Reconstructing the spectrum of human-plant interactions in two pre-Hispanic populations in Central Chile (Southern Andes). A case of study utilizing microfossils recovered from dental calculus

It is now accepted that the study of both cultivated and wild plant resources is crucial for understanding pre-historic subsistence systems. The detection of individual plant species in the archeological record provides in-formation about the practices and knowledge of these ancient people. In this context, this article, studies the shifts in subsistence patterns during the Ceramic Sequence (400 BCE - 1400 CE) in the Maipo-Mapocho Basin (Southern Andes). With the use of a reference collection and analysis of micro-fossils recovered from dental calculi, we were able to record the consumption of several wild species not detected previously. We conclude that despite the intensification of agriculture that occurred among human groups in the basin around 900 CE, they continued to procure certain wild plant species.