Cobbles, tools, and plants: Techno-functional variability within lithic industries of complex societies in Central Coast, Peru (~1800–400 BP)

Abstract

This article concerns the technological and archaeobotanical analysis of nine lithic assemblages from monumental sites in the Maranga Archaeological Complex (Central Coast, Peru), dated between about 1800 and 400 yr BP. This period of occupation corresponds mainly to the development of Lima and Ychsma complex societies that were prior to and contemporary with the Inca Empire respectively. In order to study the degree of technical and functional variability between Maranga lithic industries, the different schèmes opératoires executed were identified, as well as the characteristics of the raw materials procurement. The eight techno-types present amongst 497 tools, along with the analysis of plant micro-remains preserved in the transformative Techno-Functional Units, allowed us to obtain direct evidence of tool uses. Analytical procedures included the construction of a reference collection of useful local flora, the sampling of the transformative surfaces of the tools, and the taxonomic and anatomical identification of the recovered plant components. After the integration of the results of these analyses with the information coming from the archaeological contexts, diachronic changes in the production systems are proposed, especially the preference for an alternating debitage system in the Late Intermediate Period (~1050–470 BP). Towards the Late Horizon (~470–400 BP), there was probably an instrumental standardization associated with the processing of the fruits of Caesalpinia spinosa, a plant used in the production of gums and tanins.