INVESTIGACIÓN SUBACUÁTICA EN LAS LAGUNAS DE YAHUARCOCHA, SAN PABLO, MOJANDA, PROVINCIA DE IMBABURA, ECUADOR

Abstract

Underwater Investigation in the Lakes of Yahuarcocha, San Pablo, Mojanda, Province Of Imbabura, Ecuador This article presents the main data obtained at three lakes located in the province of Imbabura, Ecuador. In Yahuarcocha, Darwinvest (2006) exam- ined the characteristics of the first sediment layers and provided preliminary information on sectors with archaeological evidence. In the San Pablo lakes, it was possible to penetrate 11.49 meters into lake sediments obtaining sam- ples of pollen, phytoliths, charcoal particles, diatoms, and tephra, which helped determine the date of beginning of prehistoric agriculture, especially the cultivation of maize, in the temperate valleys of the northern highlands of Ecuador. The ash fall of the Pululahua volcano (2290 to 2196 BP) and the Cuicocha volcano (3527 to 3386 BP) were identified chronologically. In rela- tion to corn phytoliths (Zea mays) there is a reliable date of between 6200 and 6600 BP years, to determine the presence of domesticated maize. In Yanacocha Lake, the extraction of a sediment core of 7.04 m in length, showed that the sediments began to accumulate approximately in 13023 BP; the 25 levels of volcanic tephra in the sequence include Pululahua (2358 BP) and Quilotoa (676 BP). Additionally, it is clear that underwater research re- quires a multi and transdisciplinary treatment, and professional archaeolo- gists needs to acquire new skillsets.