MONUMENTS, ARCHAEOLOGY AND LOCAL VIEW. THE CASE OF THE WASTE MOUNDS OF AMBATO VALLEY (NORTHWEST OF ARGENTINA)

In the Ambato Valley (Catamarca, Argentina) one of the most visible archaeological features are the mound earth structures, some of them was transformed into stone platforms, up to 3 meters high. Those structures were not built at once, but they are products of the long-term progressive accumulation of waste from the cleaning of houses' floors to which they were associated. Local people use them as place names: "Bordo", "Altillo" and "Iglesia" (church) are some of the proper names they receive. In this paper, taking into account the appreciation of Mary Douglas that the removal of dirt is a positive effort rather than negative, for organizing the environment, we analyze the implications of cleaning practices of the rooms' floors, and its deposition in these monumental structures in the structure of domestic space and the definition of social groups that inhabited them. In addition, we will stress this interpretation arising from our archaeological practice with the local perspective on these features. At the end, we articulate an argument that questions the possibilities and connections of both views, and the role of archaeology in the context of increasing pressure by external actors, on lands of peasant by external actors, on lands of peasant communities.