This contribution focuses on the interpretation of earthen mound formation processes in the lowlands of the Pampa biome, southeastern Uruguay, through the integrated analysis of sedimentological and archaeological data. The three analyzed mounds from the La Tapera site have different heights and radiocarbon chronologies, indicating different construction periods across the last 4000 years. In addition, soils from surrounding plains were analyzed to provide a comparative basis for geoarchaeological characterization. From granulometric, compositional, and geochemical results, we identified different soil classes and several anthropogenic layers inside the earthen structures. Mound soils stood out from the rest due to higher levels of P, soil organic matter (SOM), and micro‐artifact content, leading to their classification as hortic Anthroportic Udorthent soils or hortic‐cultural cumulic archaeo‐anthrosols. Geoarchaeological differences between mounds are inferred as variations in the formation processes and/or construction technologies, possibly related to the functionality and height of the structures. Evidence from this contribution demonstrated the existence of ancient ways to produce nutrient‐rich long‐lasting anthropogenic soils that left persistent geoarchaeological signatures on the landscape. These findings highlight the need to broaden the discussion, culturally and geographically, about the genesis and development of management practices and associated indigenous knowledge to include the lowlands of southeastern South America.

This paper presents new data on the spatial organization of mound-builder groups in the India Muerta wetlands, Uruguay. This area presents the beginning of land architecture in the region (ca. 4800–5000 years BP), associated with more arid climate. This construction tradition continues and intensifies, mainly from ca 3000 years BP, from the establishment of warmer and damper conditions. New sources of information and geospatial technologies have made it possible to locate mound sites with greater precision, as well as to analyze settlement patterns. Indigenous communities occupied areas of hills, plains and wetlands, showing differences but also regularities in spatial organization in each area. In the whole area, earthen mound complexes form groups of different orders, from regional to domestic units, configured by mounds, negative structures and limited spaces. The location of the mounds is primarily in dry areas, known locally as islands, which are prominent in the landscape during floods in this wetland-dominated environment. Through this analysis of the landscape, this work delves into the underlying logic of the social construction of the territory. The results achieved in this paper are consistent with previous research suggesting planned occupation associated with villages integrated within broader regional systems.

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We analyzed, from a cultural astronomy perspective, the relationship between the orientations of five mound sites and different astronomical events in the lowland region of Uruguay. We found significant relationships between the orientations of the mounds and the Southern Cross/Milky Way and the full Moon during the winter solstice ca. 3000 years BP. These relationships, meanings and senses to different native peoples of South America were explored from the literature of travelers’ and naturalists’ chronicles, alongside the ethnohistorical, ethnographic and archaeological literature. In particular, we highlighted the link among those peoples of the area of the Southern Cross/ Milky Way with a mythical Ñandú (Rhea americana). Such an interpretation has allowed us to raise the possibility that we are being faced with the integration of knowledge of the sky in the form of the social construction of inhabited space and the configuration of the landscape.

Resumen Este trabajo se focaliza en el análisis espacial intrasitio del material lítico procedente de un montículo de tierra del sitio arqueológico Pago Lindo (Departamento de Tacuarembó, Uruguay). Se realizaron análisis tecnológicos y distribucionales (vecino más cercano, K de Ripley y modelos kernel) que permitieron caracterizar distintas fases de ocupación y uso del espacio entre 3021 ± 32 y 690 ± 35 años 14C aP. Se reconoció una tecnología predominantemente expeditiva en la que no se observaron cambios significativos a través del tiempo. Los resultados de los análisis distribucionales muestran patrones heterogéneos que responden al uso diferencial del espacio en la estructura monticular. Los patrones agrupados, observados principalmente en microlascas, permitieron identificar sectores donde se localizaron espacios domésticos cuya ocupación y gestión de residuos contribuyó al crecimiento del montículo. También se reconocieron sectores donde las agrupaciones del material lítico tienden principalmente a la aleatoriedad, y que corresponden a episodios constructivos planificados. Esto es congruente con el modelo de crecimiento espaciotemporal discontinuo de las estructuras monticulares —basado en la alternancia de momentos de abandono y momentos de uso— pero también con episodios constructivos intencionales.