Editorial Essay

Abstract

Investigations in 2003 and 2004 at Huambacho (PV31-103)) lower Nepeña Valley, yielded significant data to assess the nature of Early Horizon (900–200 B.C.) architecture on the north-central coast of Peru. In Nepeña, the Initial Period (1800–900 B.C.) mounds, such as Cerro Blanco and Punkurí are superseded by several enclosure complexes, and new concepts of architecture appear in the archaeological record. This paper highlights the new architectural forms and presents evidence regarding building technology, function, and spatial Organization. The research indicates the existence, by 800 CAL B.C., of a new architectural canon inspired by the local Initial Period tradition, and significantly different from that which is known at coeval sites associated with the so-called “Chavin Cult” Data from Huambacho contribute to our understanding of the changes that occurred in the region after the demise of Initial Period centers and our understanding of the social complexity and ceremonial variability that characterized the Early Horizon.     

Special Studies: The Pre-Chavín Stone Sculpture of Casma and Pacopampa

Abstract

In a recent article, “Early Carving From Pampa de las Llamas-Moxeke, Casma Valley, Peru,” Thomas Pozorski and Shelia Pozorski (Journal of Field Archaeology 15 [1988] 114–119) describe an important stone sculpture discovered in their 1987 excavations of Huaca A at Pampa de las Llamas-Moxeke, Casma Valley, Peru. They argued that it was the oldest securely-dated sculpture in Peru based on a radiocarbon date of 1565 b.c. (unrecalibrated), and deemed it unique on the basis of comparisons with the corpus of early stone sculptures from Peru. The dual purpose of this short contribution is to: 1) suggest that on the basis of radiocarbon measurements available it cannot be demonstrated that the Huaca A sculpture is older than the hundreds of stone sculptures from Cerro Sechin in Casma; and 2) draw attention to some intriguing similarities between the Huaca A sculpture and a stone carving from Pacopampa in the Chotano Valley of the Peruvian highlands. These two points highlight the inadequacy of our understanding of the origins of stone sculpture in Peru.     

Doubts about How the Middle Horizon Collapsed (ca. A.D. 1000) and Other Insights from the Looted Cemeteries of the Lower Ica Valley,South Coast of Peru

This paper presents new information from funerary contexts in the lower Ica Valley, on the south coast of Peru, spanning two millennia from the end of the Early Horizon to the Late Intermediate Period. Although severely looted, these sites can still yield valuable information. We discuss their architecture and material culture in the context of radiocarbon dates. Among other findings, these cast new light on the poorly understood transition from the Middle Horizon to the Late Intermediate Period, for which a paucity of archaeological data from ca. a.d. 1000–1250 has long been taken as evidence of an environmentally- or socially-induced demographic collapse. Yet the data we present here suggest that the basins of the lower Ica Valley were likely occupied continuously over this period, and that the echoes of Wari influence here may have lasted longer than previously thought.     

Seaside life in Early Horizon Peru: Preliminary insights from Samanco,Nepeña Valley

Studies of social complexity increasingly acknowledge the crucial role maritime communities play in the constitution of societies. Research at Samanco, a seaside center in the Nepeña Valley, north-central Peru, provides new evidence on coastal life during the Early Horizon (900–200 b.c.) ascribed to early urban developments. Samanco comprises hundreds of structures organized into distinct compounds spread over 30 ha in the northern margin of the Nepeña River, bordering the ecologically rich Samanco Bay. Fieldwork in 2012 mapped and excavated the site, currently under threat by encroaching human developments. Test and block excavations indicate that Samanco was primarily occupied during the Early Horizon and reused later in prehistory as a cemetery. This article presents the 2012 excavations, focusing on the nature of Samanco's Early Horizon occupation and connection with contemporary inland Nepeña centers. Results point towards the presence of a significant residential population and a settlement focused on the processing of agrarian and marine resources, camelid husbandry, and possibly trade.     

Excavations at Balakot,Pakistan, 1973

Abstract

During the winter of 1973–74 preliminary excavations were conducted at the ancient coastal site of Balakot in Sanmiani Bay, Pakistan. Two periods are represented at the site. Period B, capping the mound, represents the Mature Indus (Harappan) period, the earliest urban period of South Asia. Balakot is one of five known coastal sites of the Indus Civilization. It is hoped that evidence will be discovered in subsequent seasons bearing on the question of the assumed sea trade contacts between the Indus and the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia in the centuries just before and after 2000 B.C.

Period A at Balakot is designated as Early Indus. The more than 6 m. of occupational debris resting on sterile soil represent the developmental stages leading directly into the earliest civilization of South Asia. The Early Indus sequence at Balakot contains ceramic elements related to many of the so-called “painted pottery cultures” of Baluchistan and the southern Indus Valley. The proposed series of extensive excavations at the site should provide a sound chronological and cultural framework within which any of these presently isolated cultural traditions can be studied.

This report describes the location and potential importance of the site. The most significant findings of the first season's work are presented.     

Feasting landscapes and political economy at the Early Horizon center of Huambacho, Nepeña Valley, Peru

The present contribution examines feasting practices at Huambacho (800–200 cal. B.C.), an Early Horizon elite center of the Nepeña Valley, Department of Ancash, Peru. Feasts are approached as long-term strategies essential to the political economy of human societies. Drawing upon data from public architecture, material culture and food remains, the study closely considers feasts as political actions and investigates the organization and social meaning of these special events. At Huambacho, I contend that the diacritical aspects of feasting practices, such as the use of exclusive spaces and special paraphernalia, contributed to the dual celebration of communal identity and prosperity, and the creation and reproduction of social inequalities. The research highlights the dual centripetal and centrifugal dynamics of Early Horizon feasts and demonstrates the role of the Huambacho center in advertising the success of the local community based on new forms of production and innovative rules of commensal hospitality.     

The Batan Grande-La Leche Archaeological Project: the First Two Seasons

Abstract

Batan Grande, occupying an area of some 55 sq. km. in the small coastal valley of La Leche in North Peru, is known as a mecca of grave looting that has yielded a considerable quantity of gold funerary artifacts. These destructive clandestine operations have not only prevented serious fieldwork but also effectively obscured the complexity and significance of archaeological remains that include nearly 50 extensive cemeteries and massive adobe constructions that together span some 2,500 years since the Formative period (ca. 1300 B.C.). Since 1978, the multi-year, interdisciplinary Princeton University Batan Grande-La Leche Project has been carrying out intensive field work with principal research interests in (a) evaluating the role of organized religion in cultural development, (b) establishing a regional chronology, (c) elucidating cultural interaction during the problematical Middle Horizon Period (ca. 600–1000 A.C.), and (d) documenting systemic relationships between cultural and natural processes. This paper presents the major results and interdisciplinary research strategies of the first two seasons as well as a model of the Batan Grande burial and religious tradition.     

Neolithic Figurines Manufactured from Phalanges of Equids from Dja'de el Mughara,Syria

Abstract

Worked specimens of proximal phalanges of Equus have been discovered in the Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B levels (8700–8200 CAL. B.C.) at Dja'de el Mughara, a tell site in the Middle Euphrates Valley in northern Syria. Prior to the present study, one was published as a human figurine (Coqueugniot 2000: 70). Similar objects, dated to the Khiamian and Pre-Pottery Neolithic A periods (10,000–8700 CAL. B.C.), have been recognized at Tell Mureybet in the same region. Analysis of 22 specimens from Dja'de el Mughara reveals morphological variability and different styles of shaping within the sample.

Anthropomorphic figurines in the prehistoric Near East have been approached as a distinct group of representations, often considered in terms of symbolism. Rarely are the raw materials (mainly clay and stone), technology of manufacture, and variations in fashion considered. Here, the major steps of figurine manufacture from whole proximal phalanges of equids at Dja'de el Mughara are described and a classification system based on technological and morphological criteria is proposed. It is hoped that this presentation of the Dja'de el Mughara bone figurine sample will stimulate recognition of analogous finds at other prehistoric sites in the Near East.     

New Bioarchaeological Evidence and Radiocarbon Dates from the Lambayeque/Sicán Culture Camelids from the El Brujo Complex (Northern Coast of Peru): Implications for Funerary and Herd Management Practices

ABSTRACT

Pastoralism and camelid management have been essential to all aspects of pre-Hispanic Andean societies. Here, we present zooarchaeological and isotopic data on domestic camelid remains from Huaca Cao Viejo (El Brujo archaeological complex) on the northern coast of Peru, and dated to the Lambayeque/Sicán period—to characterise their biological age, diet, life history, possible geographic origin and ritual use. Domestic camelids, representing a wide range of biological ages and a high rate of polydactyly, were found as burial offerings in direct association with human funerary bundles (fardos). Direct AMS dates indicated that camelids were buried over a short period of time (AD 1022–1176) confirming the Lambayeque presence in the Chicama Valley during the first half of the Late Intermediate Period. Stable isotopic analyses were carried out on both bone collagen and hair keratin, including incremental analysis. A considerable variability in δ¹³C values at both the intra-individual and the intra-group level and a large contribution of C₄ resources to diet are shown. This clearly supports local management and camelids originating from various herds. Zooarchaeological and isotopic evidences suggest diversity in herding practices and suggest the importance of the herds in fulfilling the transportation demands for trade in goods.     

Crucibles of power: Forging copper and forging subjects at the Moche Ceremonial Center of Huaca Colorada,Peru

An analysis of copper production, architectural construction, and feasting rites as interrelated ritual activities at the Late Moche site of Huaca Colorada suggests that power asymmetries were embedded in a distinctive relational ontology and sacrificial worldview. Power was exercised not by alienating communities from their means of production or excluding the majority lower class from the diacritical symbols of power. Rather, the manufacture of copper items enabled subjects to directly contribute to Moche rites of regeneration and social reproduction; the skilled metamorphosis of copper into finished objects paralleled and symbolically reinforced the ritual re-formation of bodies and political subjectivities at Huaca Colorada. Ultimately, an examination of copper production at Huaca Colorada as a ritual of bodily transformation sheds light on the culturally specific structures of power characterizing the greater Jequetepeque region during the Late Moche Period.     

A Case of Congenital Radioulnar Synostosis from Prehispanic Peru

A rare example of congenital radioulnar synostosis was observed in a sample of 160 male, female, and juvenile Lambayeque (Sicán) skeletons excavated from Huaca Cao Viejo, a mud brick platform mound built during the Early Intermediate Period and later utilized by a Late Intermediate Period Lambayeque population (ca. AD 950–1250) for interments. The affected individual was a young female, estimated to be 16–18 years of age at the time of death. To date, this is the first case of congenital radioulnar synostosis to be described from an archaeological context in South America, and one of 13 reported archaeological cases worldwide. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wari’s imperial influence on local Nasca diet: The stable isotope evidence

The highland Wari Empire established a presence within the Nasca region of south coastal Peru during the Middle Horizon period. To clarify the nature of this interaction, we analyzed stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of human bone collagen from individuals living in the Southern Nasca Region (SNR) before (1–750 AD) and during (750–1000 AD) imperial influence. The stable isotope data do not indicate that the Wari Empire transformed maize agricultural labor in the Las Trancas Valley of the SNR. In fact, during both time periods, Nasca people had access to a wide range of food items.     

No Country for Old People: A Paleodemographic Analysis of Migration Dynamics in Early Andean States

In this paper, we present a paleodemographic interpretation of a complete mortuary population from the site of Rio Muerto (southern Peru) affiliated with the early Andean Tiwanaku state (A.D.500–1000). Although advances in biogeochemical paleomobility studies have revolutionized bioarchaeological approaches to certain aspects of migration, paleodemography continues to offer a valuable complementary perspective on migration and population dynamics. Notably, paleodemography, through reference to Uniformitarian age‐at‐death profiles, is uniquely equipped to identify age‐specific subgroups that are missing from the mortuary population. We argue that the marked absence of adult individuals in the M70B cemetery population is the result of the socially regulated movement of older adults or their remains from the state provinces back to the homeland. We suggest that the particular demographic composition of the Rio Muerto M70 cemetery population, when considered within its cultural context and compared to other available paleodemographic data, reveals potential patterns of adult return migration, and carries important implications for the political and social dynamics of early Andean state society. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identifying foreigners versus locals in a burial population from Nasca, Peru: an investigation using strontium isotope analysis

During the several thousand years of human occupation in the Nasca drainage on the south coast of Peru, population movement into and out of the region impacted the formation and organization of society, as well as contributed to major cultural transformations. This study identifies foreign versus local individuals through the investigation of burial practices and strontium isotope analysis of human remains from the sites of La Tiza and Pajonal Alto dating from the Early Intermediate Period through the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1–1476). Of the ten samples analyzed, two individuals dating to the Middle Horizon were identified as foreigners. One of these individuals was buried in a new elite tomb type providing additional evidence that the Wari state incorporated Nasca into its realm. Two headless individuals, one dating to Middle Nasca with clear evidence of decapitation, and another dating to the Late Intermediate Period who was likely decapitated, were both locals. This suggests the practice of decapitation took place among local groups, and that the practice of decapitation and the use of heads as ritual items or trophies may have continued later in time than previously thought.     

The Transition from Prehistory to the Historic Period in the Upper Mun Valley

The Early Historic Period in the Mun Valley occupies a critical three centuries, from A.D. 500 to A.D. 800, a period often known as that of Zhenla, a name derived from early Chinese accounts. This article first describes early findings of fieldwork designed to illuminate the prehistory of the upper Mun Valley, a period which covers approximately two millennia, with initial settlement now dated between 1500 and 1000 B.C. It then considers the nature of the transition to the complex polities of Zhenla. This involves a combination of archaeological and documentary evidence. Sources for the latter are rare for the Mun Valley, but by broadening the area considered, it is possible to integrate archaeological and historical sources in order to portray the intensifying social changes which characterize the Early Historic Period. It is suggested that most of the Mun Valley was occupied by Khmer speakers during the Iron Age, people responsible for the transition to increasingly centralized polities of the Early Historic Period. In the upper reaches of the Mun catchment, and in the Chi Valley to the north, the late prehistoric inhabitants spoke Mon. They had close affinities with the Dvaravati polities of Central Thailand. If confirmed, this hypothesis would indicate a series of local trends towards increasing social complexity which we can recognize in the early epigraphic record.     

The Middle Holocene Shell Mound of El Gouna on the Red Sea (Egypt)

Abstract

In the El Gouna (Hurghada) area on the Red Sea of Egypt, a Middle Holocene shell mound from around 5800 B.P. (uncalibrated radiocarbon years before A.D. 1950) has been tested by a restricted excavation. Collection of shellfish on the Red Sea shore provided subsistence opportunities for Middle Holocene groups coeval with the Early Predynastic Tasian of the Nile Valley. The El Gouna site demonstrates for the first time that prehistoric shell mounds exist near the Egyptian Red Sea shore.     

Early Woodland Upland Encampments of Central Ohio

Abstract

Most published studies of the Early Woodland period (1000 B.C.–200 B.C.) in Ohio have traditionally focused on the mortuary/ceremonial aspects (e.g. mounds) of the latter half of this time period. Less energy, however, has been devoted to nonmortuary sites, such as those that appear in the uplands as surface lithic scatters. In the past decade archaeological studies in central Ohio have yielded a rapidly growing amount of information concerning upland Early Woodland sites. In this article we compare and contrast variability in site structure, flint acquisition and stone tool production, diet, ceramic attributes, and radiocarbon dates from three central Ohio upland sites: President’s Club, 33LI183, and McCauley. Together, these data reveal an emerging pattern of upland site use during the Early Woodland period in central Ohio.     

Publications

Abstract

This article examines the development of urban forms of community organization on the north-central coast of Peru during the 1st millennium b.c. Recent mapping and excavations at the Early Horizon center of Caylán, in the Nepeña Valley, provide insights into the nucleation of human groups at an extensive valley floor complex. The results indicate the establishment of an urban core around cross-cutting avenues, while architectural data point towards the existence of multi-functional residential stone-and-mud walled compounds. The density of the architectural remains combined with the abundance of refuse is indicative of a significant urban population. The Caylán research sheds light on the development of urbanism after the demise of the Chavín sphere of interaction.     

Survey,Settlement, and Population History at the Ancient Maya Site of Pacbitun,Belize

Abstract

Survey and excavations of mounds on the outskirts of the site of Pacbitun in western Belize provide insights into the ancient Maya settlement pattern at this medium-sized regional center. This research employed two methods: analysis of structural remains from four separate 1000 m transect surveys,and a subsequent complete (100%) survey of intervening and adjacent quadrant areas. The overlap of quadrant zones with portions of the transect units permits an examination of the accuracy of transect surveys. Excavation of a 22% sample of all identified mounds provides chronological and functional information. An estimate of 200 persons for the resident elite population of the Epicenter of Pacbit un is offered. Initial settlement occurred in the Epicenter of the site during the Middle Preclassic period (900–300 B.C.), with a population rise through time until the final phase of the Late Classic period (A.D. 700–900), when density reached 550 persons (periphery Zone) to 950 persons (Core Zone) per sq km. The impact on settlement size and distribution of topography, soils,water resources,and intensive agriculture (hillside terracing) is assessed and found to be significant. At the time of florescence,the population of the 9 sq km site is estimated to have been about 5000–6000 persons. This population estimate is compared with several coeval lowland Maya centers,and found to be reasonable for a medium-sized, Late Classic Maya center.     

New radiometric dating of water management features at the prehistoric Purrón Dam Complex,Tehuacán Valley,Puebla, México

Recent investigations at the prehistoric Purrón Dam Complex in the Tehuacán Valley of southern Puebla, México applied radiometric dating to more securely date the complex. Ceramic-based dating in the 1960′s placed the Dam's origin to the Formative Period. While Formative Period origins are widely accepted, the chronology lacks resolution and direct dates. Samples from impounded sediments behind the dam and from prehistoric canal fill were dated through Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) as well as both standard ¹⁴C and accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) assays. These samples directly date the functioning of the water management features within the complex. The results confirm the Formative Period origins of the Purrón Dam, and offer new insights into the construction and functioning of the dam and irrigation system.