Sondondo's ancient agriculture as reflected in microfossils from terraced soils. Procedures to understand socio-economical changes in Peru

In Peru, archaeological studies of Andean agriculture have generally focused on archaeobotanical remains, agrarian technologies, or the social and economic dimensions of agricultural practices. Most of these studies have relied on typological or structural approaches, leading to interpretations grounded in relative chronologies and broad generalizations, especially for periods of complex social development, such as those associated with the Huari and Inca Empires. However, new interdisciplinary methodologies in agroarchaeology offer new opportunities to investigate the cultivation sites directly, moving beyond an exclusive reliance on ethnographic or ethnohistorical analogies. This paper presents the first multiple microfossil analysis from soils in agricultural terraces from the Sondondo Valley, Department of Ayacucho, Peru. We detail the application of this innovative methodological approach, which allowed us to reconstruct the chronology of terrace construction and use, and provided insight into the social implications of these agricultural practices. Furthermore, we challenge prevailing assumptions about the standardization of terraces and the demand for maize cultivation during the expansion of the Inca Empire in the Southern Andes. Our study effectively demonstrates how sociopolitical transformations can be assessed by studying past agricultural landscapes.