Early Horizon Research Articles

Zooarchaeology at Pirincay, a Formative Period Site in Highland Ecuador

Although prehistoric animal utilization in the Peruvian Andes is becoming increasingly well-documented, the zooarchaeology of highland Ecuador remains poorly understood. This article presents the faunal analysis for Pirincay, a pre-Inca site located in the southern highlands of Ecuador. The pattern of animal exploitation at Pirincay indicates that its occupants, in contrast to their camelid-herding neighbors to the south in Perú, remained dependent on wild game, principally deer, until just before the beginning of the Christian era. Camelids appeared for the first time at Pirincay ca. A.C. 100 and dominated the site's fauna until it was abandoned. It is suggested that these camelids represent a previously undocumented form of llama, intermediate in size between the contemporary llama and the alpaca. This undersized llama is hypothesized to have been the most prevalent form north of approximately 100° S from the late Early Horizon through the Middle Horizon.

Cahuachi: Non-Urban Cultural Complexity on the South Coast of Peru

The association of urbanism and complex society is common in archaeological literature, but the definition of urbanism and the identification of urban settlements in the field have been plagued by inconsistencies. Nowhere is this clearer than in the continuing canon that there was an urban tradition on the south coast of Peru that reached its height in the late Early Horizon (ca. 400–1 B.C.) and Early Intermediate Period (ca. A.C. 1–600) and then disappeared with the fall of the highland Wari Empire during the Middle Horizon (ca. A.C. 600–1000). One of the key sites in the promulgation of such an interpretation has been the great early Nazca center of Cahuachi, in the Nazca Valley, but recent excavations at Cahuachi dispute the site's widely contended urban nature. This research also forms the basis for a necessary reanalysis and reconstruction of south coast settlement pattern and its associated sociopolitical milieu. This paper presents the strategy and results of the new research undertaken at Cahuachi and includes suggestions for future fieldwork.

A Postulated Tsunami and Its Effects on Cultural Development in the Peruvian Early Horizon

While investigating the archaeological background of early maize on the coast of Peru, I realized that several factors affect interpretation. The estimated date for the start of common use of maize there is close to the apparent dates of a large tsunami, the abandonment of many coastal sites, and the start of occupation at Chavin de Huantar in the highlands. While investigating the possible relations between the principal pre-tsunami coastal culture and Chavin, I discovered that depictions of a monstrous head link the two cultures. Dating of first millennium B.C. materials is complicated by changes in the atmospheric 14C level, so iconographic, stylistic, and material linkages are even more important in thinking about cultural development in this period. Inconsistencies between older inferences and newer observations can be resolved by a new model.

Obsidian Industries and Cultural Evolution in the Basin of Mexico Before 500 B.C.

AbstractNeutron activation analysis of a large sample of obsidian artifacts from Early Horizon and First Intermediate sites in the Basin of Mexico has allowed identification of the geologic sources that were exploited. Combining the geologic source data with obsidian manufacturing data in a diachronic fashion permits one to suggest a series of obsidian utilization stages that correlate with growing cultural complexity.

Prehistoric Llama Breeding and Herding on the North Coast of Peru

There is no clear-cut consensus or reliable body of published data in the Andean literature indicating whether llamas were bred and herded on the prehistoric North Coast of Peru or periodically imported from the highlands. Based on four lines of evidence—ethnographic, archaeozoological, physiological, and ethnohistoric—we argue that llamas (and perhaps even alpacas) were successfully bred and maintained on the North Coast from the early Middle Horizon (ca. A.D. 600) and perhaps since the Early Horizon. More specifically, we discuss population structure, representation of body parts, climatic and dietary adaptability, and abundance of coastal forage. Both llamas and alpacas are physiologically well-adapted for the coastal environment and can efficiently process a wide range of forage. By the Middle Horizon, domestic camelids served a wide range of functions including transport, sacrifice, tools, and meat. Species identification, coastal herd management, effects of disease vectors, and other related issues are also discussed.

Reinterpretation of Early Cretaceous Carbonate Platform on Abaco Knoll, Northern Bahamas: ABSTRACT

Lower Cretaceous shallow-water limestones were dredged from between 2,300 and 3,000 m below sea level along the northeastern slope of Abaco Knoll in the northern Bahamas, and crystalline dolomites were dredged from between 3,600 and 4,000 m below sea level along the southwestern slope of the knoll. Among the shallow-water limestones is a coral-rudist boundstone, which represents one of the first pieces of an Early Cretaceous reef recovered in the northern Bahamas. The depositional setting of this reef could either have been a patch reef on an open platform or part of a platform margin complex. The dredged intervals are below the top of a drowned shallow-water platform identified on a nearby multichannel seismic reflection line. The recovered carbonates confirm that the knoll is a drowned Early Cretaceous carbonate platform and suggest that the platform on Abaco Knoll was part of a broader Early Cretaceous megaplatform, which extended west beneath Northeast Providence Channel. Shallow-water limestones of Barremian to Aptian age from the northeastern slope of the knoll indicate that the platform was drowned sometime after the Aptian. Early Cretaceous stratigraphic horizons at Abaco Knoll and nearby DSDP Site 98 are vertically offset. Depending on the depth of recovery for the dredged rocks, relief between the horizons is at least several hundred meters and might be as large as a kilometer. This relief can be explained by either (1) a fault or series of faults along the southwestern flank of Abaco Knoll, or (2) depositional relief between an Early Cretaceous platform (i.e., Abaco Knoll) and an adjacent deep-water basin (i.e., Northeast Providence Channel). The recovery of inferred shallow-water dolomites from the southwestern slope of Abaco Knoll, seismic stratigraphic reinterpretations, and previously published magnetic anomaly patterns suggest that faulting is the more likely explanation. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1418------------

Cerro Arena: Origins of the Urban Tradition on the Peruvian North Coast

Previous articleNext article No AccessAmericanist Studies: Prize Papers from the XLIII International Congress of AmericanistsCerro Arena: Origins of the Urban Tradition on the Peruvian North CoastCurtiss T. BrennanCurtiss T. Brennan Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Current Anthropology Volume 23, Number 3Jun., 1982 Sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/202827 Views: 9Total views on this site Citations: 9Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1982 The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological ResearchPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:George F. Lau, Milton Luján Dávila, Jacob L. Bongers, David Chicoine The Rise of Native Lordships at Pashash, a.d . 200–600, North Highlands of Ancash, Peru, Journal of Field Archaeology 1 (Jun 2022): 1–19.https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2022.2087993Jorge Gamboa LA CONSAGRACIÓN RITUAL DE LA ARQUITECTURA MOCHE: EVIDENCIAS DEL NORTE Y DEL SUR, Contributions in New World Archaeology 15 (Dec 2020): 137–172.https://doi.org/10.33547/cnwa.15.04Jean-François Millaire Dating the occupation of Cerro Arena: A defensive Salinar-phase settlement in the Moche Valley, Peru, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 57 (Mar 2020): 101142.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2019.101142Bradley J. Parker, Gabriel Prieto, Carlos Osores Methodological advances in household archaeology: an application of microartifact analysis at Pampa La Cruz, Huanchaco, Peru, Ñawpa Pacha 38, no.11 (May 2018): 57–75.https://doi.org/10.1080/00776297.2018.1465381David Chicoine, Hugo Ikehara Ancient urban life at the Early Horizon center of Caylán, Peru, Journal of Field Archaeology 39, no.44 (Oct 2014): 336–352.https://doi.org/10.1179/0093469014Z.00000000094Hugo C. Ikehara, J. Fiorella Paipay, Koichiro Shibata Feasting with Zea Mays in the Middle and Late Formative North Coast of Peru, Latin American Antiquity 24, no.22 (Jan 2017): 217–231.https://doi.org/10.7183/1045-6635.24.2.217Matthew Helmer, David Chicoine, Hugo Ikehara Plaza life and public performance at the Early Horizon center of Caylán, Nepeña Valley, Perú, Ñawpa Pacha 32, no.11 (Jul 2013): 85–114.https://doi.org/10.1179/naw.2012.32.1.85Jean-François Millaire Primary State Formation in the Virú Valley, North Coast of Peru, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107, no.1414 (Mar 2010): 6186–6191.https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0911226107Donna J. Nash Household Archaeology in the Andes, Journal of Archaeological Research 17, no.33 (Mar 2009): 205–261.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10814-009-9029-7

The Villa Salvador Site and the Beginning of the Early Intermediate Period in the Lurin Valley, Peru

AbstractNew excavations in the lower Lurin Valley at Huaca Villa Salvador in Peru establish an early occupation that cross-dates to the end of the Early Horizon and the beginning of the Early Intermediate Period. A comparison of the Villa Salvador ceramic style with contemporary styles shows that independent ethnic groups maintained distinct ceramic traditions in this period although many common decorative ideas were shared from group to group. A review of the settlements of the Early Horizon-Early Intermediate Period transition in valleys of the central and south-central coasts suggests that the lower valley regions were inhabited by people who exploited the agricultural potential of that zone as well as the resources of the sea, but did not directly occupy the upper valleys. These small societies were stratified and organized around local ceremonial centers involving modest architecture.

The Early Horizon Site of Huaca de los Reyes: Societal Implications

From 1973 to 1974, investigations were carried out at a series of Initial Period and Early Horizon sites known as the Caballo Muerto complex, located in the Moche Valley on the North Coast of Peru. One site, Huaca de los Reyes, contains numerous adobe friezes that are noted both for their wide variety and early date. The amount of labor investment and the degree of architectural planning of the site strongly imply ranked societal divisions of the people responsible for its construction. Differential frieze distribution also supports this contention.

EARLY CERAMIC ASSEMBLAGES FROM HUAMACHUCO, NORTH HIGHLANDS, PERU

A site survey of the province of Huamachuco, La Libertad, Peru, has provided data for a ceramic sequence based on the seriation of surface sherds. The purpose of this article is to describe the more important ceramic features and associations in the first three phases of the sequence, which may date to the Initial Period and Early Horizon.

An Early Subsistence Exchange System in the Moche Valley, Peru

Technologically, the Initial Period in Peru began with the introduction of pottery and the change from twined to woven textile production. Within the Moche Valley, it was the time when a complex settlement first appeared in the valley interior — a relocation correlated with the beginnings of irrigation agriculture. This critical point in the process of adaptation to irrigation agriculture is explored through an examination of subsistence data from two sites: the Initial Period (1800-1400 B.C.) site of Gramalote on the coast and the Initial Period and Early Horizon (1400-400 B.C.) settlement of Caballo Muerto located well inland. Evidence from Caballo Muerto suggests that the shift from floodwater to irrigation agriculture was complete, yet the inland site still relied heavily on animal protein from Gramalote on the coast. Taken together, the two early ceramic sites form an economic unit which, when explored, reveals several important aspects of the transition from an exclusively coastal orientation to a predominantly inland agricultural subsistence focus.

The Earliest Lowland Maya? Definition of the Swasey Phase

Recent excavations in Belize have resulted in the discovery of an earlier period of sedentary occupation than has hitherto been documented in the Maya Lowlands. The Swasey phase is stratigraphically antecedent to occupations of the early Middle Formative, the earliest horizon located until now, and associated radiocarbon dates suggest a persistence from 2000–1000 b.c./2500–1300 B.C. The ceramic and lithic material culture of the phase are described, together with architectural construction and burial practice, and the overall cultural identity is recognized as ancestral to the known Maya Lowland Formative. External contacts of the Cuello site are documented by exotic minerals, and the possible external antecedents for the Swasey ceramic tradition are canvassed.

Prehistoric Fortification Systems of Northern Peru

Previous articleNext article No AccessResearch ConclusionsPrehistoric Fortification Systems of Northern PeruJohn R. Topic, and Theresa Lange TopicJohn R. Topic Search for more articles by this author , and Theresa Lange Topic Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Current Anthropology Volume 19, Number 3Sep., 1978 Sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/202154 Views: 4Total views on this site Citations: 16Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1978 The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological ResearchPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Jean-François Millaire Dating the occupation of Cerro Arena: A defensive Salinar-phase settlement in the Moche Valley, Peru, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 57 (Mar 2020): 101142.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2019.101142Melissa A. Vogel New Research on the Late Prehistoric Coastal Polities of Northern Peru, Journal of Archaeological Research 26, no.22 (Aug 2017): 165–195.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10814-017-9108-0Lidio M. Valdez The Earliest Fortifications of the Peruvian South Coast, Ñawpa Pacha 34, no.22 (Nov 2014): 201–222.https://doi.org/10.1179/0077629714Z.00000000021Elizabeth Arkush, Tiffiny A. Tung Patterns of War in the Andes from the Archaic to the Late Horizon: Insights from Settlement Patterns and Cranial Trauma, Journal of Archaeological Research 21, no.44 (Mar 2013): 307–369.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10814-013-9065-1Celeste Marie Gagnon, Brian R. Billman, José Carcelén, Karl J. Reinhard Tracking shifts in coca use in the Moche Valley: analysis of oral health indicators and dental calculus microfossils, Ñawpa Pacha 33, no.22 (Nov 2013): 193–214.https://doi.org/10.1179/0077629713Z.0000000009C. M. Gagnon, C. Wiesen Using General Estimating Equations to Analyze Oral Health in the Moche Valley of Perú, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology (Sep 2011): n/a–n/a.https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.1284Margaret Brown Vega, Nathan Craig, Gerbert Asencios Lindo Ground truthing of remotely identified fortifications on the Central Coast of Perú, Journal of Archaeological Science 38, no.77 (Jul 2011): 1680–1689.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.02.035John W. Verano, J. María Toyne Estudio bioantropológico de los restos humanos del Sector II, Punta Lobos, valle de Huarmey, (Jan 2011): 449–474.https://doi.org/10.4000/books.ifea.8022Margaret Brown Vega Prehispanic Warfare during the Early Horizon and Late Intermediate Period in the Huaura Valley, Perú Brown Vega, Current Anthropology 50, no.22 (Jul 2015): 255–266.https://doi.org/10.1086/597084Claudio Cioffi-Revilla Origins and Age of Deterrence: Comparative Research on Old World and New World Systems, Cross-Cultural Research 33, no.33 (Jul 2016): 239–264.https://doi.org/10.1177/106939719903300302William H. Isbell Reconstructing Huari, (Jan 1997): 181–227.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1848-2_8Daniel G. Julien Late Pre-Inkaic Ethnic Groups in Highland Peru: An Archaeological-Ethnohistorical Model of the Political Geography of the Cajamarca Region, Latin American Antiquity 4, no.33 (Jan 2017): 246–273.https://doi.org/10.2307/971791ROBERT M. SCHACHT Circumscription Theory, American Behavioral Scientist 31, no.44 (Mar 1988): 438–448.https://doi.org/10.1177/000276488031004005David J Wilson The origins and development of complex prehispanic society in the Lower Santa Valley, Peru: Implications for theories of state origins, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 2, no.33 (Sep 1983): 209–276.https://doi.org/10.1016/0278-4165(83)90001-6 Curtiss T. Brennan Cerro Arena: Origins of the Urban Tradition on the Peruvian North Coast, Current Anthropology 23, no.33 (Oct 2015): 247–254.https://doi.org/10.1086/202827Ivan Ghezzi Religious Warfare at Chankillo, (): 67–84.https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-28940-2_4

New aspects of Middle Palaeolithic variability in western Europe

OBSERVATIONS are presented here on quantified aspects of Middle Palaeolithic variability which have not been studied systematically so far. The findings relate to differing degrees of secondary modification of lithic artefacts between assemblages. The variations correspond with distinct toolmaking entities defined for early Wurm horizons in western Europe. They offer new perspectives, however, on the interpretation of Middle Palaeolithic inter-assemblage variability by suggesting the possible importance of non-cultural causes for some of this variability.

Recherches archéologiques dans la moyenne vallée du Chillon

A series of borings and prospections effectuated from May to July 1976 allowed us to recognize 19 sites of human occupation situated between 1000 and 1400m, in the middle valley of the Chillón (department of Lima, Peru). The oldest traces of occupation are dating from the Early Horizon. This region has known also an important peopling at the Early Intermediate, at the late Intermediate and during the late Horizon. The present study is divided in two parts : in the first one are analyzed the sites and the archaeological met ; in the second one, there is a discussion on the relations of the sites between them and with the others establishments of the valley.

A DATED SEQUENCE OF BUILDING AND POTTERY AT LAS HALDAS

(1975). A DATED SEQUENCE OF BUILDING AND POTTERY AT LAS HALDAS. Nawpa Pacha: Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 99-111.

Atlatl Spurs from California

AbstractAtlatl engaging spurs are recorded from most regions of California and are placed provisionally into three types. Type I, “Snake head,” is composed primarily of specimens made of stone and has Central California Early horizon, Martis complex, and Early-Transitional Lovelock affinities. Type II, “Acorn,” is composed primarily of bone or antler specimens with Central California Middle horizon affinities. Type III may be a variant of Type I and has, as yet, undefined cultural and temporal affinities.

Gyratory Crushers of the Sierra Pinacate, Sonora

AbstractA unique grinding tool, termed a "gyratory crusher," was developed very early in Phase I of the Amargosan-Pinacateño occupation of the Sierra Pinacate, an isolated ecological and archaeological enclave in extreme north-western Sonora, Mexico. The gyratory crusher resembles a perforated mortar, either in slab or block form, in which a wooden pestle with a projection extending through the perforation in the mortar base was gyrated, the projection providing leverage against the under rim of the hole, to grind mesquite pods. The crusher underwent modification, and its use seems to have been discontinued with the disappearance of mesquite forests at the end of the Yuman I period, about A.D. 1100-1200. A few similar tools are reported late in time in the western Sierra Madre, Mexico, and also from early horizons in Iran and Israel. Recognition of the tool type may extend its known distribution in both the New World and the Old World.

The Archaeological Record of Chili Peppers (Capsicum spp.) and the Sequence of Plant Domestication in Peru

AbstractStudy of archaeological material of chili peppers (Capsicum spp.) from the sites of Huaca Prieta and Punta Grande on the coast of Peru has shown that the first species to be cultivated was C. baccatum, which was probably domesticated in Bolivia. This pepper reached the Peruvian coast during the same period as four other crop plants of probably southern Peruvian or Bolivian origin, which suggests that southern contacts were important during the late Preceramic stage. During the Initial period, maize (probably of Mexican origin) and peanuts (possibly domesticated in Bolivia) spread along the coast. Another pepper, Capsicum chinense, which is thought to have been domesticated in the lowlands of the Amazon Basin, apparently also reached the coast at about the same time as pottery. Manioc likewise arrived on the coast during this period, and there may have been an introduction of new varieties of maize from Mexico. These crops suggest a mixture of tropical forest and Middle American contacts during the Initial period and the Early horizon.

Transverse lines in long bones of prehistoric California Indians.

AbstractRadiopaque transverse lines (lines of arrested growth, Harris's lines) were counted on X‐rays of the distal end of 102 adult femurs from prehistoric California Indian populations representing three archaeological Horizons. The sample from Early Horizon has the highest frequency of lines, the Middle Horizon the next, and the sample from Late Horizon has the lowest frequency of lines. These differences are statistically significant. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Indians improved and broadened their subsistence economy from Early to Late Horizon. It is concluded that the differences in the frequency of lines among the three California Indian populations probably are associated with differences in morbidity and/or nutritional status of the people. If this hypothesis is correct, then frequency distribution of transverse lines represents a valuable tool for the paleopathologist and the archaeologist.