Maritime Communities of the Ancient Andes

464 Pages·38.908 MB·English

by  Gabriel Prieto & Daniel H. Sandweiss

Maritime Communities of the Ancient Andes
Society and Ecology in Island and Coastal Archaeology
University Press of Florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola

Maritime
Communities
of the
Ancient Andes
Edited by
Gabriel Prieto
and Daniel H. Sandweiss
Foreword by Victor D. Thompson
University Press of Florida
Gainesville · Tallahassee · Tampa · Boca Raton
Pensacola · Orlando · Miami · Jacksonville · Ft. Myers · Sarasota
Copyright 2020 by Gabriel Prieto and Daniel H. Sandweiss
All rights reserved
Published in the United States of America
This book may be available in an electronic edition.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Prieto, Gabriel, editor. | Sandweiss, Daniel H., editor. | Thompson,
Victor D., author of foreword.
Title: Maritime communities of the ancient Andes / edited by Gabriel Prieto
and Daniel H. Sandweiss ; foreword by Victor D. Thompson.
Other titles: Society and ecology in island and coastal archaeology.
Description: Gainesville : University Press of Florida, [2020] | Series:
Society and ecology in island and coastal archaeology | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019002017 | ISBN 9780813066141 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Underwater archaeology—Andes Region. | Coastal
archaeology—Andes Region.
Classification: LCC CC77.U5 M3672 2019 | DDC 930.1028/04—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019002017
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University System
of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast
University, Florida International University, Florida State University, New College of Florida,
University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida, University of
South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
2046 NE Waldo Road
Suite 2100
Gainesville, FL 32609
http://upress.ufl.edu
Contents
List of Figures vii
List of Tables xi
Foreword xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
1. Introduction: A Historical Perspective on the Studies of Andean
Maritime Communities 1
Gabriel Prieto and Daniel H. Sandweiss
Part I. Early Maritime Adaptations (13,000 to 5500 BP)
2. Marine Communities in the Atacama Desert: Masters of the
Subtropical Pacific Coast of South America 39
Calogero M. Santoro, Victoria Castro, Chris Carter, and Daniela Valenzuela
3. Economic Organization and Social Dynamics of Middle-Holocene
Hunter-Gatherer-Fisher Communities on the Coast of the Atacama
Desert (Taltal, Northern Chile) 74
Diego Salazar, Carola Flores, César Borie, Laura Olguín, Sandra Rebolledo,
Manuel Escobar, and Ariadna Cifuentes
4. The Use and Construction History of Huaca Prieta, North Coast of
Peru 101
Tom D. Dillehay
Part II. Maritime Communities between 5500 and 2500 BP
5. Changing Complexity in the Norte Chico, 3000–1800 cal BCE 131
Winifred Creamer and Jonathan Haas
6. Maritime Communities and Coastal Andean Urbanization:
Preliminary Insights from Early Horizon Samanco, Nepeña Valley,
North-Central Peru 165
Matthew Helmer
7. The Supply and Consumption of Marine Resources at the Inland
Center of Caylán, Coastal Ancash 188
David Chicoine, Carol Rojas, Víctor Vásquez, and Teresa Rosales
8. The Fisherman’s Garden: Horticultural Practices in a Second
Millennium Maritime Community of the North Coast of Peru 218
Gabriel Prieto
9. The Ethnogenesis of Pescador Identity: The Implications of
Biodistance Analyses of Initial Period (1500–1200 BC) Human
Remains from Gramalote, Peru, for our Understanding of the
Social and Economic Dynamics of Ancient Andean Maritime
Communities 247
Richard C. Sutter and Gabriel Prieto
Part III. Maritime Communities between 2500 and 600 BP
10. Fisherman, Farmer, Rich Man, Poor Man, Weaver, Parcialidad Chief?
Household Archaeology at Cerro la Virgen, a Chimú Town within the
Hinterland of Chan Chan 267
Brian R. Billman, Dana Bardolph, Jean Hudson, and Jesús Briceño Rosario
11. Subsistence Economies in Marginal Areas with Natural Constraints:
Interactions between Social Dynamics, Natural Resource
Management, and Paleoenvironment in the Sechura Desert, Peru 301
Nicolas Goepfert, Philippe Béarez, Aurélien Christol, Patrice Wuscher, and
Belkys Gutiérrez
12. Late Prehistoric Maritime Communities in Coastal Ecuador 318
Karen E. Stothert, Maria Masucci, and Benjamin Carter
Part IV. Maritime Communities between 600 and 300 BP
13. Maritime Adaptations at Cerro Azul, Peru: A Comparison of Late
Intermediate and Twentieth-Century Fishing 351
Joyce Marcus, Kent V. Flannery, Jeffrey Sommer, and Robert G. Reynolds
14. El Contrato del Mar: Maritime Subsistence at Carrizales, Zaña Valley,
Peru 366
Parker VanValkenburgh, Sarah Kennedy, Carol Rojas, and Gabriel Hassler
15. Fish[i]stories: Seafolk of the Northern Peruvian Coast 397
Susan Elizabeth Ramírez
List of Contributors 425
Index 435
Figures
2.1. Coast of northern Chile from Ilo to Los Vilos 40
2.2. Habitat at the exorheic basin of Caleta Vitor Bay 42
2.3. The southern abrupt endorheic coastal section (corresponding to
the Huentelauquén cultural zone), from El Loa Basin to Los Vilos
Bay 43
2.4. Choromytilus chorus circular stem shell fishhook, harpoons and
potera, and vivid depiction of large marine specimens caught from
small watercraft and terrestrial hunting at El Médano, north of
Taltal 49
2.5. Human inhumation at Copaca 58
3.1. The Arid Coast of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile 75
3.2. Archaeological sites close to Morro Colorado 78
3.3. Early Middle Holocene specialized technology for extracting and
processing marine and coastal resources 84
3.4. Late Middle Holocene lithic artifact known as “Taltaloid blades”
which required high labor investment but whose functional utility
remains unclear 91
3.5. Rock art at the El Médano site 92
4.1. Location map of the Huaca Prieta site in the lower Chicama Valley,
Peru 102
4.2. View of the Huaca Prieta mound from the east 103
4.3. Topographic map of the Huaca Prieta and Paredones sites showing
the location of excavation units 105
4.4. Late Preceramic textile from Huaca Prieta dated between 5000 and
4500 BP 109
viii · Figures
4.5. Decorative style on etched gourds from Paredones, radiocarbon
dating between 6000 and 4000 BP 109
4.6. Detailed stratigraphic profile of the south wall of Bird’s HP-3 trench
showing layers, floors, and stone footings 113
4.7. Chamber tomb made of cobblestones and dating to Phase 4 119
4.8. View of Preceramic house mound near wetlands north of Huaca
Prieta 121
4.9. View of the late Preceramic stone architectural structures in the
sunken plaza of the “looter’s hole” 122
5.1. Map of Norte Chico showing Late Archaic sites 132
5.2. Circle of monoliths at the base of the central staircase, Caballete 134
5.3. Excavated permanent structure at Caballete 135
5.4. View of Bandurria showing extensive shell midden 141
5.5. Theissen polygon analysis of Norte Chico mound sites 150
5.6. Schematic of pyramid and circular court indicating different levels of
access 154
6.1. Map of Nepeña Valley, coastal Ancash, Peru 167
6.2. General map of Samanco’s standing architecture, topography, and
features 170
6.3. East Samanco 173
6.4. Central Samanco 175
6.5. Isometric reconstruction of the excavated Compound 3 patio group
at Samanco 175
7.1. Photograph of the urban core of Caylán 189
7.2. Map showing test pits and block excavations of Caylán 193
7.3. Photograph of floor scatter contexts with faunal remains and other
trash from Compound-E (UE6) 194
7.4. Photographs of bone tools 197
7.5. Butchering marks on osteological remains 204
8.1. Map of the Moche Valley 225
8.2. Fishing gear recovered at Gramalote 225
8.3. Present-day marshlands around the Gramalote site 226
8.4. Macrobotanical remains recovered at Gramalote 229
Figures · ix
8.5. Modern fisherman from Huanchaco 234
8.6. Lithic tools (hoes) associated with agricultural activities found at
Gramalote 239
9.1. The 2-dimensional multidimensional scaling solution using the
R-matrix derived biodistances for Gramalote and 18 comparative
prehistoric Andean skeletal samples 257
10.1. Map of the Moche Valley with relevant sites 268
10.2. Plan map of architectural compounds at Cerro la Virgen 269
10.3. Photo of the “island” created by illegal quarrying at Cerro
la Virgen 278
10.4. Photo and profile drawing of XU 18 279
10.5. Box plots of densities and standardized counts of plant remains by
category 284
11.1. Map of the Sechura Desert 302
11.2. Structures composed by beach rocks and posts used as screens 305
11.3. Excavation of the midden 308
11.4. Profiles of pit 1 excavated in the midden 309
11.5. Ceramic artifacts 311
12.1. The Atacames River region 320
12.2. Chanduy Valley, Santa Elena area 324
12.3. Stratigraphic excavations at El Cangrejito site 328
12.4. Spondylus shell fragments found at El Cangrejito site 329
12.5. Large earthen platform at the site of Mar Bravo 334
12.6. Mar Bravo radiocarbon dates 335
13.1. Boats for artisanal fishing 353
13.2. A 130-km stretch of the south-central Peruvian coast 354
14.1. Location of the Zaña Valley and the surveyed areas in this
research 373
14.2. Preceramic Period settlements 375
14.3. Early Intermediate Period settlements 376
14.4. Late Intermediate and Post-Reducción settlements 378
14.5. Surface ceramic density, architecture, and excavations,
Conjunto 123 380