Patrimonio y paisajes culturales en el Camino Real a Buenos Aires. La ruta del Tucumán en el siglo XVIII, un itinerario histórico en el corazón de Sudamérica

Our research aimed to identify and recover the history and heritage of the Camino Real from Buenos Aires to Lima, Peru, in the 18th century and was carried out by a team of researchers from USAL and Universidad de Granada. In Spain, the research team focused on the study of international concepts related to heritage, cultural landscape and cultural itinerary. In Argentina the research focused on delimiting the Camino Real in our territory, on the basis of cartography, sources and documents in the Archivo General de la Nación [National Archives], the provincial archives of Córdoba, Tucumán and La Plata, among others, and universities, convents and repositories. By the delimitation of the trail, we confirm that there are areas where it has been preserved and transformed into important roads, in other areas it has disappeared, and in some others it has turned into a secondary road that trespasses private property. The trail from Buenos Aires to La Quiaca has an extension of 1,840 km and goes through extensive plains, depressions, plateaus, mountains, valleys, ravines and high mountains. We identified one hundred and thirteen 18th Century heritage milestones that existed in each of the provinces through which the Camino Real traversed. Our research team travelled to Córdoba, Santiago del Estero, Salta, Jujuy and Buenos Aires to carry out field work which consisted in documenting heritage landmarks and the cultural landscape through photography, local archives consultation and interviews to local historians. The route that united Lima with Buenos Aires was rooted in a conception of occupation of the territory that sought its control in order to exploit its wealth, and turned out to be a necessary infrastructure for the political and administrative control of the region. Both its recovery and study allow for inner thought as regards human capacity to control and manipulate nature and provide an explanation of the commercial exchanges and socio cultural changes that took place in the area in those days. ; Este trabajo ...