1998 Desert Bio-scape, natural and cultural diversity in the Atacama Desert (original) (raw)
Related papers
Natural and Cultural Landscapes in Atacama Desert: Between Tradition and Innovation
Landscape Architecture - The Sense of Places, Models and Applications, 2018
Climatic conditions modeling the landscape of the Chilean northern region are examined, along with how they could model different strategies to be inhabited by various demographic contingents in time. These experiences have persisted in the different geographic spaces of Atacama Desert, from the Andes at an elevation higher than 2000 m.a.s.l., going through the intermediate depression between 2000 and 500 m.a.s.l., to the coastline panorama. In the various shades of the desert climate and the experiences of several populations, life styles and spatial conceptions were posed in terms of their cosmic dimension from a deterministic view and pragmatic apprehension to a contemplation-like view. These conceptions between man and the landscape have assumed different relations of technology use, natural and energy resources, and a constructive-architectonic design in Atacama Desert, which have remained as monuments in the Chilean southern space.
Hunter-gatherers on the coast and hinterland of the Atacama Desert
ieb-chile.cl
The hyperarid coast is essentially barren of vegetation, except for small lomas formations, a highly endemic and seasonal formation characterised by shrubs, cacti and many annuals that depends on a dense fog. This fog typically blankets the coastline, which receives little actual rainfall. The lack of vegetation limited the existence of animals, particularly mammals, suitable for huntergatherers, which contrasts with the Australian deserts and the Kalahari and Namib. Freshwater supplies depend exclusively on precipitation in the western Andes ...
Steps to an Ecological Aesthetic in the Atacama
Here is the text I prepared for an workshop event co-hosted by the Atacama Foundation and Royal College of Art Lithium Triangle research project, held in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile February 2018.
The Phytogeography and Ecology of the Coastal Atacama and Peruvian Deserts
Aliso
The Atacama and Peruvian Deserts form a continuous belt for more than 3500 km along the western escarpment of the Andes from northern Peru to northernmost Chile. These arid environments are due to a climatic regime dominated by the cool, north-flowing Humboldt (Peruvian) Current. Atmospheric conditions influenced by a stable, subtropical anticyclone result in a mild, uniform coastal climate nearly devoid of rain, but with the regular formation of thick stratus clouds below I 000 m during the winter months. Where coastal topography is low and flat, the clouds dissipate inward over broad areas with little biological impact. However, where isolated mountains or steep coastal slopes intercept the clouds, a fog-zone develops. This moisture allows the development of plant communities termed lomas formations. These floristic assemblages function as islands separated by hyperarid habitat devoid of plant life. Since growth is dependent upon available moisture, an understanding of climatic patterns is essential in efforts to interpret present-day plant distributions. Topography and substrate combine to influence patterns of moisture availability. The ecological requirements and tolerances of individual species ultimately determines community composition. Species endemism exceeds 40% and suggests that the lomas formations have evolved in isolation from their nearest geographic neighbors in the Andes. While the arid environment is continuous, there appears to be a significant barrier to dispersal between 18° and 22"8 latitude in extreme northern Chile. Less than 7o/o of a total flora, 2 ALISO estimated at nearly 1000 species, occur on both sides ofthis region. Viable hypotheses concerning the age and origins of these desert floras will require continued study of the ecology and biogeography of their component species.
Journal of Arid …, 1998
Temperate and semi-arid regions of Argentina are undergoing rapid habitat conversion as a result of several human activities (i.e. grazing, logging, agriculture, etc.). These arid ecosystems contain many endemic species and have played an important role in the evolution of South American biota. The Man and Biosphere Reserve of Ñ acuñán (12,800 ha) is located in the central region of the lowland Monte Desert. The reserve is a stand within a highly disturbed matrix characterized by deforestation (i.e. mesquite, Prosopis)and overgrazing. Major vegetational and animal communities recovered after the reserve was fenced in 1972, and Ñ acuñán thus provides critical data describing the recovery of biotic and abiotic components of the Monte Desert when anthropogenic assaults are minimized. Indeed, the Reserve of Ñ acuñán protects many distinctive habitats of the Monte Desert, including mesquite forest, or algarrobal, and several representative animals of the South American biota (i.e. tinamous, rhea, marsupials, edentates and caviomorph rodents). Several research projects on community ecology, herbivory, disturbances, ecology and ecophysiology have been or are being developed in the reserve. Although the town of Ñ acuñán lies within the reserve, the link between the research community and the local people has not been strong, persistent or effective. The reserve is the most important site in Argentina for monitoring the ecological health of the Monte Desert and for developing indicators of desertification. Its potential is great for long-term ecological research and for strengthening the infrastructure of science. Sustainable development in the next millennium requires integrating the activities of the research, local people, ranch landowners and governmental sectors so as to infuse science-based proposals into management and conservation initiatives.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
Understanding how human societies interacted with environmental changes is a major goal of archaeology and other socio-natural sciences. In this paper, we assess the human-environment interactions in the Pampa del Tamarugal (PDT) basin of the Atacama Desert over the last 13,000 years. By relying on a socio-environmental model that integrates ecosystem services with adaptive strategies, we review past climate changes, shifting environmental conditions, and the continuities and discontinuities in the nature and intensity of the human occupation of the PDT. As a result we highlight the importance of certain key resources such as water, an essential factor in the long-term trajectory of eco-historical change. Without water the outcome of human societies becomes hazardous.
Sequential analySiS of human occupation patteRnS anD ReSouRce uSe in the atacama DeSeRt1
Chungara, Revista de Antropología …, 2010
This paper presents a chronological sequence of human occupation from the end of the Pleistocene to the present day in the Atacama Desert, one of the most barren territories of the New World. The occupational sequence covers a period of 11,000 years of prehistory, in which distinct patterns of resource use are examined such as hunting, fishing and gathering techniques, animal domestication, agriculture, animal husbandry, mining, commerce and trade. The study also incorporates innovations based on industrial scale mining developments in colonial times, the 19 th century industrial period and the present day (extractive mega projects). A variety of cultural, technological and productive developments are discussed in relation to continuity and shifts in human occupations and their impact on the spatial distribution of the population in different locations from the Andes to the Pacific. A marked imbalance can be observed between traditional natural resource production and extractive mining activities that lead to extreme ecological fragility due to the indiscriminate use of water resources. The paper suggests that sustainable development is being jeopardised by the lack of research and alternative models, coupled with a lack of coherence among political, scientific and ethical discourses.
People of the Coastal Atacama Desert
2005
When Europeans colonized the coast of the Atacama Desert region (188-278S) in the sixteenth century they described the local people as skillful fishermen. In particular, Bibar ( [1565: 12) observed: