Verónica Zuccarelli Freire

My research is focused on agricultural practices and their historical and contemporary significance in the Andean and circum-Andean region of NW Argentina. My research approach encompasses a multidisciplinary toolkit, which includes archaeobotanical analysis, isotope studies in soils, and spatial modeling of sites located in extreme environments (i.e. High Andean Plateau) and the Neotropical seasonally dry forests throughout the last 2,000 years.

I obtained both my undergraduate and Ph.D. degrees, complemented by a professorial degree in Anthropological Sciences at the University of Buenos. I held postdoctoral positions at the IRES-CONICET (Institute of Regional Social Studies-University of Catamarca) and at the MPI-GEA, under the aegis of a bilateral DAAD-CONICET cooperation program, co-directed by Dr. Patrick Roberts.

Currently I am developing the project “Ancient Agro-systems as Cultural Heritage: Past and Present Solutions to Climate Change in Arid and Semi-Arid Environments."  Funded by the Georg Forster Fellowship (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation).

I aspire to broaden the scope of cultural heritage enhancement, embracing past and present agrarian landscapes and their ecosystem services. This approach aims to recognize and promote more sustainable ways of life in the face of climate change and escalating extractivism in the region. The extensive history of landscape modification in the Andes underscores the value of ancestral knowledge in managing fragile environments. Moreover, as the world's ecosystems grapple with increasing aridification, it is imperative to understand land management in the context of food security crises and other pressing challenges.

Publications

Journal articles

ECHOES, Zuccarelli Freire, V. et al. 2024 Addressing the Anthropocene from the Global South: Integrating Paleoecology, Archaeology and Traditional Knowledge for COP Engagement. Front. Earth Sci. Sec. Geoscience and SocietyVolume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2024.1470577

Roberts, P., Caetano-Andrade, V. L., Fisher, M., Hamilton, R., Rudd, R., Stokes, F., Amano, N., Antonosyan, M., Dugmore, A., Findley, D. M., Zuccarelli Freire, V. , Furquim, L. P., Fletcher, M.-S., Hambrecht, G., Heddell-Stevens, P., Iminjili, V., Jha, D. K., Jha, G., Kinyanjui, R. N., ... Isendahl, C. (2024). Uncovering the Multibiome Environmental and Earth System Legacies of Past Human Societies. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 49(1), 21-50. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-112321-101257

Meléndez, A.S., Burry, S.,  Palacio,P.,  Trivi, M.E.,   Quesada, M.N.,  Zuccarelli, Freire, V.,   D'Antoni, H. (2023). Ecosystems dynamics and environmental management: An NDVI reconstruction model for El Alto-Ancasti mountain range (Catamarca, Argentina) from 442 AD through 1980 AD. Quaternary Science Reviews, Volume 324, 2024,108450,ISSN 0277-3791 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108450.

Zuccarelli Freire, V., Meléndez, A. S., Rodriguez Oviedo, M., & Quesada, M. N. 2022. Erosion control in Prehispanic agrarian landscapes from Northwestern Argentina: El Alto-Ancasti Highlands case study (Catamarca, Argentina). Geoarchaeology, 1– 22. https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21862

Zuccarelli Freire, V., Roberts, P., Meléndez, A.S., Tromp, M., Quesada, M. 2021. Managing environmental diversity in the eastern foothills of the Andes: Pre-Columbian agrarian landscapes in the El Alto-Ancasti mountain range. World Archaeology. 

Eguia, Luciana, Prieto, Carolina, Zuccarelli, Verónica, Bocelli, Sebastián, & Gordillo, Inés. 2021. El paisaje virtual. Arqueología sin campo ni materia en tiempos de COVID. Revista práctica arqueológica, 4(1), 64–69. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4783988

Gordillo, I.;; Eguia, L.; Zuccarelli, V; Bocelli, S.;Letelier, J.M; Buono, H. 2021 Experiencias en la co-construcción del patrimonio en El Alto (Catamarca, Argentina). Cadernos do Lepaarq.Pelotas: Universidade Federal de Pelotas. 2 vol.17 n°34. p - . issn 2316 8412

Gheco, l., Zuccarelli Freire, V.; Meléndez, s.; Quesada, M .2020. El otro arte rupestre de El Alto-Ancasti: los conjuntos de grabados y su articulación en el paisaje. MUNDO DE ANTES .14(1):111-139. ISSN 2362-325X (Online) 

Quesada,M.,  Zuccarelli Freire, V., Gheco, L., Gastaldi, M., Boscatto, S. 2017. Paisaje y experiencia en Oyola a finales del primer milenio D.C. (Dpto. El Alto, Catamarca). Comechingonia Revista de Arqueologia. Córdoba: Centro de Estudios Históricos "Profesor S. A. Segreti".  20 (2): 13 - 42. ISSN 0326-7911. 

Zuccarelli Freire, V. 2014. Primeras aproximaciones al paisaje agrario del norte de la Sierra El Alto-Ancasti: un análisis multi-escalar. Revista Arqueología.Instituto de Arqueología, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires. 20: 116 - 141. ISSN 1853-8126.

Vaquer, J.M., Calomino, E. A., Zuccarelli Freire, V. 2010. Habitando Cruz Vinto: Temporalidad y Espacialidad en un pukara del Periodo de Desarrollos Regionales Tardío (1200 - 1450 DC) en el Norte de Lípez (Potosí, Bolivia). Revista Arqueología. Instituto de Arqueología, Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, UBA. 16: 13 -33. ISSN 0870-2306.

Books

Zuccarelli Freire, V. 2012 Arqueología de los paisajes agrarios Surandinos: aplicación de los SIG en el análisis de la problemática agraria en Catamarca oriental. Berlín: Editorial Académica Española. 2012. ISBN. 978-3-659- 02011-7

Book chapters

Gordillo, I., Eguía, L., Zuccarelli Freire, V. 2017. Las casas del sol naciente. Arqueología de la vertiente oriental de El Alto - Ancasti. In: Arqueología de la Vertiente oriental Surandina Interacción macro-regional, materialidades, economía y ritualidad (Ventura, B., Ortiz, G., Cremonte, B., Eds). Sociedad Argentina de Antropología. Pp. 111 - 131. ISBN 978-987-1280-32-2