Trees in the Conformation of Relational Landscapes in the North of Mendoza (Central Western Argentina) from the Pre-Hispanic Period to the Modern Day

The current forest landscape of northern Mendoza is characterized by the fragmentation between irrigated and nonirrigated spaces and a type of socio-environmental relationship typical of modernity. In this frame, we propose to reassemble the biography of this landscape, based on a synthesis of archaeobotanical (especially anthracological), historical, and ethnographic data. For this, we identify case studies where it is possible to recognize a relative stability in the articulation of forest formations, stakeholder networks, and modes of inhabitation (settlement and production modes, water management, among others). In these, we characterize specific environmental collectives for the Pre-Hispanic (1–1561 CE), Colonial (1561–1861), and Modern (1861–1980) cases. In these, we analyze the way in which firewood was used and the availability of woody plants in the context of the modes of inhabitation associated with each collective. We also consider how trees have been perceived and intertwined in political, economic, and ethnic orders. Finally, we return to the current problem and conclude that a more thorough recognition of the historical character of the shaping of the forest landscape allows us to begin to imagine alternatives to the environmental challenges of the region.