article
The Fortaleza Valley, Peru: archaeological investigation of Late Archaic sites (3000–1800 BC)
Fieldiana Anthropology • (44) • Published In 2013 • Pages: 1-108
By: Creamer, Winifred, Perales Munguía, Manuel Fernando, Ruiz Rubio, Alvaro A., Haas, Jonathan.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Test excavations were made at six sites in the Fortaleza Valley with monumental architecture, but without ceramics, in the hope of finding sites dating to the Late Archaic Period. Considerable damage has been done to the sites by looting and modern occupation. Radiocarbon dates were mainly taken from plant remains. The sites tested were occupied between 5000-3800 BP and indicate that, among the four valleys of the Norte Chico region, there was a pristine emergence of a cultural complex that included over thirty sites with monumental architecture of large mounds associated with sunken circular plazas, shicra bag construction, and, occasionally, upright stelae. The sites also had residential debris and, some include special areas for production of woven goods. The work reveals that U-shaped site layouts originated in the Late Archaic. Such sites exhibit large labor investment to build, including creating retaining walls, weaving shicras to hold and transport fill, digging circular courts, plastering walls and floors with clay, and almost continuous remodeling. The social, political, and economic relationship between the valleys of the Norte Chico region is yet to be determined, as is the contemporaneity of the various sites. The authors find no evidence that all the valleys were under political leadership centered at the site of Caral.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Archaeological excavation methods
- Dating methods in archaeology
- Chronologies and culture sequences
- Recording and collecting in the field
- Public structures
- Miscellaneous facilities
- Cultural stratigraphy
- Settlement patterns
- Labor and leisure
- 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
- article
- 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; 2014
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 2003-2007
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 5750-3040 BP (3750-1040 BC)
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Paramonga district (Fortaleza Valley), Barranca, Lima region, Peru
- NotesAdditional notes
- Winifred Creamer, Alvaro Ruiz Rubio, Manuel F. Perales Munguia, Jonathen Haas
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-64)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 06020329
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Andes Region--Antiquities