Abstract

LEIVA GONZALEZ, Segundo et al. Natural and cultural diversity of the archaeological site of Cerro Sulcha, San Isidro hamlet, Carabamba district, Julcan province, La Libertad region, Peru. Arnaldoa [online]. 2019, vol.26, n.2, pp.485-554. ISSN 1815-8242.  http://dx.doi.org/10.22497/arnaldoa.262.26202.

Cerro Sulcha archaeological site, defined in five units, is located in the San Isidro hamlet, Carabamba district, Julcan province, La Libertad region, Peru; which it is over 3600 m of altitude. The architecture is made up of various remains of pre-Hispanic stone-edged constructions, including dwelling places, square-like spaces and terraces, among other architectural features. Since the characteristics that have, both the ceramic and the architecture, it should be considered that Cerro Sulcha presents an occupation from the Formative Period, Early Intermediate Period and Late Intermediate Period. It is affirmed that the ancient Peruvians learned to live with nature and that different species of plants and animals were used in different aspects of their daily lifes. The archaeological recognition was carried out through surface observations. The life forms and plant associations existing in the area were determined indicating their biotypes and floristic components. The biological study was based on botanical collections and direct field observations of both flora and fauna, made in four visits with irregular periodicity in the first half of year 2019. The study area of great slope and rock outcrops belongs to the Andean Domain and High Andean Province, rock and scree communities in Jalca (paramo ecosystem). For the flora, 121 species, 99 genera and 41 families were registered; distributed in five species of ferns, a species of gymnosperm (Ephedra americana), and the rest angiosperms. The families with the highest number of species are: Asteraceae (34), Fabaceae (10), Poaceae (9), Calceolariaceae (5), Orobanchaceae (4), Solanaceae (4), Amaranthaceae (3), Apiaceae (3), Caryophyllaceae (3), Lamiaceae (3) and Pteridaceae (3); making a total of 66.94 % in the study area. Twenty-five endemic species were recorded, which five species are in Endangered (EN): Lomanthus truxillensis, Loxanthocereus sulcifer, Lupinus otuzcoensis, Matucana paucicostata and Quinchamalium elongatum; two species are Vulnerable (VU): Pappobolus discolor and Verbesina lopez-mirandae; five are Near Threatened (NT); eleven species categorized as Least Concern (LC) and two as Not Evaluated (NE). The fauna was represented by 43 species, distributed in 18 orders and 25 families. Of them, the birds contribute with a greater number of species (38), followed by reptiles (4) and mammals (1) (Lagidium viscacia), which was evidenced by stool samples. Four endemic species were determined and categorized as Least Concern (LC), three species of reptiles Microlophus stolzmanni, Stenocercus chrysopygus and Stenocercus melanopygus, and a bird named Metallura phoebe.

Keywords : Cerro Sulcha; rocky slope area; Jalca; archeology; flora; fauna; endemisms; Carabamba; Julcan; La Libertad; Peru.

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