Book
The maritime foundations of Andean civilization
Cummings Pub. Co. • Menlo Park, Calif. • Published In 1975 • Pages: xii, 131
By: Moseley, Michael Edward.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
When Moseley developed his thesis, most archaeologists didn't believe a civilization could arise without intensive agriculture, or that monumental architecture could have been built by people subsisting principally on marine resources and lacking ceramics. The work begins with the environmental setting and microenvironments around the Ancon-Chillón region. This is followed by a description of the socioeconomic changes in the region from the Lithic Stage of the Archaic through the Cotton Preceramic and into the early Ceramic. The various cultural remains are described with an emphasis on cotton textiles including their various methods of manufacturing and their designs, and on monumental architecture that indicates the ability of a "corporate authority" to mobilize large numbers of people to work together for an undertaking that "did not directly improve the living conditions of the participating workmen" (page 102). Mortuary practices are also a clue to a degree of social ranking, with a few wielding some greater degree of authority. Within two centuries, the large coastal settlements were abandoned as the majority of the people, and the corporate authority made visible in the construction of monumental architecture, moved inland where canal irrigation began to be used to farm the desert.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Geography
- Sociocultural trends
- Tillage
- Woven and other interworked fabrics
- Public structures
- Production and supply
- Labor relations
- Classes
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Coastal Andean Archaic
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2014
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- South America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Central Andes
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Sarah Berry; 2012
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1966-1967
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 7000–3500 BP
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- coastal Peru
- NotesAdditional notes
- Michael Edward Moseley
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-128) and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 74084816
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Indians of South America--Peru
- Indians of South America--Peru--Antiquities
- Civilization--History
- Peru--Antiquities