Archaeological investigation of Late Archaic sites (3000–1800 B.C.) in the Pativilca Valley, Peru

Creamer, Winifred; Ruiz Rubio, Alvaro A.; Haas, Jonathan

article

Archaeological investigation of Late Archaic sites (3000–1800 B.C.) in the Pativilca Valley, Peru

Fieldiana Anthropology • (40) • Published In 2007 • Pages: 1-79

By: Creamer, Winifred, Ruiz Rubio, Alvaro A., Haas, Jonathan.

Abstract
The authors present the results of fieldwork in the Pativilca Valley, and examine the evidence with the goal of understand the early political development in the Norte Chico region. They describe eight sites with monumental architecture, circular plazas, two cemeteries, and one site with a residential area. The sites are open, with mounds facing into the valley. There is no indication of warfare. Looters’ pits and other areas of disturbance were examined to document the stratigraphy of the various mounds, and radiocarbon samples came mostly from shicra bags used in their construction; further testing is needed to test for contemporaneity and for continuous use. The architecture of the mounds indicates that religious activities could have been visible to large numbers of people, with access to subsequent rituals progressively limited to ever smaller groups.

Archaeological excavation methods

Archaeological survey methods

Dating methods in archaeology

Public structures

Settlement patterns

Miscellaneous facilities

Territorial hierarchy

General character of religion

Chronologies and culture sequences

Coastal Andean Archaic

HRAF PubDate

2014