Resumen: En las últimas dos décadas se ha producido un incremento notable de la información arqueológica sobre las Tierras Bajas sudamericanas. No obstante, el mapa arqueológico de este área sigue contando con algunos vacíos importantes para conocer las particularidades del registro en cada región específica y muchas regiones están aún poco estudiadas. Uno de estos vacíos corresponde al Delta del río Paraná, que en los últimos años ha empezado a ser objeto de investigaciones sistemáticas. En este artículo se realiza una revisión crítica del estado actual de las investigaciones en el Delta del Paraná y se sintetiza la evidencia obtenida en las nuevas investigaciones efectuadas por los autores en el Delta Superior. Se discuten además los patrones de uso del espacio deltaico durante el Holoceno Tardío. En este contexto, se aborda el desarrollo de la arquitectura en tierra en el marco de una perspectiva suprarregional y comparada, integrando en la discusión otros casos de áreas vecinas (Uruguay y sur de Brasil) en los que la ocupación intensiva de tierras bajas condujo a la construcción de montículos (localmente denominados cerritos). Finalmente se exploran las evidencias arqueológicas e históricas que sugieren cierto grado de desigualdad social entre las poblaciones humanas del Delta del Paraná.

This article presents a comparative analysis of archaeological sites in northwest Iberia focusing on Neolithic spatial concepts and their materialization in different architectures from this period. The recently excavated site of Montenegro in Galicia is analysed to determine how the construction of circular enclosures reproduces the organizational model of space identified in monumental architectures elsewhere. The origin of these constructions, their functionality and their relation with other archaeological phenomena are explored to show how they are all different versions of the same concept. Finally the authors discuss what they consider their key point that the prevalence of circular design may be recognized behind the diverse materialities as an essential instrument of Neolithic societies which began to tame the world.

This paper presents new data on the spatial organization of mound-builder groups in the India Muerta wetlands, Uruguay. This area presents the beginning of land architecture in the region (ca. 4800–5000 years BP), associated with more arid climate. This construction tradition continues and intensifies, mainly from ca 3000 years BP, from the establishment of warmer and damper conditions. New sources of information and geospatial technologies have made it possible to locate mound sites with greater precision, as well as to analyze settlement patterns. Indigenous communities occupied areas of hills, plains and wetlands, showing differences but also regularities in spatial organization in each area. In the whole area, earthen mound complexes form groups of different orders, from regional to domestic units, configured by mounds, negative structures and limited spaces. The location of the mounds is primarily in dry areas, known locally as islands, which are prominent in the landscape during floods in this wetland-dominated environment. Through this analysis of the landscape, this work delves into the underlying logic of the social construction of the territory. The results achieved in this paper are consistent with previous research suggesting planned occupation associated with villages integrated within broader regional systems.