DOI: 10.1111/arcm.70183 ISSN: 0003-813X
Mineralogical Analysis of Beads From the Southern Calchaquíes Valleys, Northwestern Argentina (1500
bc
–1000
ad
)
Leticia Inés Cortés, Eleonora Freire, Emilia B. Halac, María Reinoso ABSTRACT
This paper presents a mineralogical analysis of 15 beads of the Formative Period (1500
bc–
1000
ad
) from the Cajón and Santa María Valleys and the Western Aconquija Foothills (Southern Calchaquíes Valleys, Northwestern Argentina). X‐ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy identified turquoise, chrysocolla, opal, sodalite, calcite, aragonite and muscovite as primary constituents. The presence of non‐local minerals shows that this region integrated the network of circulation and exchange that connected Northwestern Argentina, Northern Chile and Southern Bolivia, adding new evidence to better understand the long‐distance contacts of the first agrarian populations.