A multi approach study of grinding artefacts recovered at the north of the Hualfín valley (Catamarca, Argentina)

•Studied artefacts were classified as upper grinding tools.•Starch grains extracted from the artefacts correspond with three different taxa.•Use-wear analysis indicates probable use of the tools for grinding activities. This paper aims to characterise the lithic technology associated with food processing at the Villavil 1 site (northern Hualfin Valley, Argentina), inhabited during both the Middle period (ca. 7th – 9th centuries AD) and Late-Inka period (ca. 10th – 16th centuries AD). We conducted this study by following different approaches on grinding tools: at the macroscopic scale, we carried out techno-morphological studies, while at the microscopic scale we identified botanical residues and use-wear traces. These different lines of evidence allowed us to recognise upper tools that could have been used for grinding vegetables. We detected starch grains of three taxa: Zea mays, Neltuma sp., and Phaseolus vulgaris. Also, wear traces (dimples, micro-striations, micro-polishing) pointed out an intense or prolonged percussion on the surface of another rock and the contact with plant material. The results match with the functions of the site Villavil 1, related to agricultural production, which was fundamental to the diet of pre-Columbian populations that inhabited the valley.