types of records, we seek to contribute to archaeological and historical knowledge -local and regional- on the current and complex frontier issue.