En una meseta de la cordillera mendocina, a más de 3.500 metros sobre el nivel del mar y lejos de las rutas de tránsito conocidas, un conjunto de muros de piedra, recintos y pasadizos plantea una incógnita para la arqueología. El equipo de ArqueoAndes investiga una estructura que podría haber funcionado como un centro ceremonial prehispánico o un geoglifo, aunque los especialistas advierten que todavía se trata de una hipótesis.

La directora del proyecto, la arqueóloga Cristina Prieto-Olavarría, explicó a Infobae que la forma y el emplazamiento del sitio abren varias posibilidades sobre sus usos a través del tiempo.

“Su forma y ubicación, fuera de las rutas de tránsito conocidas, nos hacen pensar en múltiples funcionalidades a lo largo de los siglos, desde tiempos prehispánicos a los históricos”, afirmó Prieto-Olavarría.

En ese sentido, la investigadora planteó que su morfología pudo modificarse con el paso del tiempo y que esa cuestión deberá evaluarse durante los trabajos en el terreno.

El conjunto fue identificado por el andinista mendocino Carlos Gobbi, quien integra la investigación.

La ubicación y la arquitectura sostienen la hipótesis de un uso ceremonial

Para el arqueólogo Horacio Chiavazza, codirector de la investigación, los primeros elementos observados no remiten a un lugar destinado a una residencia permanente. El sitio se encuentra en una zona elevada, con accesos restringidos y sin agua disponible en las cercanías.

“No parece corresponder a un espacio funcionalmente adaptado para residir, no al menos de modo permanente. No hay disponibilidad de agua cercana ni evidencias de que existiera una provisión previsible en el pasado”, indicó Chiavazza a Infobae.

El investigador agregó que se trata de “una meseta a más de 3.500 msnm con accesos limitados y fuera de circuitos posibles”, aunque vinculada al Qhapaq Ñan, la extensa red vial andina, y a sus sitios de ocupación.

El diseño de la construcción también forma parte de las preguntas que busca responder el equipo. Según Chiavazza, la estructura demandó una gran cantidad de trabajo y presenta rasgos que no coinciden con antecedentes conocidos en la región. “Responde a un patrón muy particular, no registrado en los antecedentes locales”, sostuvo.

El experto describió espacios delimitados por muros de piedra apilada, unidos “por una especie de pasillo o pasadizo”. Dentro de esos sectores, los arqueólogos observaron superficies despejadas de piedras, con sedimentos más finos y una coloración diferente.

Chiavazza precisó que también hay construcciones a las que solo se puede acceder desde el grupo principal de estructuras circulares. Además, mencionó la posible presencia de un canal empedrado que comunicaría el conjunto con otra estructura circular más pequeña, excavada y cubierta por piedras.

Los investigadores analizarán la orientación de la estructura en la cordillera de Mendoza

Una de las líneas de trabajo estará centrada en la disposición de los ejes de la arquitectura. El equipo busca determinar si la orientación del conjunto guarda relación con eventos astronómicos, como los solsticios.

“La orientación de los ejes principales del conjunto arquitectónico en relación a eventos como solsticios dará indicios si formaron parte del objetivo de la edificación”, explicó Chiavazza. Se trata de verificar si el diseño tuvo vínculos con fenómenos del cielo, una cuestión registrada en otras construcciones de los Andes.

En ese aspecto, el arqueólogo ubicó el hallazgo dentro de una tradición de ocupación del valle de Uspallata y de prácticas asociadas a las cumbres. Citó como antecedentes la Qhapaq Qocha del Aconcagua, la del Cristo Redentor y una plataforma interpretada como ceremonial en Los Penitentes.

Aun así, el equipo evita atribuir el sitio de manera anticipada al dominio incaico. “No se descarta que sea un conjunto edificado antes del dominio del Tawantinsuyu”, aclaró Chiavazza. Las excavaciones, el eventual hallazgo de cerámicas y el análisis de restos orgánicos, como carbón, podrían aportar elementos para fechar el lugar.

La posibilidad de que sea un geoglifo permanece abierta

Las imágenes aéreas del conjunto llevaron a considerar que podría tratarse de un geoglifo, un diseño construido sobre el paisaje que adquiere una forma reconocible desde una mayor altura. Sin embargo, Prieto-Olavarría subrayó que el proyecto todavía no puede confirmar esa definición.

“Es una pregunta difícil de contestar en este estado preliminar de la investigación, ya que no podemos definir aún si es un geoglifo”, afirmó. La arqueóloga recordó que este tipo de estructuras admite diversas interpretaciones: pueden funcionar como marcadores del paisaje y del tránsito, o asociarse a ceremonias y eventos astronómicos.

Para establecer si el conjunto encaja en esa categoría, los especialistas deberán estudiar el diseño, su vínculo con otros elementos del entorno y la técnica constructiva. “Tenemos que analizar su diseño, relación con elementos del área, su tecnología de construcción, entre otros aspectos, para definir si es un geoglifo y cuál pudo ser su función”, remarcó.

Chiavazza señaló que la figura observada desde el aire remite a formas del arte rupestre y a elementos de la naturaleza, aunque el equipo aún no adoptó una postura definitiva. “Estamos pensando como equipo, pero aún sin definir una postura al respecto”, expresó.

El trabajo de campo buscará fechar y definir la función del sitio

La próxima campaña prevé un trabajo intensivo durante el verano, con el objetivo de establecer la cronología, la funcionalidad y las condiciones ambientales del área. “Vamos a hacer relevamientos de la estructura y el sitio, con dron y planimetría, prospecciones geoquímicas y excavaciones para obtener muestras de sedimentos, materiales y perfiles estratigráficos”, anticipó Prieto-Olavarría.

Los perfiles estratigráficos permiten observar las distintas capas de suelo y reconstruir cambios en el ambiente y en la ocupación humana. A partir de esas muestras, el equipo buscará identificar materiales arqueológicos, fechar posibles momentos de uso y analizar la relación entre la construcción y el paisaje de alta montaña.

El estudio forma parte de proyectos del Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), el Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (Ianigla) y la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (UNCuyo), enfocados en comprender las formas de poblamiento y las relaciones culturales con la cordillera.

Chiavazza indicó que las instituciones participantes ya trabajan para cumplir los requisitos de acceso y preservación establecidos por la legislación patrimonial. También prevén dialogar con las comunidades originarias del territorio. “No se trata de un hallazgo fortuito que se investiga aleatoriamente”, concluyó el arqueólogo.

EXCLUSIVE — Andrew Bailey is heading home to Missouri, and the outgoing FBI co-deputy director has a blunt message for anyone suggesting turmoil at the bureau pushed him out.

«This was 100% about my need to get home and raise my four small children,» Bailey told Digital in an exclusive interview. «I love my kids.»

Bailey, who announced Monday that he is leaving the FBI after just over a year, rejected suggestions that problems at the bureau played a part in his decision. 

KASH PATEL TO TOUT ‘LARGEST’ YEAR-TO-YEAR VIOLENT CRIME DROP IN US HISTORY

«My decision to go home is based solely upon my need to be a parent to my four children,» he said.

He accused some news outlets of spreading «lies» about the reason for his departure and offered a forceful defense of FBI Director Kash Patel amid scrutiny of the bureau’s leadership.

«Any accusation that Director Patel has focused on anything other than fulfilling the president’s promise to make America safe again are bold-faced lies,» Bailey said. «We wake up every day and work early every morning and stay up late, oftentimes without sleep, to ensure mission accomplishment.»

‘WORSE THAN WATERGATE’ NEW FBI FILES DETAIL AGENT’S PUSH TO JOIN TRUMP PROBE, INVESTIGATE ELON MUSK

Patel, in his own statement Monday, said Bailey was leaving to return to his family in Missouri and praised his role in the FBI’s overhaul.

«Andrew’s leadership at the FBI will be missed but we are grateful he answered the call to serve!» Patel wrote. He said Bailey had helped institute «critical reforms» and thanked him for his dedication to the bureau’s mission.

EXCLUSIVE: FBI EXTRADITIONS SOAR AS PATEL RAMPS UP FOREIGN OUTREACH, VOWS ‘NO SANCTUARY’

Bailey had left his post as Missouri attorney general to join the bureau in 2025.

Asked whether anything about the job factored into the timing of his exit, Bailey insisted it did not. He said protecting children had been central to his work as Missouri attorney general and remained a priority at the FBI.

FBI NABS MORE THAN 350 ALLEGED CHILD SEX ABUSE OFFENDERS

According to Bailey, the bureau added 55 agents to child protection efforts and increased the number of victim service providers in field offices nationwide.

During field office reviews, Bailey said he pressed staff on whether the bureau was «fulfilling our moral and legal obligation for victim notification and quality victim services.» He called the FBI’s victim services program «top-notch.»

FBI AND TEXAS AUTHORITIES ARREST 276 SUSPECTED CHILD PREDATORS, RESCUE 89 CHILDREN IN SWEEPING OPERATION

Bailey portrayed his time in Washington as part of what he called a «truly historic transformation» of federal law enforcement under President Donald Trump and Patel.

He credited the administration’s creation of homeland security task forces and designation of Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations with helping law enforcement pursue its mission. He also said the FBI had made it easier for state, tribal and local officers to join its task forces, adding more than 2,000 task force officers in a year.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS FEDERAL AUTHORITIES HAVE ARRESTED MORE THAN 10,000 SUSPECTED GANG MEMBERS

Bailey also pointed to what he described as a 20% reduction in homicides, more than 5,000 violent offenders arrested by the FBI and thousands of child victims identified and rescued as evidence that the administration’s approach is working.

The outgoing official also said the bureau had seized 3,258 kilograms of fentanyl in one year and arrested more than 4,200 members of foreign terrorist organizations. He cited 11,000 child victims located and identified, without specifying a time period for those latter two figures.

Asked what the public might misunderstand about the FBI, Bailey described the scale of an agency with roughly 38,000 employees and 11,000 armed agents, charged with both criminal investigations and national security work. He said the leadership team had pushed resources from headquarters to field offices, where agents could have a greater impact.

KASH PATEL REVEALS FBI’S CAPTURE OF ALL 10 MEMBERS OF MOST WANTED FUGITIVE’S LIST DURING HEARING

«We’ve done so much to push resources out of headquarters back to the field where they can maximize their impact,» he said.

PROSECUTOR JOSEPH DIGENOVA RESIGNS FROM DOJ ROLE INVESTIGATING TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBES

Bailey said more than 1,500 positions had been shifted from headquarters to field offices and that reducing layers of approval allowed agents to follow leads more quickly. He said the FBI processed more than 1.8 million DNA samples and reduced its backlog to zero for the first time in bureau history.

Asked about political considerations at the FBI, Bailey said protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution were «the only considerations.» When asked how he protected agents’ ability to follow the facts, he pointed to those staffing and approval changes. He did not address whether he had seen politics influence a specific investigation or personnel decision.

He rejected criticism of Patel’s approach as resistance to change inside an organization accustomed to the status quo. Bailey alleged that the FBI had previously been «weaponized» against Trump and his family and said Patel wanted to return it to its core mission of protecting Americans and upholding the Constitution.

«That is going to anger those sacred guardians of the status quo,» Bailey said.

As for what comes next, Bailey said he expects to return to public service someday, though he did not name a role. He traced a career that took him from the Army and two deployments to Iraq through Missouri state government and the FBI before returning to the reason he is leaving now.

«I’ve dedicated my life to public service and anticipate that I’ll look to serve again in the future in some capacity,» he said. «But I’m excited right now to get home to the kids and be able to enjoy time with them and their activities.»

us, kash patel, fbi, national security, investigations

During his time as director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., allowed over $1 billion in COVID-19 relief funding to go out the door without required monitoring, records reveal.

The 2022 State of Florida Compliance and Internal Controls over Financial Reporting and Federal Awards flagged the weakness in its annual audit, stating, «FDEM did not monitor the activities of any subrecipients.»

While Digital is not aware of fraud that may have been committed with those funds, the resurfaced audit casts an unflattering light on Moskowitz as he pursues re-election in one of the country’s most competitive districts.

It also raises questions about oversight efforts for state-level allocations for government funds, an issue Republicans have signaled merits more attention.

COVID CASH MEANT TO GET KIDS BACK ON TRACK TOOK SURPRISING DETOUR IN BLUE-STATE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Moskowitz’s FDEM approved $210,562,500 in funding to 39 local government recipients in the 2020-2021 fiscal year from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), according to the audit. The next year, it distributed $1,026,225,200 to 55 locations.

Taken together, the grants add up to $1.23 billion.

«Contrary to Federal regulations, the FDEM did not monitor the activities of CRF subrecipients,» the audit states. «Such monitoring is to include, for example, reviewing subrecipient audit reports and determining whether management decisions are required for any audit findings related to the federal award.»

According to the report, an acceptable level of oversight would normally include inquiries of the recipients as well as checks like onsite evaluations.

«Monitoring of the subrecipient must include reviewing financial and performance reports, following up and ensuring that the subrecipient takes timely and appropriate action on all deficiencies pertaining to the federal award detected through audits, on-site reviews and other means,» the audit states.

MOSKOWITZ REJECTS RICK SCOTT’S CLAIMS HE’S ‘SCARED TO DEATH’ OF SOCIALISTS, BEHOLDEN TO HASAN PIKER

Notably, Moskowitz wasn’t head of FDEM for the entire 2020-2021 fiscal year. He resigned from the post at the end of April, two months before the end of the fiscal year in June, making him the head of the FDEM for the vast majority of the 2020-2021 audit cycle but not the complete window.

Even so, his congressional opponent, Republican candidate Scott Singer, believes the responsibility lies squarely on Moskowitz’s shoulders.

«When Jared Moskowitz ran a state agency, federal regulators and state auditors found that there was a gross lack of oversight of billions of dollars of taxpayer funds, a lack of reporting, a lack of review of where the funds were going,» Singer said in a statement to Digital.

«And that’s unacceptable, especially with public tax dollars. But it’s not surprising.»

Singer argued the audit echoed earlier questions about Moskowitz’s work involving disaster recovery funds.

He pointed to an incident in 2017, when Moskowitz, as an attorney for AshBritt, a disaster-cleanup company, had renegotiated compensation from the City of Parkland after Hurricane Irma. Disclosure reports showed that he was being paid over $400,000 by the company while also serving as a state legislator.

«When Jared was a state representative, he went to his own city and demanded that they pay more for hurricane cleanup that went to a disaster recovery company that paid him millions,» Singer said.

«We can’t afford people who are continuing to do the same thing. A gross oversight of funds and self-dealing.»

When asked about Singer’s criticisms, Moskowitz’s campaign fired back, stating that the congressman was proud of the work that he did, noting that he had been reappointed to the role by a Republican governor.

«As Director of FDEM, I worked directly for Governor DeSantis and his administration. Florida had one of the best COVID responses in the country,» Moskowitz told Digital.

TRUMP ANTI-FRAUD DIVISION’S FUTURE RESTS WITH SENATE DEMS AFTER BIPARTISAN HOUSE WIN

«I left almost a year before this report was issued as I had to leave the agency to be with my dad, who was battling cancer. Governor DeSantis appointed me again to the Broward County commission. To my knowledge, Florida COVID spending has passed the FEMA audit for reimbursements,» he added.

Moskowitz also pointed out that he had received praise from even Republicans for his disaster-related work, including from Singer himself. Moskowitz shared communications between them in which Singer said the state was «in a much better place because of what you’ve done.» Singer also highlighted a second communication from Singer to Moskowitz stating, «seriously, thank you for all of the amazing work you’ve done and all the help you’re providing to our stay [sic].» 

Having cleared their parties’ respective primaries, Moskowitz and Singer will face off in the Florida general election Nov. 3.

politics, state and local, ron desantis, florida, democrats elections