Tendencies on the use and circulation of seaweed along the Andean Coast: Past and present

Seaweed is widely consumed along the Pacific Coast West of the Andes. Previous work has stressed the chronological depth and traditional knowledge involved in seaweed exploitation, suggesting significant spatial variability and diverging historical trajectories. Here we offer a comparative discussion describing the gathering, distribution, and consumption patterns of these resources. We compiled the available information from archaeological, ethnohistoric, and ethnographic sources on this macroregion and link them to local cultural and environmental conditions. Six areas with different geomorphological, ecological, and cultural backgrounds are defined. Some of the major trends are the coexistence of traditional and modern exploitation modes driven by local and transnational demand; and, on the other hand, a persistence throughout the region of large-scale distribution systems of seaweed reaching the Western slope of the Andes. We suggest the existence of at least two clearly differentiated modes of seaweed exploitation: one on coastal northern Peru and another on coastal south-central Chile, with different gathering practices, uses, economic drivers, and Indigenous knowledge systems.