Coastal Andean Archaic

expand_more Description

The Coastal Andean Archaic tradition is located along the Pacific coast of South America from southern Ecuador to northern Chile—principally the desert coast of Peru—from 7000–3800 BP (5000–1800 BC). The tradition ends with the introduction of ceramics, at different times in different areas: before 5500 BP (3500 BC) in Ecuador; circa 3800 BP (1800 BC) in northern and central Peru; and circa 3400–3200 BP (1400–1200 BC) in northern Chile. At the start of the tradition people were nomadic hunter-gatherers; by the end they had become settled fishermen and horticulturalists who built centers with monumental architecture. Their diet changed from deer, birds, reptiles, and gathered plants to one consisting largely of fish, shellfish, and marine mammals, with some gathered plant foods, and domesticated crops that included several types of tubers, beans, and fruits. But the earliest and probably most economically important crops were cotton and gourds for industrial uses such as fishing line, nets and floats. The use of cotton changed from cordage alone to single-warp textiles to split-paired twining and, ultimately, to plural-warp textiles.

Identifier

Region

• South America

Subregion

• Central Andes

Subsistence Type

• hunter-gatherers to food producers

Countries

• Chile
• Ecuador
• Peru