Improntas del pasado: las canastas de Cardonal

Abstract

We know that waved basketry using coiling technique was common during the first millennium AD in the Argentinean Northwest, although their discovery is limited to scarce contexts with good preservation conditions (tombs, dry caves, etc.). This paper is based on the study of printed coiled basketry recovered in the archaeological site Cardonal (Valle del Cajón, Catamarca). The analysis of technical particularities of the printed artifacts as well as their reconstruction allowed us to identify at least three baskets of this type. One second technique included in the group of imprints could also be recognized and its possible association with the production of rough blankets is suggested. Finally we described the evidence of repairing and mending to support our idea of widely and intensively domestic use of these baskets in Cardonal.