The operation of the Payogasta mill (Department of Cachi, Salta) in the local context and its articulation with other contemporary buildings (19th and 20th centuries)

Abstract

The historic center of the town of Payogasta (Cachi, province of Salta), located near the right bank of the Calchaquí River, was the center of social and economic activities during the 19th and 20th centuries, before the construction of the route Nacional Nº 40. It is a set of constructions, with a variable degree of conservation, characterized by a typical colonial and post-colonial architecture, among which is a hydraulic mill and an old mansion, located opposite. Our investigations in the area, which began in 2017, were originally focused on the mill, taking into account its chronological and functional aspects. However, the possibility that this mansion had some degree of articulation, due to its proximity and architectural similarities, meant that the investigations also included this building. By virtue of this, in this paper we present the first data from the excavation of the house and its correlation with the excavations carried out in the Payogasta Flour Mill. The first results allow us to confirm that both were contemporaries, although the mansion would have been owned by social sectors linked to land ownership, while the owners of the mill were more closely related to the commercial sector of the town, which provided the service of the grinding. With this, it is not ruled out that in previous moments both have been part of the same Treasury, judging by the antecedents that exist for the region. Historic center of Payogasta the Flour Mill of Payogasta and the Casona de Enfrente, chronology log comparison archeology