Early Horizon Research Articles

The Architecture and Chronology of Reparin, Eastern Ancash, Peru

This paper reports on archaeological investigations at the site of Reparin. The earliest known occupation at Reparin corresponds to the middle part of the first millennium BC (c. 750–400 BC). Associated with this occupation was architecture that connects the site to the late phases of Chavín de Huántar. This building was subsequently destroyed, probably in relation to cultural disruptions in the highlands associated with the dissolution of Chavín after c. 500 BC. Following the destruction of this architecture, a small building dating to c. 400–200 BC was built. Finally, between c. AD 80/100 and 200 people of the Recuay archaeological culture constructed a platform associated with a village occupation. Because of this sequence, Reparin presents new data on some of the major cultural transitions in the north-central highlands that characterize the Early Horizon and beginnings of the Early Intermediate Period, including the “collapse” of Chavín, and the origins of Recuay.

The Rayed Head and Stepped Platform: A Core Symbol of the Southern Andean Iconographic Series

This paper will explore various manifestations of the Rayed Head motif that is found on textiles produced by the Nasca, Sihuas, and Pucara cultures during the Early Intermediate Period (200 BCE – 600 CE), in the southern Andean region of South America. The Brooklyn Museum’s famous Nasca mangle, also known as “The Paracas Textile,” features repeating images of the Rayed Head motif on its interior cotton panel. Sihuas mantles also display distinctive manifestations of the motif in the form of a large rectangular head with highly stylized features and surrounded by radiating appendages. The late textile scholar and archaeologist Joerg Haeberli has pointed out many similarities between Sihuas and Nasca textiles such as their weaving techniques and iconography (including the Rayed Head), and has proposed that the valleys of Arequipa and the south coast were linked during the late Early Horizon and Early Intermediate Period, perhaps due to dispersed Nasca enclaves in Arequipa. Utilizing textiles in the Brooklyn Museum and other public and private collections, the author will further explore this regional relationship as well as a similar iconographic correspondence with the Rayed Head motif found on Pucara-style objects associated with the Yaya-Mama (Father-Mother) religious tradition in the Lake Titicaca of Peru and Bolivia.

6 Gated Communities, Neighborhoods, and Modular Living at the Early Horizon Urban Center of Caylán, Peru

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the shift to enclosed forms of residence and modular living in the context of emerging urbanism during the Early Horizon in the Nepeña Valley, north‐central coast of Peru. During the local Nepeña phase (800–450 cal BCE), complex agrarian groups living in the lower portion of the coastal drainage interrupt constructions at ceremonial centers of the Chavín and Cupinisque religious traditions and relocate on the valley margins, most notably at Caylán (800–1 cal BCE). Regional data suggest that religio‐political turmoil and increased conflicts played a significant role in the nucleation of human groups. Indeed, the following Samanco phase (450–150 cal BCE) is associated with the construction of extensive defensive structures and the relocation of human populations. Architectural data point to the existence of more than 40 gated complexes at Caylán. Based on preliminary excavation data, those are interpreted as multifunctional residences. This paper offers an empirical case study to evaluate the usefulness and flexibility of the concept of neighborhood in the context of co‐resident gated communities. By examining the layout and planning of the Caylán settlement, and the architecture and spatial variability of its multifamily compounds, we consider potential forms of household, community, and neighborhood organizations. Based on excavation data and demographic estimations we explore the heuristic value of the concept of neighborhood to understand face‐to‐face interactions between members of the different gated communities. We suggest that those communities might be comparable to the house societies of anthropological literature. Regional data, meanwhile, suggest that groups merging at Caylán maintained hinterland connections including with agrarian and maritime communities.

Stages, periods, epochs, and phases in Paracas and Nasca chronology: another look at John Rowe’s Ica valley master sequence

Chronology on the south coast of Peru is adrift. Researchers have a choice of using developmental stages or historical periods. Increasingly, fuzzy thinking has led to the publication of chronologies employing both stages and periods in the same chart. Authors seem unaware that stages and periods are fundamentally different ways of organizing the past, underpinned by different sets of assumptions which ask different questions. The current work is specifically concerned with the relative chronologies for the south coast Paracas and Nasca cultures, but it also reviews the fundamental principles of stages and periods, examines the workings of John Rowe’s Master Sequence, and provides clear definitions for terminology. In conclusion, an updated chronology for the south coast Early Horizon and Early Intermediate Period is introduced.

A tanged point and two blade technologies from Rubha Port an t-Seilich, Isle of Islay, western Scotland

We describe a tanged point and a blade technology from Rubha Port an t-Seilich, Isle of Islay, Scotland that provides further support to a Late Pleistocene or Early Holocene presence in Scotland prior to the establishment of the narrow blade Mesolithic industry. The existing evidence for a Late Pleistocene or early Holocene presence comes from isolated finds of tanged points (Tiree, Shieldig, Brodgar), undated assemblages from disturbed contexts that are most likely Late Pleistocene in date (Howburn, Kilmefort Cave), and undated assemblages containing broad blade microliths (e.g., Glenbatrick, Morton). This article provides a summary of recent excavations and the stratigraphy at Rubha Port an t-Seilich, and a detailed analysis the lithic blade blank production at the site, which is, we believe, the first application of a chaîne opératoire based approach to a Scottish assemblage. The study includes comparisons with contemporary assemblages from north-western Europe. The significance of the Rubha Port an t-Seilich finds is threefold: (1) the relative large size of the assemblage that allows a technological analysis; (2) the finds partially derive from a stratified context below a narrow blade assemblage, associated with radiocarbon dates 9301-7750 cal. BP; and (3) further excavation can increase the sample size and potentially expose an in situ Late Pleistocene or early Holocene cultural horizon.

Campanayuq Rumi and Arpiri: two civic-ceremonial centers on the southern periphery of the Chavín Interaction Sphere

Archaeological research over the last decade has established the significance of the Peruvian south-central highlands for understanding the Chavín Interaction Sphere. Investigations at various sites in the region show distinct traditions of civic-ceremonial architecture that are in many ways comparable to better understood developments in the north-central and northern Peruvian highlands. In this paper, the authors discuss two important late Initial Period and Early Horizon centers in the region: Campanayuq Rumi and the recently discovered Arpiri. Geochemical sourcing and other lines of evidence indicate that Campanayuq Rumi was one of the major locations for the distribution of Quispisisa obsidian to the northern centers of the Chavín Interaction Sphere. However, a recent survey of the Quispisisa obsidian quarries near Huancasancos led to the discovery of Arpiri, a smaller-scale center that emulates many of the architectural conventions of Campanayuq Rumi. We hypothesize that Arpiri, which was located in close proximity to the Quispisisa quarries, was a gateway community that served to distribute obsidian to Campanayuq Rumi.

Was Obsidian Used for Camelid Shearing in Ancient Peru? An Experimental and Use-Wear Study

ABSTRACTObsidian flake tools are an important component of Early Horizon (ca. 800–400 B.C.) lithic assemblages in highland Peru. However, the functions of these tools have not been ascertained. In this paper, we present the results of an experimental project that tests the hypothesis that flake tools were used for shearing domesticated camelids (alpacas and llamas). A collection of 10 replicated flake tools were used to shear an alpaca over different amounts of time. Our results indicate that these implements provide an efficient means of shearing camelids, though their efficiency declines after prolonged use. Following the shearing experiment, optical light microscope (OLM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses were undertaken to determine what kinds of use-wear were present on the tools. We tentatively conclude that shearing does leave recognizable edge-wear, including micro-chipping, faint striations, and residues, which we believe could be visible in Peruvian archaeological lithic assemblages.

A Submerged Forest on the Foreshore at Redcar, NZ 60302570

In March 2018, a substantial part of the submerged forest at Redcar beach was exposed. The remains extended for a length of 200 m along the foreshore, a maximum width of 60 m and a maximum stratigraphic depth of 100 mm. Samples were taken from a silver birch branch in the latest horizon and root material penetrating natural in the earliest horizon. Radiocarbon dating analysis produced a terminus post quem for the sampled timber of 4689–4463 cal. BC. These are the first radiocarbon dates for the remains at Redcar and they place the submerged forest in the Mesolithic period.

Doubts about How the Middle Horizon Collapsed (ca. A.D. 1000) and Other Insights from the Looted Cemeteries of the Lower Ica Valley, South Coast of Peru

ABSTRACTThis paper presents new information from funerary contexts in the lower Ica Valley, on the south coast of Peru, spanning two millennia from the end of the Early Horizon to the Late Intermediate Period. Although severely looted, these sites can still yield valuable information. We discuss their architecture and material culture in the context of radiocarbon dates. Among other findings, these cast new light on the poorly understood transition from the Middle Horizon to the Late Intermediate Period, for which a paucity of archaeological data from ca. a.d. 1000–1250 has long been taken as evidence of an environmentally- or socially-induced demographic collapse. Yet the data we present here suggest that the basins of the lower Ica Valley were likely occupied continuously over this period, and that the echoes of Wari influence here may have lasted longer than previously thought.

INTERREGIONAL OBSIDIAN EXCHANGE DURING THE LATE INITIAL PERIOD AND EARLY HORIZON: NEW PERSPECTIVES FROM CAMPANAYUQ RUMI, PERU

Campanayuq Rumi is a large civic-ceremonial center located in the south-central highlands of Peru. Founded in the late Initial Period (1100–800 BC), Campanayuq Rumi became an important center within the Chavín Interaction Sphere in the Early Horizon (ca. 800–400 BC). In particular, Campanayuq Rumi is significant because of its geographical proximity to Quispisisa, the most important and widely circulated obsidian source during the Early Horizon. Portable X-ray florescence (pXRF) was used to geochemically source a sample of 370 obsidian artifacts from Campanayuq Rumi. Though obsidian from Quispisisa dominates the assemblage throughout the site's history, diachronic analysis indicates that the diversity of obsidian sources increases markedly in the Campanayuq II Phase (700–450 BC). The pXRF data lead us to conclude that Campanayuq Rumi was the locus of obsidian distribution to other locations in highland and coastal Peru within the Chavín Interaction Sphere, and functioned as a regional center of worship and interaction.

3 Inclusive Communities In The Titicaca Basin During The Early Horizon

ABSTRACT“Community” is an important analytical lens for investigating the emergence of social hierarchy and shared religious tradition. Burials from the Titicaca Basin of Peru and Bolivia dating to the Early Horizon (800 B.C.E.–C.E. 200) provide an opportunity to investigate how socio‐economic changes may have impacted and been structured by existing community structures. Specifically, I use biodistance and strontium isotope analyses to identify kinship and migrant relationships for individuals buried at temple and non‐temple sites on the Copacabana Peninsula. I find that despite an emerging ritual tradition and change in subsistence strategy, individuals were likely not creating social hierarchies, but instead, structuring communities around ancestry and extended kin networks.

Geo-statistical methods to analyse changes in pre-Hispanic settlement patterns in the Río Ica catchment, Peru

Within arid regions allochthonous rivers as a main source of fresh water play a significant role in the spatial organisation of human occupation.This study aims at a comprehensive view on changes in the prehistoric occupation patterns within the Río Ica catchment on the southern coast of Peru. Results of different research projects are integrated. The heterogeneous character of the catchment allows us to define three sub-sections which differ greatly in terms of vegetation, relief and water regime.Based on quantitative geo-statistical methods we analyse spatio-temporal changes in human occupation from the Early Horizon (c. 1000–200 BC) through to the Inca Late Horizon (AD 1450–1532) in the context of environmental conditions, as well as socio-economic processes. Examining known archaeological sites we are able to assess the significance of environmental location factors for pre-Hispanic settlements. In addition, areas of high human interaction are identified on the basis of a classification of archaeological sites according to their function (craft/industry, cult, cooperation and trade). We thereby transfer the concept of central place theory to the spatial distribution of archaeological remains, introducing a novel approach to identifying central functions in a spatially explicit way.Our results crystallise the changing character of occupation in the study area over more than two millennia. They contribute to the ongoing debate on the decline of the Nasca culture, endorsing a complex combination of natural and socio-economic reasons. Furthermore, the results support the concept of a more widespread exchange and cooperation during ‘Horizon’ periods in the study area and likewise indicate that the disappearance of a supra-regional administrative polity during ‘Intermediate’ periods might have led to higher human activity in smaller scale societies, as reflected in a more diverse spatial organisation in terms of geomorphometric units and central areas.

De fronteras y enclaves: la presencia Nasca en la sierra de Ica (260 a.C. – 640 d.C.)

During 2014, research undertaken at the sites of Cerro San Bernardo (ACO3; 2,000 m above sea level) and Challaca (CH1; 2,015 m above sea level) revealed the first documented Nasca sites (260 B.C – A.D. 640) in the yunga ecozone of the upper drainage of the Ica River. Both sites also demonstrated evidence of an even earlier, Early Horizon occupation (840 – 260 B.C.). These two sites are located on small, mainly granite, knolls situated on the Northern and Southern banks of the upper drainage of the Ica River. From these sites, it is possible to oversee an extensive area of cultivation that extends from the mountains to the East down to the Western boundary of the Challaca-Tiraxi Canyon. An area, which these sites could well have controlled. Geographically, the canyon divides the Ica Highlands from the coastal area, giving this juncture geopolitical importance. It is possible that the strategic location of this Nasca enclave in the Ica Highlands was aimed at controlling access between coastal polities and highland sectors, while exploiting this zones rich, high-altitude resources. Probably, occupation of this strategic sector commenced during the Early Horizon (840 – 260 B.C.), pointing to a long presence by coastal groups in the highlands. The aim of this article then, is to tease-out patterns of control, interaction, and the type of frontier in existence between the Nasca and coeval, neighboring, highland cultural groups, thereby providing new evidence concerning Nasca presence in the upper drainage of the Ica River.

De la montaña al mar: intercambio entre la sierra centro-sur y la costa sur durante el Horizonte Temprano

This article reviews the evidence of the exchange of obsidian and cinnabar, highly coveted resources that traveled in prehistoric Peru from the south-central highlands to the Paracas culture area. The evidence for exchange of these materials is compared with evidence of cultural exchange between the coast and the south-central highlands, focusing on ceramic materials uncovered from excavations at the archaeological site Atalla, located in the region of Huancavelica, Peru. The article argues that the south-central highlands were integral to the obsidian and cinnabar exchange networks of the south coast. In particular, the site of Atalla, a regional ceremonial center connected to the Early Horizon interaction networks, was connected economically to the south coast and participated in the regional interaction sphere of the south-central highlands, but also maintained very strong cultural connections with the center of Chavin de Huantar. It is also suggested that the nature of the interactions between the Paracas society and those of the south-central highlands varied depending on the region; the interaction between Paracas and Atalla seems to have concentrated mainly on economic and non-cultural exchange, whereas sites such as Campanayuq Rumi from the Ayacucho region demonstrate evidence of Paracas cultural influence. Some possible mechanisms which might explain the observed variability in exchange patterns are explored.

Modificaciones craneales paracas: ¿estatus, etnicidad, estética?

espanolUno de los aspectos que mas llamo la atencion de los arqueologos desde las primeras exploraciones de la peninsula de Paracas, a inicios del siglo XX, fueron las modificaciones craneales. Desde entonces hasta la fecha, se han realizado numerosas descripciones y clasificaciones, y se han propuesto diversas hipotesis referentes a las razones que estarian detras de esta practica cultural: estatus, genero, origen, etnicidad, etc., elementos todos de la identidad. Sin embargo, todavia no se ha podido validar ninguna de estas hipotesis, porque no existe ningun estudio sistematico que haya clasificado las formas craneales y las haya relacionado con las caracteristicas de los contextos de procedencia. En el marco del creciente interes por conocer la dinamica social y politica de finales del Periodo Formativo en la costa sur del Peru, la identidad de las personasenterradas en los cementerios de la peninsula de Paracas y su posible relacion con poblaciones que habitaban los valles hacia el norte y hacia el sur, es un tema de discusion central, que ha sido abordado principalmente a partir del estudio de los objetos asociados a los enterramientos. En este contexto, el estudio de las modificaciones craneales adquiere relevancia, mas aun considerando que los estudios geneticos no han logrado un nivel de resolucion fino en el caso de Paracas. En este articulo, se estudia y clasifica las formas craneales de 38 individuos procedentes de 35 contextos funerarios paracas,excavados en el cementerio de Wari Kayan y en los valles de Palpa. Tratandose de una muestra pequena y no aleatoria, este estudio no pretende dar una respuesta definitiva a las posibles razones detras de esta practica en el mundo Paracas.Por el contrario, el objetivo es abrir el camino para la inclusion de este tipo de estudios en la discusion, mostrando su potencialidad y presentando una propuesta de clasificacion que nos ha permitido diferenciar tres grupos de individuos: aquellos enterrados en la peninsula de Paracas que estaban asociados a textiles del Horizonte Temprano, los que estaban asociados a textiles del Intermedio Temprano y los que proceden de los valles surenos. EnglishSince the first explorations at the Paracas Peninsula in the beginnings of the 20th Century, cranial modifications drew attention of archaeologists. Several descriptions and classifications have been proposed, as well as hypothesis regarding the reasons behind this cultural practice; generally elements of identity such as status, gender, origin and ethnicity.Nevertheless, none of these hypothesis have been demonstrated yet, since there are not systematic studies correlating cranial shapes with archaeological provenience. In the context of the increasing interest regarding the Late Formative social and political dynamics in the South Coast of Peru, the identity of people buried in the Paracas Peninsula cemeteries and their possible relations to populations that inhabited the valleys towards the north and south is a central issue that has been addressed from the study of objects associated to the burials. Nevertheless the study of human remains is crucial and since the DNA preservation in coastal archaeological context is not good, the study of cranial modifications can give important information. In this paper we study and classify the cranial shapes of 38 individuals coming from 35 Paracas mortuary contexts that were excavated at Wari Kayan and at the Palpa valleys. As this sample is non-random and small, this study cannot to give a final answer to the possible reasons behind this practice in the Paracas realm, but it opens the discussion of this type of evidence, showing its potential and proposing a classification that allowed us to differentiate three groups of individuals: Those buried at the Peninsula and associated to Early Horizon textiles, those associated to Early Intermediate textiles and those coming from the southern valleys.

Seaside life in Early Horizon Peru: Preliminary insights from Samanco, Nepeña Valley

Studies of social complexity increasingly acknowledge the crucial role maritime communities play in the constitution of societies. Research at Samanco, a seaside center in the Nepeña Valley, north-central Peru, provides new evidence on coastal life during the Early Horizon (900–200 b.c.) ascribed to early urban developments. Samanco comprises hundreds of structures organized into distinct compounds spread over 30 ha in the northern margin of the Nepeña River, bordering the ecologically rich Samanco Bay. Fieldwork in 2012 mapped and excavated the site, currently under threat by encroaching human developments. Test and block excavations indicate that Samanco was primarily occupied during the Early Horizon and reused later in prehistory as a cemetery. This article presents the 2012 excavations, focusing on the nature of Samanco's Early Horizon occupation and connection with contemporary inland Nepeña centers. Results point towards the presence of a significant residential population and a settlement focused on the processing of agrarian and marine resources, camelid husbandry, and possibly trade.

Flor de Mayo, Moyobamba, Peru; a formative u-shaped center in the Peruvian ceja de selva?

This article considers an anomalous site with impressive stone masonry located near the town of Moyobamba in the Peruvian ceja de selva. The hypothesis that this site corresponds to an Initial Period or Early Horizon ceja de selva U-shaped complex related to Chavín de Huantar and other coeval centers on the coast and in the highlands is evaluated and rejected. Archaeological and historical evidence is presented which suggests that the site was probably the result of the Inca efforts to incorporate the ceja de selva. If so, it would be one of the easternmost archaeological examples of these imperial efforts in what is now northern Peru.

Early Horizon camelid management practices in the Nepeña Valley, north-central coast of Peru

South American camelids (llamas and alpacas) were of great economic, social and ritual significance in the pre-Hispanic Andes. Although these animals are largely limited to high-altitude (>3500 masl) pastures, it has been hypothesised that camelids were also raised at lower altitudes in the arid coastal river valleys. Previous isotopic studies of Early Intermediate Period (c. 200 BC–AD 600) and Middle Horizon (c. AD 600–1100) camelids support this argument. Here, we utilise carbon and nitrogen isotopic analyses of camelid bone collagen from the Early Horizon (c. 800–200 BC) sites of Caylán and Huambacho on the north-central coast of Peru to examine the management of these animals during the first millennium BC. Most of the camelid isotopic compositions are consistent with the acquisition of animals that were part of caravans, moving between the coast and the highlands. A small number of the animals may have been raised on the coast, suggesting that the practice of coastal camelid husbandry was in the experimental phase during the Early Horizon before growing into a more established practice in the Early Intermediate Period. These results echo zooarchaeological studies from the region that have revealed a paucity of camelid remains in refuse deposits prior to 800 BC, followed by an increase in abundance after 450 BC.

Dating the Dead: New Radiocarbon Dates from the Lower Ica Valley, South Coast Peru

This article presents radiocarbon dates from human bone samples (n = 13) from seven pre-Columbian cemeteries in the Samaca and Ullujaya Basins of the lower Ica Valley, south coast of Peru, spanning from the end of the Early Horizon to the Inca Late Horizon. These contexts have been severely looted. Yet, in all cases, their putative dating by material culture remains is confirmed by these 14C dates. This shows that such disturbed contexts, sadly typical of the Peruvian coast, can nonetheless still yield valuable bioarchaeological and burial practice data. These dates elaborate upon an emerging picture of the absolute dating of the cultural phases of the wider south coast region, in particular casting new light on the poorly understood Middle Horizon to Late Intermediate period transition. A paucity of archaeological data for this 3-century period has been taken as evidence of some sort of environmentally or socially induced lacuna. Instead, the 14C dates presented here suggest that the basins of the lower Ica Valley were continuously occupied over this period.

Three trepanned skulls from the Copacabana Peninsula in the Titicaca Basin, Bolivia (800 BC–AD 1000)

This paper presents three trepanned skulls from the Copacabana Peninsula in the Titicaca Basin, dating from 800 BC to AD 1000. Trepanation has been practiced for two millennia in the Andes, with the earliest specimens coming from the coastal Paracas culture (circa 400 BC). Trepanned skulls have been found throughout the Andes, displaying a variety of techniques. This modification was practiced as surgical intervention after injury and treatment for headaches and other ailments, among other reasons (Verano, 2003: 234). With the exception of four examples from the Island of the Sun, few early cases of trepanation have been found in the Titicaca Basin of Peru and Bolivia. The three skulls presented here are important for several reasons: (1) they originate from a region under-represented in the literature on Andean trepanation, (2) they represent a variety of trepanation techniques, and (3) they confirm the practice of trepanation in the lake basin during the Early Horizon.