The Formative Pottery of the La Pampa Site, Ancash, Peru

Abstract

The study of the origin and development of the Formative cultures is obviously one of the most important themes in the Andean prehistory. The apperance of pottery, the convergence of the pre-Chavin elements into the Chavin culture, and the diffusion of the Chavin style are phenomena most noteworthy in the Formative. It can be surmised that the cultural dynamics such as the direct contact, the indirect influence, the convergence and the diversification of various cultures originated in ecologically different regions might have generated the sophisticated tradition of the Andean civilizations. The actual process of these cultural dynamics, however, remains to be made clear. In order to throw light upon the process, it is necessary to investigate intensively the cultural sequence in many regions, so that the comparative chronological study among different regions may be done.The excavations in 1975 at the La Pampa Site, where Y. ONUKI and T. Fujit had conducted a small-scaled investigation in 1969, were carried out to establish the chronology, especially of the Formative period, in a relatively unknown region, and to contribute some fundamental data for understanding the cultural dynamics prevailing in that time. In this paper, the pottery typology, based on the pottery sherds yielded from Mound 8 of the La Pampa site, has been presented in shape of a preliminary report, and the chronological position of the pottery types has been considered.The earliest pottery (Phase 1) is represented exclusively by the Yesopampa Brushed type, which does not have other shape than a neckless jar, nor other decorative technique than applique fillet with impressions. Regardless decorated or plain sherds, the surface are burned black, which indicates all the vessels were used on fire as ollas. The striking homogeneity of this type itself might be considered as a character of the pottery ware which made its appearance in a region which had no precedent pottery.In the next phase (Phase 2), while Yesopampa Brushed continues, new five types are added. The rim forms, vessel shapes, and decorations of the La Pampa Brown and La Pampa Red pottery types are all more variable than among the Yesopampa Brushed type, but these two types share the shape (neckless jars) and the decorative technique (impressed applique fillet) with the last type. Therefore, these two types may be supposed to be evolved gradually from Yesopampa Brushed, but occurrence of the sherds belonging to the types is abrupt and there are no sherds of intermediate aspects. The other three types of this phase, La Pampa Polished Black, La Pampa Polished Red and La Pampa Smoothed show Chavin elements and are different from the three types mentioned above concerning paste, vessel shapes, and decorations. The sherds of these types are rare, probably intruded from unknown regions or sites. During this phase, the Chavin pottery tradition must have arrived at La Pampa.The last phase of the Formative at Mound 8 (Phase 3), Yesopampa Brushed disappears, while the preceding pottery types, especially La Pampa Brown gains the popularity.There are several C 14 dates available.Phase 1: 1400±100 B. C. (TK-186), Phase 2a: 1140±70 B. C. (TK-174), Phase 2b: 970±70 B. C. (TK-175), and Phase 3 : 670±70 B. C. (TK-176). Although definitely similar pottery types are not known in other Formative sites, but it is to be noted that there are some well-defined elements in common among Yesopama Brushed, Valdivia Brushed and some Pacopampa-Pandanche pottery; and that the change of pottery tradition in the later phases at La Pampa seems to reflect the Chavin influence.