Book

The maritime foundations of Andean civilization

Cummings Pub. Co. • Menlo Park, Calif. • Published In 1975 • Pages: xii, 131

By: Moseley, Michael Edward.

Abstract

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.

HRAF PubDate

2014

Region

South America

Sub Region

Central Andes

Document Type

Book

Evaluation

Creator Type

Archaeologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Sarah Berry; 2012

Field Date

1966-1967

Coverage Date

7000–3500 BP

Coverage Place

coastal Peru

Notes

Michael Edward Moseley

Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-128) and index

LCCN

74084816

LCSH

Indians of South America--Peru

Indians of South America--Peru--Antiquities

Civilization--History

Peru--Antiquities