Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 September 2016
The transition from the Formative to the Late period (c.1000 BP) on the volcanic plateau of Antofagasta de la Sierra in northernArgentina saw various changes in landscape use and settlement pattern. Newpower structures and social identities appear in the archaeological recordin the wake of an increasing emphasis on cultivation and herding, coincidentwith a regional shift to greater aridity. The novel analysis reported herereveals that these changes also had an impact on pottery technology, notablyvessel thickness, and considers the role of technological innovation as bothcause and consequence of the changing world experienced by the inhabitantsof Antofagasta de la Sierra.