Interacciones entre el guanaco (Lama guanicoe) y el ser humano en el Gran Chaco: datos etnozoológicos pasados y actuales del noroeste de la provincia de Córdoba, Argentina

Abstract

The present work is an interdisciplinary study that investigates different processes by which rural inhabitants interact with fauna, specifically the guanaco, and appropriate them. The general objective was to carry out an ethnozoological characterization of the knowledge, uses and sociocultural practices related to the Lama guanicoe species according to past and current populations of the northwestern part of the province of Córdoba.

From different disciplines such as ethnozoology, ecology and archeology, data were obtained that allowed broad comprehension of different ways in which human beings and guanacos have interacted over time. The changes that have occurred in both the environment and the human populations were considered. Semi-structured (n = 32) and in-depth (n = 12) interviews were conducted and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The cultural relevance of the fauna of the area in general was reviewed, including the frequency of references to them according to the inquiry criteria used in the study (i.e., perceptions in relation to: importance, conservation and retraction or decrease in the frequency of the occurrences and those thought to control/eliminate). In this way, the criteria associated with the guanaco were identified and, ultimately, various aspects of the significance of the species are discussed according to the types of valuations assigned to them: recognition, use for subsistence hunting (for food or medicine), and appreciation of the animal as "characteristic of the place" and aesthetically attractive. The possible causes of "decline" in the presence of the species are additionally discussed.