Pernil Alto : an agricultural village of the Middle Archaic period in southern Peru / Hermann Gorbahn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gorbahn, Hermann, author.

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Series:

Forschungen zur Archäologie aussereuropäischer Kulturen ; Bd. 17.

Forschungen zur Archäologie aussereuropäischer Kulturen ; Band 17

Language:

English

German

Spanish

Subjects (All):

Indians of South America--Peru--Ica (Region)--Antiquities.

Indians of South America.

Antiquities.

Palpa Region--Antiquities.

Palpa Region.

Agriculture--Origin.

Agriculture.

Peru--Antiquities.

Peru.

Peru--Ica (Region).

Physical Description:

xxvi, 383 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 31 cm.

Place of Publication:

Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz Verlag, [2020]

Language Note:

Includes summaries in German, English and Spanish.

Summary:

As of yet, little is known about the emergence of agriculture in the Central Andes. The results of the investigations of the Middle Archaic settlement of Pernil Alto (3800-3000 BC) presented in this volume now provide important insights for a better understanding of this development. The site of Pernil Alto is located in the foothills of the Andes in Southern Peru. Extensive excavations were carried out here by the German Archaeological Institute. Within the scope of this research, the economic development, form of mobility and social structure were investigated. For this purpose, the discovered remains (artefacts, dwellings, burials, botanical and faunal remains, and human remains) were analyzed and numerous 14C-analyses and Sr-analyses were carried out. The results were combined in a multi-proxy analysis and evaluated in relation to paleo-environmental findings. The result is a six-phase settlement with intra-site burials. During the first phase (ca. 3800-3300 BC), it was a settlement of foragers that relied on food collection, but already cultivated domesticated plants in an additional low-level food production. From the second phase (ca. 3300 BC) onwards, the settlement had developed into a permanent, structured village in which agriculture constituted the basis of subsistence.0This is hitherto one of the oldest documented villages in the Americas where agriculture formed the basis of subsistence. The results of the research conducted at Pernil Alto thus contribute to a better understanding of the formation of slightly later first complex, marine-agricultural societies on Peru's central coast.

Contents:

Introduction

Objective

Aims of research

Methods

Approach

Field methods

Excavation

Geoelectric prospection

Geomagnetic prospection

Survey

Analyses

Artifact analyses

Radiocarbon analyses and dating

Archaeobotany

Faunal remains

Physical Anthropology

Strontium analysis

The archaic period

History of research

Chronology

The Archaic Period

Economic developments in the Middle Archaic Period

The Late Archaic Period

Conclusion of the economic developments in the Archaic Period

The Archaic Period in the working area in the Rio Grande basin

Environment

The landscape of Southern Peru

The topography of the working area

Current climatic conditions

The current ecological zones in the working area

Climatic conditions in the middle Holocene

General Trends

El Nino onset

Interim conclusion of the climatic conditions in the central Andes

Paleoclimate in the working region

Tentative reconstruction of the paleolandscape of the working area

The site of Pernil Alto

Location

Units

Progression of the excavations directed towards the Middle Archaic occupation

Near-site Prospection

Excavation Method and documentation

Sampling

Preservation conditions and erosion

Classes of features

Dating and Chronology

Stratigraphy and Layers

Harris diagram

Problems in the generation of the Harris diagram

Period separation of the Harris diagram

Modelled rediocarbon chronology

Rectification of the stratigraphy using the modelled radiocarbon dates

Structures

Burials

Artifacts

Lithic artifacts

Lithic raw material

Flakes and flake tools

Cobbles and cobble tools

Cores and core tools

Bone artifacts

Raw materials

Braiding tools

Pendants

Spatulas

Awl

Spear thrower head

Figurine

Undetermined bone artifact

Wooden artifacts

Trimmed woods

Pointed woods

Split woods

Scantlings

Tied up woods

Carved wood

Jewelry

Beads

Braces and necklaces

Feather decoration

Raw material

Cords

Knotted textiles

Looped textiles

Plant fibers

Twined textiles

Other artifacts

Bottle gourd epicarps and vessels

Color remains

Quartz fragments

Headdress or coiffure

Fur cap

Spindle whorls

Natural sediment remains

Conclusion of the artifact spectrum

Botanical remains

Analyses of the macro-remains

Food plant remains

Cultivated plants

Wild collected plants

Industrial plants

Pollen and phytolith remains from grinding tools

Pollen remains from intra site samples

Vertebrates remains

Invertebrates remains

Further results

Caries ratios

Strontium analyses

Dwellings

Artifacts as indicators for activities

Procedure

Data analysis

Results

Activities by phase

Conclusion of the activity analyses

Structure of the Middle Archaic settlements

Activity areas in the settlement

Settlement structure

Settlement development

The society of Pernil Alto

Burial rites

Social structure

The burial practices of Pernil Alto in the context of the Archaic periods

Economy

Characterization of animal use

Ratios of the food plant remains

The subsistence of Pernil Alto

Direct indicators for the diet at Pernil Alto

Indirect indicators of the diet

Indirect indicators of the economy from the site placement

Indirect indicators of social type

Cultivation at Pernil Alto

Final characterization of the economy at Pernil Alto

Mobility

Indicators for mobility and sedentariness

Mobility or sedentism at Pernil Alto?

Indicators for sedentism

Indicators for mobility

Not assignable indicators

Conclusion of the state of mobility or sedentism

Connections between Pernil Alto and other environmental zones

Comments on the settlement on the middle Rio Grande section during the Middle Archaic Period

Summary and Conclusion

Efficacy of the applied methods and procedures

The Middle Archaic Settlement of Pernil Alto

The economy of Pernil Alto

Mobility at Pernil Alto

The village of Pernil Alto

Pernil Alto in the context of the Rio Grande basin

The importance of the climate for the developments at Pernil Alto

Possible explanation for the developments at Pernil Alto

Pernil Alto in the perspective of the emergence of civilizations in the Central Andes

Future research possibilities

Kurzzusammenfassung

Brief summary.

Notes:

"Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Kommission für Archäologie Aussereuropäischer Kulturen."

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

3447114177

9783447114172

OCLC:

1231448789

Publisher Number:

9783447114172