South America’s Pacific margin is subject to recurring subduction-zone earthquakes that have gene... more South America’s Pacific margin is subject to recurring subduction-zone earthquakes that have generated devastating historical tsunamis, as well as earlier events impacting indigenous populations that have lived along the region’s rich upwelling coastlines throughout the Holocene. Despite recurring events, the geologic record of paleo-tsunamis is relatively sparse. Here we report evidence for two paleo-tsunamis striking the Chicama River coastline (8°S) around 2.8 and 2.0 ka. The two sedimentary deposits are amalgamated in many locations and can be difficult to distinguish, but floodplain or shoreface deposits separate the two units when traced landward and seaward, respectively. The magnitude of each event was sufficient to erode coarse cobbles (13–25 cm) from the shoreface and transport them ~100 m before being deposited as rapidly thinning and fining gravel units. Based on the distribution of mobilized cobbles, we consider plausible flow characteristics for the two tsunamis suggesting that each was on the order of at least a few meters in height with most of the cobble transport occurring only under critical to supercritical flow at the wave front. Previous archaeological reports from the area correctly recognized the older tsunami event but did not describe the younger, better-preserved second event. Further, we revisit the archaeological evidence for the tsunami and recast the older event as likely being more moderate than previously suggested. Broader archaeological evidence from this 30-km reach of the Chicama valley shoreline also suggests that the late Cupisnique to Salinar and Gallinazo cultures were not severely disrupted by the tsunamis, even with these events undoubtedly impacting nearshore inhabitants at the time.
This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance ... more This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online. For more information, please read the site FAQs.
Corrections are made to Stuart Fiedel's (2022) recent errors and misrepresentations related to th... more Corrections are made to Stuart Fiedel's (2022) recent errors and misrepresentations related to the late Pleistocene sites of Monte Verde and Huaca Prieta and to South American Fishtail projectile points.
Simple pebble tools, ephemeral cultural features, and the remains of maritime and terrestrial foo... more Simple pebble tools, ephemeral cultural features, and the remains of maritime and terrestrial foods are present in undisturbed Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene deposits underneath a large human-made mound at Huaca Prieta and nearby sites on the Pacific coast of northern Peru. Radiocarbon ages indicate an intermittent human presence dated between ~15,000 and 8000 calendar years ago before the mound was built. The absence of fishhooks, harpoons, and bifacial stone tools suggests that technologies of gathering, trapping, clubbing, and exchange were used primarily to procure food resources along the shoreline and in estuarine wetlands and distant mountains. The stone artifacts are minimally worked unifacial stone tools characteristic of several areas of South America. Remains of avocado, bean, and possibly cultivated squash and chile pepper are also present, suggesting human transport and consumption. Our new findings emphasize an early coastal lifeway of diverse food procurement str...
This study is an interdisciplinary approach to a veiled metaphoric design expressed in the presen... more This study is an interdisciplinary approach to a veiled metaphoric design expressed in the present-day spatial layout of ecologically-derived patronyms of Mapuche lineages and families positioned in public ceremonial plazas. The perspective combines ethnoarchaeological, cognitive, iconographic, oral tradition, allegoric metaphor, and historical approaches to the organization and meaning of this design, taking into account the past and present dimensions of ritual media (e.g., political, ideological and sensorial) to render a concept publicly graspable. Shamans and other informants state that the design represents an ancient foundational schema established for intercommunity political solidarity during times of conflict in the Spanish colonial and Republican era of the south-central Andes of Chile. Shamans were asked to draw their mental image of the hidden design of the plaza to pictographically reveal its visual representation. By examining the iconography of patronyms depicting a loosely structured order of families hierarchically positioned in ceremonial space, the invisible nature of this pattern and its wider political and kinship meaning is considered. Viewed from an archaeological perspective, this schema is suggested to be associated with a "chiefdom" or intermediate, politylevel society, and may represent a type of mental imagery and template that served as a precursor to the visible iconography on wood, stone, adobe, ceramic, textile and other media of complex Pre-Colombian societies. Ultimately, this schema is a conceptual metaphor: mapping and structuring knowledge of a trophic hierarchy of elements in the natural world to evoke a political and public organizational principle through sensorial experiences and life concerns in the invisible and visible domains of an Andean-like ceremonial format.
Contribution à l'étude de la structure et des propriétés mécaniques des dépots électrolytiques de... more Contribution à l'étude de la structure et des propriétés mécaniques des dépots électrolytiques de cobalt en vue d'optimiser leur ductilité (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Université libre de Bruxelles, Faculté des sciences, Bruxelles.
We assess diet and economies of middle Holocene (∼7,500 to 4,000
calibrated [cal] B.P.) humans at... more We assess diet and economies of middle Holocene (∼7,500 to 4,000 calibrated [cal] B.P.) humans at coexisting mound sites (Huaca Prieta and Paredones) in north coastal Peru and document regular consumption of maize by ∼6,500 to 6,000 cal B.P. and its earliest use as a staple food in this area of the Andes between 5,000 and 4,500 cal B.P. Stable isotope data from enamel carbonates and dentin collagen (childhood diet) and dental microwear texture analysis (adult diet) demonstrate dietary and economic specialization. Previous studies revealed maize and mixed-food refuse at both sites, but this study documents actual food consumption, showing that these communities situated a few hundred meters apart had significantly distinct diets in childhood and adulthood. Huaca Prieta focused on marine resources, although there are some contributions from terrestrial meat. Paredones individuals primarily consumed maize during childhood (up to 70% of the juvenile diet), as shown by δ13C values, apatite-collagen spacing, and discriminant analysis of δ13Ccoll, δ13Ccarb, and δ15N values. Maize was likely used as a weaning food (e.g., gruel and/or chicha—a maize beverage), hinting at the significant role of breastfeeding mothers, weanling infants, and children in the development of maize as a staple crop. Additionally, dental microwear data show Paredones adult diets are high in abrasives, potentially from maize processing. The distinct foodways at these neighboring sites result from and also reflect their social and political distinctions. These differences in food production, distribution, and consumption generated opportunities for exchange, an interaction that bound them together in mutual benefit.
Over the past few decades several genetic models have been published to explain the peopling of t... more Over the past few decades several genetic models have been published to explain the peopling of the Americas. Most of these models have not been fully reconciled with prior ones and with local and regional archaeological records. The implications of this and other concerns are discussed and solutions offered to better coordinate the joint approach of the two disciplines in the study of First Peoples and in archaeology and genetics in general.
Some of the earliest Andean populations settled in the region's arid coastal river valleys, suppo... more Some of the earliest Andean populations settled in the region's arid coastal river valleys, supported by abundant marine life despite having domesticated plant cultigens as early as~10 ka. In the Chicama River valley, this maritime economy dominated at the Preceramic site, Huaca Prieta, until~6 ka, after which agricultural production began to increase significantly. This agricultural expansion was motivated in part by the development of arable fine-grained soils along the coast as the result of slowing sea-level rise, enhanced river floods, and unique basin lithology. Local populations made use of the stabilized floodplain and wetland settings to conduct raised-terrace farming. By~3.5 ka, growth in agriculture and the new fine-grained sediment resources led to several major cultural developments, including the production of fired-ceramic pottery and adobe-brick monument construction associated with the Cupisnique culture. Populations thereafter expanded into the middle valley, where the Salinar and Gallinazo cultures used small water-control structures to farm local ravines. These cultural and technological developments all parallel natural environmental changes driven by increasing ENSO-related water and sediment discharge. By~1.8 ka, though, further expansion of agriculture eand arable lande was driven primarily by direct human manipulation of the environment. The construction of an ever-expanding network of irrigation canals diverted increasing volumes of water and sediment to distal reaches of the Chicama valley, supporting the great Moche and Chimu civilizations, and persisting through the Inka and Colonial periods. This history of Chicama valley traces strongly coupled interactions between the human and natural environments, supporting significant socio-cultural, economic, demographic, and technological advances.
Esta investigación se realizó en el marco del Proyecto FONDECYT Regular N° 1170551 (2017-2020),... more Esta investigación se realizó en el marco del Proyecto FONDECYT Regular N° 1170551 (2017-2020), "Tras la ruta del oro. Los habitantes de La Araucanía frente a la ocupación española del siglo XVI, recepción, adaptación y resistencia", financiado por la Agencia Nacional de Investigación Científica y Desarrollo (ANID) del Gobierno de Chile. Nuestros más sentidos agradecimientos a las lingüistas Belén Villena y Lydia Fossa por sus orientaciones respecto de la toponimia y la antroponimia en mapudungun y en quechua respectivamente. Agradecemos igualmente las valiosas sugerencias de los evaluadores de este artículo.
El lugar y signicado de los sitios Huaca Prieta y Paredones dentro del surgimiento de las sociedades comunales en los Andes Centrales, 2021
2021 El lugar y significado de los sitios Huaca Prieta y Paredones dentro del surgimiento de ... more 2021 El lugar y significado de los sitios Huaca Prieta y Paredones dentro del surgimiento de las sociedades comunales en los Andes Centrales. Yungas 3: 37-49.
Chapter 2.1 Initial east and west connections across South America 77
Tom D. Dillehay
Chapter 3.... more Chapter 2.1 Initial east and west connections across South America 77 Tom D. Dillehay
Chapter 3.7 The Pacific coast and Andean highlands/ Amazonia 221 Tom D. Dillehay, Brian McCray and Patricia J. Netherly
Domestication and lowland adaptation of coastal preceramic maize from Paredones, Peru, 2023
Archaeological cobs from Paredones and Huaca Prieta (Peru) represent some of the oldest maize kno... more Archaeological cobs from Paredones and Huaca Prieta (Peru) represent some of the oldest maize known to date, yet they present relevant phenotypic traits corresponding to domesticated maize. This contrasts with the earliest Mexican macro-specimens from Guila Naquitz and San Marcos, which are phenotypically intermediate for these traits, even though they date more recently in time. To gain insights into the origins of ancient Peruvian maize, we sequenced DNA from three Paredones specimens dating ~6700-5000 calibrated years before present (BP), conducting comparative analyses with two teosinte subspecies (Zea mays ssp. mexicana and parviglumis) and extant maize, that include highland and lowland landraces from Mesoamerica and South America. We show that Paredones maize originated from the same domestication event as Mexican maize and was domesticated by ~6700 BP, implying rapid dispersal followed by improvement. Paredones maize shows no relevant gene flow from mexicana, smaller than that observed in teosinte parviglumis. Thus, Paredones samples represent the only maize without confounding mexicana variation found to date. It also harbors significantly fewer alleles previously found to be adaptive to highlands, but not of alleles adaptive to lowlands, supporting a lowland migration route. Our overall results imply that Paredones maize originated in Mesoamerica, arrived in Peru without mexicana introgression through a rapid lowland migration route, and underwent improvements in both Mesoamerica and South America.
Monte Verde II in southern Chile is one of the most
important, and debated, sites for understandi... more Monte Verde II in southern Chile is one of the most important, and debated, sites for understanding of the early peopling of the Americas. The authors present 43 radiocarbon measurements based on cores of sediments that overlie the archaeological deposits adjacent to the site. Statistical analysis of these dates narrows the deposition of the earliest sediments sealing the occupational layer to c. 14 550 cal BP. The consistency between the dates of the site’s archaeological strata and its adjacent deposits allows not only consolidation of the site’s chronology, but also illustration of how a multi-pronged approach can inform debates surrounding the peopling of new lands—in the Americas or elsewhere.
Discovery of a late Pleistocene ($13,300 cal BP) reef-building coral species (Pocillopora damicor... more Discovery of a late Pleistocene ($13,300 cal BP) reef-building coral species (Pocillopora damicornis) at the prehistoric Huaca Prieta settlement in Peru raises the question of its origin. Did it arrive in northern Peru from tropical Ecuador via larval dispersal in south-flowing El Niño currents or over land by human trading? The Holocene distribution of Pocillopora in the eastern Pacific extends as far south as southern Ecuador and possibly northern Peru. The marine climate during the late Pleistocene was cooler and likely limited the occurrence of corals at today's latitudinal range. This suggests that overland or onshore transport was the most likely means of a southerly introduction, thus supporting interpretative models of early human movement along the Pacific coast of South America.
In this study, we analyze extensive segmented and standardized agricultural fields in the margina... more In this study, we analyze extensive segmented and standardized agricultural fields in the marginally productive terrain of the Pampa de Guereque in the Jequetepeque Valley on the north coast of Peru. Although portions of the associated canal system were constructed continuously from late Formative to Chimú times, the segmented fields date to the late Chimú-Inka period and were only partially finished, apparently never fully used, and ultimately abandoned. We provide description of field plots and irrigation canals and discuss the implications of state-level construction and labor management of the fields, as well as the probable reasons for their abandonment.
Catiray ANCh,FJ,93 (2)* Paicaví 2 y 3 ANCh,FJ,93 Quillín Maroto, F. 1642. Relación Verdadera de l... more Catiray ANCh,FJ,93 (2)* Paicaví 2 y 3 ANCh,FJ,93 Quillín Maroto, F. 1642. Relación Verdadera de las paces que capituló con el araucano rebelado el Marqués de Baides […]. Sacada de sus informes y cartas y de los Padres de la compañía de Jesús que acompañaron el Real ejército en la jornada que hizo para este efecto el año 1641 [Impreso].
Coasts are dynamic, constantly changing ecosystems offering rich and varied foods and other resou... more Coasts are dynamic, constantly changing ecosystems offering rich and varied foods and other resources. Compared with the monistic structure of crop production in many terrestrial parts of the world, some coastlines reflect a dualistic structure with complementary maritime and agricultural economies beginning in early prehistoric times. In particular, the Pacific coast of the Central Andes offers one of the world’s most abundant and diverse supplies of marine resources. The late Pleistocene to middle Holocene (~14,500–4,000 BP) cultural sequences from south Ecuador to north Chile vary appreciably from one region to the next, but all reveal varying degrees of mixed diets of maritime and terrestrial foods. By at least ~7,000 BP, a diversity of seafood and domesticated crops were mutually exchanged to form varied specialized and unspecialized economies in a few Andean areas. This study reports on interdisciplinary data from a complex of archaeological sites with mixed economies along the desert coast of the Chicama Valley in north Peru, specifically the Huaca Prieta area dating between ~14,500 and 3,800 BP. Around 7,500–7,000 BP, intensified maritime and agriculture economies developed simultaneously with social differentiation between public ritual monuments and outlying domestic support sites in an environment of rich marine resources and fertile estuarine wetlands in the valley. This and other coastal areas played an important and persistent early role in human population growth, community formation, and the consilience of different but complementary technologies and principles of socio-economic organization to establish the foundations for later state development along the Central Andean coast.
Coasts are dynamic, constantly changing ecosystems offering rich and varied
foods and other resou... more Coasts are dynamic, constantly changing ecosystems offering rich and varied foods and other resources. Compared with the monistic structure of crop production in many terrestrial parts of the world, some coastlines reflect a dualistic structure with complementary maritime and agricultural economies beginning in early prehistoric times. In particular, the Pacific coast of the Central Andes offers one of the world’s most abundant and diverse supplies of marine resources. The late Pleistocene to middle Holocene (~14,500–4,000 BP) cultural sequences from south Ecuador to north Chile vary appreciably from one region to the next, but all reveal varying degrees of mixed diets of maritime and terrestrial foods. By at least ~7,000 BP, a diversity of seafood and domesticated crops were mutually exchanged to form varied specialized and unspecialized economies in a few Andean areas. This study reports on interdisciplinary data from a complex of archaeological sites with mixed economies along the desert coast of the Chicama Valley in north Peru, specifically the Huaca Prieta area dating between ~14,500 and 3,800 BP. Around 7,500–7,000 BP, intensified maritime and agriculture economies developed simultaneously with social differentiation between public ritual monuments and outlying domestic support sites in an environment of rich marine resources and fertile estuarine wetlands in the valley. This and other coastal areas played an important and persistent early role in human population growth, community formation, and the consilience of different but complementary technologies and principles of socio-economic organization to establish the foundations for later state development along the Central Andean coast.
South America’s Pacific margin is subject to recurring subduction-zone earthquakes that have gene... more South America’s Pacific margin is subject to recurring subduction-zone earthquakes that have generated devastating historical tsunamis, as well as earlier events impacting indigenous populations that have lived along the region’s rich upwelling coastlines throughout the Holocene. Despite recurring events, the geologic record of paleo-tsunamis is relatively sparse. Here we report evidence for two paleo-tsunamis striking the Chicama River coastline (8°S) around 2.8 and 2.0 ka. The two sedimentary deposits are amalgamated in many locations and can be difficult to distinguish, but floodplain or shoreface deposits separate the two units when traced landward and seaward, respectively. The magnitude of each event was sufficient to erode coarse cobbles (13–25 cm) from the shoreface and transport them ~100 m before being deposited as rapidly thinning and fining gravel units. Based on the distribution of mobilized cobbles, we consider plausible flow characteristics for the two tsunamis suggesting that each was on the order of at least a few meters in height with most of the cobble transport occurring only under critical to supercritical flow at the wave front. Previous archaeological reports from the area correctly recognized the older tsunami event but did not describe the younger, better-preserved second event. Further, we revisit the archaeological evidence for the tsunami and recast the older event as likely being more moderate than previously suggested. Broader archaeological evidence from this 30-km reach of the Chicama valley shoreline also suggests that the late Cupisnique to Salinar and Gallinazo cultures were not severely disrupted by the tsunamis, even with these events undoubtedly impacting nearshore inhabitants at the time.
This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance ... more This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online. For more information, please read the site FAQs.
Corrections are made to Stuart Fiedel's (2022) recent errors and misrepresentations related to th... more Corrections are made to Stuart Fiedel's (2022) recent errors and misrepresentations related to the late Pleistocene sites of Monte Verde and Huaca Prieta and to South American Fishtail projectile points.
Simple pebble tools, ephemeral cultural features, and the remains of maritime and terrestrial foo... more Simple pebble tools, ephemeral cultural features, and the remains of maritime and terrestrial foods are present in undisturbed Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene deposits underneath a large human-made mound at Huaca Prieta and nearby sites on the Pacific coast of northern Peru. Radiocarbon ages indicate an intermittent human presence dated between ~15,000 and 8000 calendar years ago before the mound was built. The absence of fishhooks, harpoons, and bifacial stone tools suggests that technologies of gathering, trapping, clubbing, and exchange were used primarily to procure food resources along the shoreline and in estuarine wetlands and distant mountains. The stone artifacts are minimally worked unifacial stone tools characteristic of several areas of South America. Remains of avocado, bean, and possibly cultivated squash and chile pepper are also present, suggesting human transport and consumption. Our new findings emphasize an early coastal lifeway of diverse food procurement str...
This study is an interdisciplinary approach to a veiled metaphoric design expressed in the presen... more This study is an interdisciplinary approach to a veiled metaphoric design expressed in the present-day spatial layout of ecologically-derived patronyms of Mapuche lineages and families positioned in public ceremonial plazas. The perspective combines ethnoarchaeological, cognitive, iconographic, oral tradition, allegoric metaphor, and historical approaches to the organization and meaning of this design, taking into account the past and present dimensions of ritual media (e.g., political, ideological and sensorial) to render a concept publicly graspable. Shamans and other informants state that the design represents an ancient foundational schema established for intercommunity political solidarity during times of conflict in the Spanish colonial and Republican era of the south-central Andes of Chile. Shamans were asked to draw their mental image of the hidden design of the plaza to pictographically reveal its visual representation. By examining the iconography of patronyms depicting a loosely structured order of families hierarchically positioned in ceremonial space, the invisible nature of this pattern and its wider political and kinship meaning is considered. Viewed from an archaeological perspective, this schema is suggested to be associated with a "chiefdom" or intermediate, politylevel society, and may represent a type of mental imagery and template that served as a precursor to the visible iconography on wood, stone, adobe, ceramic, textile and other media of complex Pre-Colombian societies. Ultimately, this schema is a conceptual metaphor: mapping and structuring knowledge of a trophic hierarchy of elements in the natural world to evoke a political and public organizational principle through sensorial experiences and life concerns in the invisible and visible domains of an Andean-like ceremonial format.
Contribution à l'étude de la structure et des propriétés mécaniques des dépots électrolytiques de... more Contribution à l'étude de la structure et des propriétés mécaniques des dépots électrolytiques de cobalt en vue d'optimiser leur ductilité (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Université libre de Bruxelles, Faculté des sciences, Bruxelles.
We assess diet and economies of middle Holocene (∼7,500 to 4,000
calibrated [cal] B.P.) humans at... more We assess diet and economies of middle Holocene (∼7,500 to 4,000 calibrated [cal] B.P.) humans at coexisting mound sites (Huaca Prieta and Paredones) in north coastal Peru and document regular consumption of maize by ∼6,500 to 6,000 cal B.P. and its earliest use as a staple food in this area of the Andes between 5,000 and 4,500 cal B.P. Stable isotope data from enamel carbonates and dentin collagen (childhood diet) and dental microwear texture analysis (adult diet) demonstrate dietary and economic specialization. Previous studies revealed maize and mixed-food refuse at both sites, but this study documents actual food consumption, showing that these communities situated a few hundred meters apart had significantly distinct diets in childhood and adulthood. Huaca Prieta focused on marine resources, although there are some contributions from terrestrial meat. Paredones individuals primarily consumed maize during childhood (up to 70% of the juvenile diet), as shown by δ13C values, apatite-collagen spacing, and discriminant analysis of δ13Ccoll, δ13Ccarb, and δ15N values. Maize was likely used as a weaning food (e.g., gruel and/or chicha—a maize beverage), hinting at the significant role of breastfeeding mothers, weanling infants, and children in the development of maize as a staple crop. Additionally, dental microwear data show Paredones adult diets are high in abrasives, potentially from maize processing. The distinct foodways at these neighboring sites result from and also reflect their social and political distinctions. These differences in food production, distribution, and consumption generated opportunities for exchange, an interaction that bound them together in mutual benefit.
Over the past few decades several genetic models have been published to explain the peopling of t... more Over the past few decades several genetic models have been published to explain the peopling of the Americas. Most of these models have not been fully reconciled with prior ones and with local and regional archaeological records. The implications of this and other concerns are discussed and solutions offered to better coordinate the joint approach of the two disciplines in the study of First Peoples and in archaeology and genetics in general.
Some of the earliest Andean populations settled in the region's arid coastal river valleys, suppo... more Some of the earliest Andean populations settled in the region's arid coastal river valleys, supported by abundant marine life despite having domesticated plant cultigens as early as~10 ka. In the Chicama River valley, this maritime economy dominated at the Preceramic site, Huaca Prieta, until~6 ka, after which agricultural production began to increase significantly. This agricultural expansion was motivated in part by the development of arable fine-grained soils along the coast as the result of slowing sea-level rise, enhanced river floods, and unique basin lithology. Local populations made use of the stabilized floodplain and wetland settings to conduct raised-terrace farming. By~3.5 ka, growth in agriculture and the new fine-grained sediment resources led to several major cultural developments, including the production of fired-ceramic pottery and adobe-brick monument construction associated with the Cupisnique culture. Populations thereafter expanded into the middle valley, where the Salinar and Gallinazo cultures used small water-control structures to farm local ravines. These cultural and technological developments all parallel natural environmental changes driven by increasing ENSO-related water and sediment discharge. By~1.8 ka, though, further expansion of agriculture eand arable lande was driven primarily by direct human manipulation of the environment. The construction of an ever-expanding network of irrigation canals diverted increasing volumes of water and sediment to distal reaches of the Chicama valley, supporting the great Moche and Chimu civilizations, and persisting through the Inka and Colonial periods. This history of Chicama valley traces strongly coupled interactions between the human and natural environments, supporting significant socio-cultural, economic, demographic, and technological advances.
Esta investigación se realizó en el marco del Proyecto FONDECYT Regular N° 1170551 (2017-2020),... more Esta investigación se realizó en el marco del Proyecto FONDECYT Regular N° 1170551 (2017-2020), "Tras la ruta del oro. Los habitantes de La Araucanía frente a la ocupación española del siglo XVI, recepción, adaptación y resistencia", financiado por la Agencia Nacional de Investigación Científica y Desarrollo (ANID) del Gobierno de Chile. Nuestros más sentidos agradecimientos a las lingüistas Belén Villena y Lydia Fossa por sus orientaciones respecto de la toponimia y la antroponimia en mapudungun y en quechua respectivamente. Agradecemos igualmente las valiosas sugerencias de los evaluadores de este artículo.
El lugar y signicado de los sitios Huaca Prieta y Paredones dentro del surgimiento de las sociedades comunales en los Andes Centrales, 2021
2021 El lugar y significado de los sitios Huaca Prieta y Paredones dentro del surgimiento de ... more 2021 El lugar y significado de los sitios Huaca Prieta y Paredones dentro del surgimiento de las sociedades comunales en los Andes Centrales. Yungas 3: 37-49.
Chapter 2.1 Initial east and west connections across South America 77
Tom D. Dillehay
Chapter 3.... more Chapter 2.1 Initial east and west connections across South America 77 Tom D. Dillehay
Chapter 3.7 The Pacific coast and Andean highlands/ Amazonia 221 Tom D. Dillehay, Brian McCray and Patricia J. Netherly
Domestication and lowland adaptation of coastal preceramic maize from Paredones, Peru, 2023
Archaeological cobs from Paredones and Huaca Prieta (Peru) represent some of the oldest maize kno... more Archaeological cobs from Paredones and Huaca Prieta (Peru) represent some of the oldest maize known to date, yet they present relevant phenotypic traits corresponding to domesticated maize. This contrasts with the earliest Mexican macro-specimens from Guila Naquitz and San Marcos, which are phenotypically intermediate for these traits, even though they date more recently in time. To gain insights into the origins of ancient Peruvian maize, we sequenced DNA from three Paredones specimens dating ~6700-5000 calibrated years before present (BP), conducting comparative analyses with two teosinte subspecies (Zea mays ssp. mexicana and parviglumis) and extant maize, that include highland and lowland landraces from Mesoamerica and South America. We show that Paredones maize originated from the same domestication event as Mexican maize and was domesticated by ~6700 BP, implying rapid dispersal followed by improvement. Paredones maize shows no relevant gene flow from mexicana, smaller than that observed in teosinte parviglumis. Thus, Paredones samples represent the only maize without confounding mexicana variation found to date. It also harbors significantly fewer alleles previously found to be adaptive to highlands, but not of alleles adaptive to lowlands, supporting a lowland migration route. Our overall results imply that Paredones maize originated in Mesoamerica, arrived in Peru without mexicana introgression through a rapid lowland migration route, and underwent improvements in both Mesoamerica and South America.
Monte Verde II in southern Chile is one of the most
important, and debated, sites for understandi... more Monte Verde II in southern Chile is one of the most important, and debated, sites for understanding of the early peopling of the Americas. The authors present 43 radiocarbon measurements based on cores of sediments that overlie the archaeological deposits adjacent to the site. Statistical analysis of these dates narrows the deposition of the earliest sediments sealing the occupational layer to c. 14 550 cal BP. The consistency between the dates of the site’s archaeological strata and its adjacent deposits allows not only consolidation of the site’s chronology, but also illustration of how a multi-pronged approach can inform debates surrounding the peopling of new lands—in the Americas or elsewhere.
Discovery of a late Pleistocene ($13,300 cal BP) reef-building coral species (Pocillopora damicor... more Discovery of a late Pleistocene ($13,300 cal BP) reef-building coral species (Pocillopora damicornis) at the prehistoric Huaca Prieta settlement in Peru raises the question of its origin. Did it arrive in northern Peru from tropical Ecuador via larval dispersal in south-flowing El Niño currents or over land by human trading? The Holocene distribution of Pocillopora in the eastern Pacific extends as far south as southern Ecuador and possibly northern Peru. The marine climate during the late Pleistocene was cooler and likely limited the occurrence of corals at today's latitudinal range. This suggests that overland or onshore transport was the most likely means of a southerly introduction, thus supporting interpretative models of early human movement along the Pacific coast of South America.
In this study, we analyze extensive segmented and standardized agricultural fields in the margina... more In this study, we analyze extensive segmented and standardized agricultural fields in the marginally productive terrain of the Pampa de Guereque in the Jequetepeque Valley on the north coast of Peru. Although portions of the associated canal system were constructed continuously from late Formative to Chimú times, the segmented fields date to the late Chimú-Inka period and were only partially finished, apparently never fully used, and ultimately abandoned. We provide description of field plots and irrigation canals and discuss the implications of state-level construction and labor management of the fields, as well as the probable reasons for their abandonment.
Catiray ANCh,FJ,93 (2)* Paicaví 2 y 3 ANCh,FJ,93 Quillín Maroto, F. 1642. Relación Verdadera de l... more Catiray ANCh,FJ,93 (2)* Paicaví 2 y 3 ANCh,FJ,93 Quillín Maroto, F. 1642. Relación Verdadera de las paces que capituló con el araucano rebelado el Marqués de Baides […]. Sacada de sus informes y cartas y de los Padres de la compañía de Jesús que acompañaron el Real ejército en la jornada que hizo para este efecto el año 1641 [Impreso].
Coasts are dynamic, constantly changing ecosystems offering rich and varied foods and other resou... more Coasts are dynamic, constantly changing ecosystems offering rich and varied foods and other resources. Compared with the monistic structure of crop production in many terrestrial parts of the world, some coastlines reflect a dualistic structure with complementary maritime and agricultural economies beginning in early prehistoric times. In particular, the Pacific coast of the Central Andes offers one of the world’s most abundant and diverse supplies of marine resources. The late Pleistocene to middle Holocene (~14,500–4,000 BP) cultural sequences from south Ecuador to north Chile vary appreciably from one region to the next, but all reveal varying degrees of mixed diets of maritime and terrestrial foods. By at least ~7,000 BP, a diversity of seafood and domesticated crops were mutually exchanged to form varied specialized and unspecialized economies in a few Andean areas. This study reports on interdisciplinary data from a complex of archaeological sites with mixed economies along the desert coast of the Chicama Valley in north Peru, specifically the Huaca Prieta area dating between ~14,500 and 3,800 BP. Around 7,500–7,000 BP, intensified maritime and agriculture economies developed simultaneously with social differentiation between public ritual monuments and outlying domestic support sites in an environment of rich marine resources and fertile estuarine wetlands in the valley. This and other coastal areas played an important and persistent early role in human population growth, community formation, and the consilience of different but complementary technologies and principles of socio-economic organization to establish the foundations for later state development along the Central Andean coast.
Coasts are dynamic, constantly changing ecosystems offering rich and varied
foods and other resou... more Coasts are dynamic, constantly changing ecosystems offering rich and varied foods and other resources. Compared with the monistic structure of crop production in many terrestrial parts of the world, some coastlines reflect a dualistic structure with complementary maritime and agricultural economies beginning in early prehistoric times. In particular, the Pacific coast of the Central Andes offers one of the world’s most abundant and diverse supplies of marine resources. The late Pleistocene to middle Holocene (~14,500–4,000 BP) cultural sequences from south Ecuador to north Chile vary appreciably from one region to the next, but all reveal varying degrees of mixed diets of maritime and terrestrial foods. By at least ~7,000 BP, a diversity of seafood and domesticated crops were mutually exchanged to form varied specialized and unspecialized economies in a few Andean areas. This study reports on interdisciplinary data from a complex of archaeological sites with mixed economies along the desert coast of the Chicama Valley in north Peru, specifically the Huaca Prieta area dating between ~14,500 and 3,800 BP. Around 7,500–7,000 BP, intensified maritime and agriculture economies developed simultaneously with social differentiation between public ritual monuments and outlying domestic support sites in an environment of rich marine resources and fertile estuarine wetlands in the valley. This and other coastal areas played an important and persistent early role in human population growth, community formation, and the consilience of different but complementary technologies and principles of socio-economic organization to establish the foundations for later state development along the Central Andean coast.
Archaeology of the Night Life After Dark in the Ancient World edited by Nancy Gonlin and April Nowell, 2018
In recent years, the material signatures and the inferred meanings of public ritual in archaeolog... more In recent years, the material signatures and the inferred meanings of public ritual in archaeological contexts have become major themes of study (e.g., Bell 2007; Kyriakidis 2007; Mithen 1997; Romain 2009). Archaeologists presume that some type of ritual behavior was associated with preindustrial "sacred places" and with large edifices displaying esoteric symbols used by elites to legitimize authority and power. It also is believed that a wide variety of ancient rituals were associated with human sacrifices, cremations, burials, and particularly with the elaborate tombs of important individuals. No doubt, rituals constituted a repetitive and widespread communal religious and political practice in ancient societies. Yet, the inferred material recognition of past ritual behavior is one thing, but interpreting its specific function and meaning is much more difficult: many aspects of ritual are not clearly expressed empirically, and they often produce patterning similar to that associated with nonritual practices, such as food preparation and consumption, the use of open spaces for various nonritual activities, and the work of small, specialized task groups. Studies of rituals vary widely in topic, method, and theory, with most focused on their relation to elite power and authority, others on amassing corporate labor for the construction of monumental projects, and so forth. In this chapter, the primary concern is the effects of nighttime ritual on participants from an Andean region of South America (figures 1.2 and 9.1). The case study is the Mapuche people of south-central Chile who perform rituals under the full moon to communicate with important deities and ancestors and, in the case of female shamans, to implicitly reiterate equivalency and complementarity of political power with male secular leaders
Uploads
Papers by Tom Dillehay
calibrated [cal] B.P.) humans at coexisting mound sites (Huaca
Prieta and Paredones) in north coastal Peru and document regular
consumption of maize by ∼6,500 to 6,000 cal B.P. and its earliest
use as a staple food in this area of the Andes between 5,000 and
4,500 cal B.P. Stable isotope data from enamel carbonates and
dentin collagen (childhood diet) and dental microwear texture
analysis (adult diet) demonstrate dietary and economic specialization.
Previous studies revealed maize and mixed-food refuse at
both sites, but this study documents actual food consumption,
showing that these communities situated a few hundred meters
apart had significantly distinct diets in childhood and adulthood.
Huaca Prieta focused on marine resources, although there are
some contributions from terrestrial meat. Paredones individuals
primarily consumed maize during childhood (up to 70% of the
juvenile diet), as shown by δ13C values, apatite-collagen spacing,
and discriminant analysis of δ13Ccoll, δ13Ccarb, and δ15N values.
Maize was likely used as a weaning food (e.g., gruel and/or
chicha—a maize beverage), hinting at the significant role of
breastfeeding mothers, weanling infants, and children in the development
of maize as a staple crop. Additionally, dental microwear
data show Paredones adult diets are high in abrasives,
potentially from maize processing. The distinct foodways at these
neighboring sites result from and also reflect their social and political
distinctions. These differences in food production, distribution,
and consumption generated opportunities for exchange, an
interaction that bound them together in mutual benefit.
Tom D. Dillehay
Chapter 3.7 The Pacific coast and Andean highlands/ Amazonia 221
Tom D. Dillehay, Brian McCray and Patricia J. Netherly
important, and debated, sites for understanding of
the early peopling of the Americas. The authors present
43 radiocarbon measurements based on cores of
sediments that overlie the archaeological deposits
adjacent to the site. Statistical analysis of these dates
narrows the deposition of the earliest sediments sealing
the occupational layer to c. 14 550 cal BP. The
consistency between the dates of the site’s archaeological
strata and its adjacent deposits allows not
only consolidation of the site’s chronology, but also
illustration of how a multi-pronged approach can
inform debates surrounding the peopling of new
lands—in the Americas or elsewhere.
foods and other resources. Compared with the monistic structure of crop
production in many terrestrial parts of the world, some coastlines reflect a
dualistic structure with complementary maritime and agricultural economies
beginning in early prehistoric times. In particular, the Pacific coast of the Central
Andes offers one of the world’s most abundant and diverse supplies of marine
resources. The late Pleistocene to middle Holocene (~14,500–4,000 BP)
cultural sequences from south Ecuador to north Chile vary appreciably from
one region to the next, but all reveal varying degrees of mixed diets of maritime
and terrestrial foods. By at least ~7,000 BP, a diversity of seafood and
domesticated crops were mutually exchanged to form varied specialized
and unspecialized economies in a few Andean areas. This study reports on
interdisciplinary data from a complex of archaeological sites with mixed
economies along the desert coast of the Chicama Valley in north Peru,
specifically the Huaca Prieta area dating between ~14,500 and 3,800 BP.
Around 7,500–7,000 BP, intensified maritime and agriculture economies
developed simultaneously with social differentiation between public ritual
monuments and outlying domestic support sites in an environment of rich
marine resources and fertile estuarine wetlands in the valley. This and other
coastal areas played an important and persistent early role in human population growth, community formation, and the consilience of different but
complementary technologies and principles of socio-economic organization
to establish the foundations for later state development along the Central
Andean coast.
calibrated [cal] B.P.) humans at coexisting mound sites (Huaca
Prieta and Paredones) in north coastal Peru and document regular
consumption of maize by ∼6,500 to 6,000 cal B.P. and its earliest
use as a staple food in this area of the Andes between 5,000 and
4,500 cal B.P. Stable isotope data from enamel carbonates and
dentin collagen (childhood diet) and dental microwear texture
analysis (adult diet) demonstrate dietary and economic specialization.
Previous studies revealed maize and mixed-food refuse at
both sites, but this study documents actual food consumption,
showing that these communities situated a few hundred meters
apart had significantly distinct diets in childhood and adulthood.
Huaca Prieta focused on marine resources, although there are
some contributions from terrestrial meat. Paredones individuals
primarily consumed maize during childhood (up to 70% of the
juvenile diet), as shown by δ13C values, apatite-collagen spacing,
and discriminant analysis of δ13Ccoll, δ13Ccarb, and δ15N values.
Maize was likely used as a weaning food (e.g., gruel and/or
chicha—a maize beverage), hinting at the significant role of
breastfeeding mothers, weanling infants, and children in the development
of maize as a staple crop. Additionally, dental microwear
data show Paredones adult diets are high in abrasives,
potentially from maize processing. The distinct foodways at these
neighboring sites result from and also reflect their social and political
distinctions. These differences in food production, distribution,
and consumption generated opportunities for exchange, an
interaction that bound them together in mutual benefit.
Tom D. Dillehay
Chapter 3.7 The Pacific coast and Andean highlands/ Amazonia 221
Tom D. Dillehay, Brian McCray and Patricia J. Netherly
important, and debated, sites for understanding of
the early peopling of the Americas. The authors present
43 radiocarbon measurements based on cores of
sediments that overlie the archaeological deposits
adjacent to the site. Statistical analysis of these dates
narrows the deposition of the earliest sediments sealing
the occupational layer to c. 14 550 cal BP. The
consistency between the dates of the site’s archaeological
strata and its adjacent deposits allows not
only consolidation of the site’s chronology, but also
illustration of how a multi-pronged approach can
inform debates surrounding the peopling of new
lands—in the Americas or elsewhere.
foods and other resources. Compared with the monistic structure of crop
production in many terrestrial parts of the world, some coastlines reflect a
dualistic structure with complementary maritime and agricultural economies
beginning in early prehistoric times. In particular, the Pacific coast of the Central
Andes offers one of the world’s most abundant and diverse supplies of marine
resources. The late Pleistocene to middle Holocene (~14,500–4,000 BP)
cultural sequences from south Ecuador to north Chile vary appreciably from
one region to the next, but all reveal varying degrees of mixed diets of maritime
and terrestrial foods. By at least ~7,000 BP, a diversity of seafood and
domesticated crops were mutually exchanged to form varied specialized
and unspecialized economies in a few Andean areas. This study reports on
interdisciplinary data from a complex of archaeological sites with mixed
economies along the desert coast of the Chicama Valley in north Peru,
specifically the Huaca Prieta area dating between ~14,500 and 3,800 BP.
Around 7,500–7,000 BP, intensified maritime and agriculture economies
developed simultaneously with social differentiation between public ritual
monuments and outlying domestic support sites in an environment of rich
marine resources and fertile estuarine wetlands in the valley. This and other
coastal areas played an important and persistent early role in human population growth, community formation, and the consilience of different but
complementary technologies and principles of socio-economic organization
to establish the foundations for later state development along the Central
Andean coast.