Abstract

The goal of this paper is to characterize the human use of space in the region of Melipeuco (Cautín, Province, La Araucanía, Chile) by analyzing the spatial distribution of archaeological sites during the Holocene in relation to the ecological and anthropic factors that may have shaped it. We propose a hierarchization of space considering the regional topography and its relationship with hydrology, temperature, moisture, seasonality, and vegetal biomass. We identify preliminary tendencies in the distribution of sites across space and time and in association with the structure of the landscape. Building on this, and by means of a GIS-based approach, we propose a model of human use of space incorporating the geographic variability of this highland setting.