Interaction circuits and material evidence between the high rails of the calchaqui valley and the puna (x-xvi centuries)

Historical, ethnographic and archaeological investigations show an intense interaction between the Calchaquies valleys and the Puna, in northwestern Argentina, at least from the first millennium to the mid-twentieth century. On this occasion, the study of the links between these spaces during the 10th to 16th centuries is addressed, focusing on a set of materialities taken as indicators to build hypotheses about the link between the Calchaquies valleys and the Puna, based on the circulation of objects and materials. This leads us to maintain that during the Late Period, the populations of the upper ravines of the Calchaqui Valley maintained fluid interactions with the Puna; which, with the Inca expansion in the region, were maintained and expanded, allowing the circulation of materials along various circuits.