Quilter1991 Article LatePreceramicPeru

Journal of WormPrehistory, VoL 5, No.
4, 1991
Late Preceramic Peru

Jeffrey Quilter I
This paper presents a synthesis of current knowledge of Late Preceramic Peru

(ca. 4450-3800 B.P.), a field of study that is less than 50 years old. A brief
history of investigations and discussion of chronological systems are presented.
A review of Late Preceramic achievements concentrating on subsistence econ-
omies and technology is followed by discussion of the social world of Late
Preceramic Peru and current consensus and disputes regarding culture pro-
cesses. Extensive long-distance exchange, farming, and social complexity are
first clearly seen in the archaeological record during this time period. Never-
theless, the significance of this evidence with regard to the nature and intensity
of the culture practices and processes that the3, represent is currently under
investigation and in contention.
KEY WORDS: Peru; Central Andes; preceramic; plant and animal domestication; monumental
architecture; culture change.
D I M E N S I O N S OF THE FIELD: SPACE, TIME, AND F O R M

Late Preceramic archaeological culture in Peru is identified by the formal
aspects of large architectural complexes, distinctive ceremonial architecture,
mortuary practices, the widespread presence of cotton textiles, the remains of
domesticated plants and animals, and specialized small artifacts such as certain
bead styles, snuff trays, and other items. Behaviorally, Late Preceramic Peru is
characterized by the emergence of nonegalitarian societies, the spread of cere-
monial systems over large areas, intensification in the use of domesticated plants
and animals, and increased exchanges between distinct environmental zones.
These artifacts and behaviors were common between about 4450 and 3500 B.P.
t Departmentof Anthropology-Sociology, Ripon College, 300 Seward Street, Ripon, Wisconsin

54971,
387
0892-7537/91/1200-0387506.50/0 © 1991 Plenum Publishing Corporation

388 Quilter
Late Preceramic sites are most numerous on the Central and North coasts of
Peru (Figs. 1 and 2), with fewer sites known for the highlands, due to poorer
preservation and relatively less research there.
HISTORY OF INVESTIGATIONS
The concept of the Peruvian Preceramic is recent, dating to the 1940s. It
was not that earlier archaeologists were unaware of a Preceramic or Archaic
epoch but rather that their attentions were focused elsewhere and their theoret-
ical perspectives were different than recent ones. From the inception of modern
Peruvian archaeology at the turn of the century, through the World Wars,
archaeologists concentrated on investigating the nature of prehistoric Peruvian
civilizations rather than their origins. Max Uhle (1920) and, later, Phillip Means
(1931), to give but two examples, recognized "primitive fisherfolk '~ and an
"Archaic or Migratory" period, respectively. But where such folk came from
or what they had accomplished was a moot point, with many assuming that
civilization arrived with Mexican immigrants. The concept of migration as the
key to understanding prehistory was aided and abetted by using Mesoamerica--
the best-known Latin American prehistoric region and the one with the most
appreciated art--as the yardstick against which Central and South American
cultures were measured. Without chronometric dating techniques, the reason-
able system for chronologically ordering Andean cultures was to attempt to
cross-date them with Mesoamerica.
All this changed after the Second World War. The most significant research
that focused attention on the Preceramic was carried out by Junius B. Bird (1948;
Bird et al., 1985), especially his excavations at Huaca Prieta, a fishing village
occupied between 5000 and 4000 B.P. on the Peruvian North Coast. This work
revealed a sophisticated fishing technology and what was cited at the time as
evidence of America's earliest farmers who not only survived but prospered,
producing intricately made cotton textiles and other crafts. Bird (1943) had
worked earlier in northern Chile, uncovering a long tradition of Preceramic
coastal adaptations. The Huaca Prieta study confirmed that early Preceramic
sites were to be found practically at both ends of the Central Andean coast.
Another early investigator of Preceramic sites was Frddrric A. Engel, who
directed the archaeology wing of the Centro de Investigaciones de Zonas Aridas
(CIZA) of the National Agrarian University of Peru. Influenced by Childe's
emphasis on the pivotal role of the origins of agriculture, Engel (1957) reported
great numbers of pre- and early agricultural sites up and down the Peruvian
coast. While faulted on theoretical and methodological grounds (Moseley, 1977;
Bonavia, 1988), Engel's work demonstrated the ubiquity of Preceramic sites in
the Peruvian littoral region. In addition, pioneering work on earlier Preceramic
sites was being carried out in the highlands by Augusto Cardich (1958, 1964),
Late Preceramic Peru 389
S~inas de__ChoJo ~"~__ La G~ada (
LosChim= (chi~o~)~--"-" .7 G~,~-~o c ~ ~

Huaynun6 ~ L ~ Ll~.~ne~-Moxel~e ~/
Lo~ 6a-eilanes ~ ( f ~ _
........ ~ , . 7 I i t''~°'°~ F
_ /"- 1~ Huaricoto f
PiedraParada ~a~..j - I L
kcro ~ f
Ancdn & Vent~ ~.
[-• Middle Preceramic

A Late & Terminal Preceramic
& Early Initial Period V
icol6s
J
Fig. 1. Map of the Central Andes showing significant early sites.
and other early studies were made by Rafael Larco Hoyle (1948) and Heinrich
Ubbelohde-Doering (1967). Through their researches and publications, it
became clear that a new chapter in Andean archaeology was waiting to be writ-
ten.
Starting in the 1960s, a number of scholars began to focus on the Precer-
amic. The greatest amount of work was carried out on the Central Coast,
between the Lurfn Valley and the Bay of Ancdn. It was in this region that
390 Quilter
C14 . I.
Yrs. A~la
B.P. ?
3450
El Paraiso Las I
Rio Seco Huaricoto
5950
Aspero Piedras Negras

Bandurria J l
~450 I
Fig. 2. Chronologicalspansof uncorrected radiocarbondates for Late Preceramicsites. Bars

on lines indicate the first presence of ceramics. A date of 2080 + 130 [GX-5077 (Bonavia
et aL, 1982, p, 75)] makesthe final preceramicoccupationof Los Gavilanesuncertain. The
earliest (Cupisnique) ceramics found at Huaca Prieta were associated with a date of 2665
+ 200 [Libby/Chicago--75(Bird et al., 1985, pp. 53, 56-57)I.
Edward Lanning (e.g., 1967), Thomas Patterson (e.g., 1971), and Michael
Moseley (e.g., 1975) conducted intensive site surveys and other research and
developed the fundamental framework and research issues that exist today. They
did not work alone, however, for significant studies were and continue to be
carried out by Peruvians, who have made many of the essential findings and
observations of their country's antiquity, such as Walter Alva (1986), Duccio
Bonavia (1982; Grobman 1988), Alberto Bueno Mendoza (1979, 1980; Grieder
et at., 1988), Rosa Fung Pineda (1972, 1988), Ramiro Matos Mendieta (1975),
Carlos Williams Le6n (1971, 1980, 1985), and others (e.g., Cardenes M., 1978;
Muelle and Ravines, 1973; Ravines, 1967). Significant preceramic studies have
also been made by French archaeologists, especially Claude Chauchat (1972,
1988) and Dani~le Lavall6e (Lavall6e and Julien, 1975; Lavall6e et al., 1985),
and by the Japanese archaeologists at Kotosh (Izumi and Terada, 1972).
One of the many subjects Lanning investigated was the role of marine
resources in the diet of early coastal dwellers. Adding to this perspective, Pat-
terson chronicled changing settlement patterns that included the possibility of
year-round occupation of the coastal region by the exploitation of different
resource zones. Michael Moseley's (1975) The Maritime Foundations o f Andean
Civilization developed the argument that the large architectural complexes of
Late Preceramic Peru were built upon a subsistence base that was primarily
maritime in nature. Although debate was developing prior to Moseley's book,
(e.g., Parsons, 1970), the publication of his work sharpened the discussion as
to whether Peru was an exception to the theory that civilization was built on
agriculture or not; whether Peru conformed to models of the development of
complexity that could be uniformly applied worldwide--with the adoption of
grain agriculture as the chief form of subsistence serving as the basis of civili-
zation-or whether it was an exceptional case in which abundant food in the
form of fish and mollusks served as the foundation of Peruvian civilization.
For the last 15 years, Preceramic studies have been carried out with fairly
regular frequency, covering a wide range of subjects, from attempts at finding
the earliest human occupation of the Andes and chronicling the advent of high-
land plant and animal domestication (MacNeish et al., 1983), through investi-
gating early highland hunters and the beginnings of pastoralism (Lynch, 1980;
Matos, 1975; Rick, 1978; Lavallde et al., 1985; Wheeler, 1984), to examining
fisher-gatherers in the early stages of plant domestication (Benfer, 1986; Bon-
avia, 1982; Quilter, 1989a) and defining the nature of early complex societies
(Burger and Salazar-Burger, 1980, 1985; T. Pozorski and S. Pozorski, 1990;
Quilter, 1985).
Much research since the mid-1970s has focused on questions regarding the
subsistence economies (e.g., Moseley, 1975; Quilter et al., 1991) and the
sociopolitical systems (e.g., Burger and Burger, 1986; Feldman, 1985; Patter-
son, 1983) of Late Preceramic peoples. Work also has been carried out to
understand better the chronology, culture, and diversity present in the time in
general (e.g., Fung Pineda, 1988). Given the immensity of many Late Precer-
amic sites, many studies have concentrated on using architectural data (e.g.,
Carlos Williams, 1980, 1985). In many ways, the study of Preceramic Peru is
in its infancy, and much basic descriptive work and chronology building remain
to be done.
CHRONOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
Two chronological systems are commonly used by Peruvianist archaeolo-
gists (Fig. 3). The first was developed by John H. Rowe (1962), and the second
by Luis G. Lumbreras (1974). The dates at which culture changes are marked
vary by only a few hundred years or less for both systems, but there are impor-
tant underlying theoretical differences.
Rowe's system is based on standardized time periods that are not neces-
sarily tied to culture change except as it occurred in the Ica Valley, on the South
Coast. Thus, the Early Horizon is dated by the beginning of Chavfn influence
in Ica even though the Chavfn phenomenon developed elsewhere and may have
influenced other areas before Ica. The use of Ica as a "master sequence" for
dating was based upon a mistrust of the accuracy of radiocarbon dates (Rowe,
1967) as well as wariness about the use of cultural evolutionary theory, although
there is an inconsistency in the system since the Preceramic and Ceramic are
considered as stages, with a clear reference to evolution. Lumbreras's chrono-
logical system is unabashedly evolutionary and the beginnings of different
periods and epochs are directly linked to culture change so that the "Archaic
392 Quilter
Lumbreres, 1969/1974 Lanning, 1967 Lanning, Patterson, Quilter,1989

& Moseley (various) ?
1500
1650 TERMINAL
u PRECERAMIC
1 8 0 0 - - Gaviota E -- 1600 - -
- - --
-- 1900 L
U .7
Conchas L
Upper ¢k LATE
-- 2100
Archaic Period VI o PRECERAMIC
0
Playa
Hermosa 0
u --- 2500 -- -- 2500 2500 2500 --
Encanto
L Period V
Lower 3750
Archaic Corbina MIDDLE
4200 4200 PRECERAMIC
Canario
5000 -
Period IV 5000
Luz o
6000 60007 - - 6 0 0 0 - -
Arenal
Advanced Period III -- 7 0 0 0
0 Gatherers EARLY
8000
Central PRECERAMIC
Coast ~/
Period II Phases
9500
.d --I0,000 -----
Periodl
(UndifferentiatedX~ , ?
°:'o";roj:_( ALL DAT]~S "B,C. '~ AND BASED ON

NON-CALIBRATED RADIOCARBON
Epochs ASSAYS,
F i g . 3. C h r o n o l o g i c a l systems for the Peruvian Preceramic.
Period," for example, may begin at different times in different places, a system
similar to that used in North America (Willey and Phillips 1958).
No artifacts earlier than the late Initial Period were in the Uhle collections
from the Ica Valley that served as the basis of the Rowe chronology. Lanning
and Patterson (Lanning, 1967, p. 25) developed a Preceramic chronology rely-
ing primarily on their Central Coast data. The Preceramic was subdivided into
six periods based upon technological and artifactual changes. While Rowe
(Rowe and Menzel, 1967) produced a chart showing a uniform end to the Pre-
ceramic at 4050 B.P., Lanning pursued the evolutionary implications of the
stage system further, placing a general end to the stage between 4450 and 3800/
3500 B.P. for the Central-to-North coast region in his table (Lanning, 1967, p.
25) while marking the end of the Preceramic as late as 1850 B.P. or so for the
Far South Coast (Lanning, 1967, pp. 26-27),
Although Lanning suggested that revisions were in store for the future, no
serious examination of the status of dates and data was made until recently (S.
Pozorski and T. Pozorski, t987; Rick, 1987). However, one change in the
chronological system occurred in the use of the term "Cotton Preceramic."
Moseley's (1975) five-phase sequence was based on changes in cotton textile
technology linked to radiocarbon dates from at sites at Ventanilla Bay and
Ancrn. For the most part, this was a refinement of the Lanning-Patterson sys-
tem, with all but one of the phases falling into Period VI. But while the broader
framework in which these phases were placed still retained the stage concept,
the Lithic and Ceramic Stages now bracketed a Cotton Preceramic Stage.
The term Cotton Preceramic has since come into general use to refer to
the Late Preceramic when cotton textiles were made, and only one publication
has consciously attempted to afix dates to it (Pozorski and Pozorski, 1987, pp.
7-8): between 4450 and 3800 B.P.--the time in which "complex societies first
developed in Peru." Junius Bird (personal communication, 1979) once warned
that use of the term Cotton Preceramic was faulty because the time of the intro-
duction of cotton textile technology appears to vary in different parts of Peru.
At present, it is still uncertain when cotton was first used in different parts of
the Central Andes, and the nature of its use also varies, with cotton wefts
appearing before use of the fiber for complete textiles (see Stothert and Quilter,
1991).
Elsewhere (Quilter, 1989a, p. 11), I briefly suggested that the terminology
be revised to a uniform system utilizing Early, Middle, and Late Preceramic
Periods (see Burger and Asaro, 1977). The essential integrity of the Rowe-
Lanning-Patterson system is maintained, with the baseline, master sequence for
Preceramic sites in Peru established in the Ancrn-Ventanilla-Chillrn region,
Like all chronological systems the dates used are somewhat arbitrary, and cita-
tion of distinct artifact inventories as cultural or temporal markers presents
problems due to continuity and variable rates of change in different parts of
Peru. At present, the precision of the lca Master Sequence based on the precise
introduction of new ceramic traits as the hallmark for new periods cannot be
duplicated for the Central Coast Preceramic. In general, however, the Early
Preceramic [13,000(?)-8000 B.P.] is characterized by a hunting-foraging tra-
dition in a late Pleistocene environment, and its beginning date, at present, is
tentative (see Dillehay and Collins, 1991; Gruhn and Bryan, 1991; Lynch, 1990,
1991). The Middle Preceramic (8000--4450 B.P.) begins with the establishment
of modern environmental conditions and societies which practiced broad-based
economies but began to focus on exploitation of specific local resources, such
394 Quilter
as fishing on the coast. The Late Preceramic (4450-3800 B.P.) marks the begin-
ning of the widespread use of cultigens and the construction of monumental
architecture in many parts of Peru.
This essentially grafts a Preceramic Central Coast Master Sequence onto
the Ica Master Sequence. Given radiocarbon dates currently available (Fig. 2),
some sites without pottery appear to have existed during the early Initial Period
(S. Pozorski and T. Pozorski, 1990, 1991; Quilter, 1985, 1991). This is likely
due to the problem of an arbitrary dating system applied to the more compli-
cated dynamics of culture change and to the problems of utilizing radiocarbon
dates for large sites with complex histories. But if the lack of clarity continues
or if, indeed, sites with and without pottery were coeval, the term Terminal
Preceramic might be used to refer to sites of preceramic culture that existed
during the early period of the adoption of pottery and the beginnings of mon-
umental architecture, or if this period can be clearly demarcated, the term could
be employed for the time of transition, once known. Continuing research in
northern Chile and southern Ecuador may also eventually require modification
of current chronological schemes to integrate regional periodizations into chro-
nological systems of larger areas.
LATE PRECERAMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
Environmental Background
Three large environmental zones run the length of the Peruvian nation (see
Pulgar Vidal, 1987): the coastal desert, the sierra, and the tropical forest. Fea-
tures within each zone have played important roles in human activities, such as
mountain passes, tablelands (punas), and altitudinal variations in plant and ani-
mal communities. Both now and in the past, these factors affect the kinds of
subsistence strategies that can be followed and the relative ease of communi-
cation, travel, and exchange. On the coast, for example, the merging of flood-
plains, such as the Rimac-Chill6n, allowed for greater intervalley
communication than those valleys in which rivers cut deep, isolated beds. In
the highlands, one sometimes can travel for many days in the same environ-
mental zone, walking in a horizontal plane. But within hours or less, vertical
movement leads the traveler through different environmental zones layered like
the strata of an archaeological site. These different arrangements of environ-
mental zones define opportunities and limitations in the lives of Andean peo-
ples.
Given the relatively harsh environment of the Peruvian coast and high-
lands, the precociousness of early achievements in the region is remarkable.
The following subsections discuss current knowledge of various aspects of the
people of Late Preceramic Peru. Following this, I turn to a discussion of recent

and new perspectives on culture processes.
Food E c o n o m y
During the Middle Preceramic many Andean peoples shifted from broad-
based subsistence strategies to ones that took advantage of local conditions and
often focused on specific resources (Stothert and Quilter, 199I). In the Late
Preceramic this trend continued and intensified. Varying patterns of hunting and
gathering have been suggested for different areas of the highlands. In the upper
Santa Valley, Lynch's (1980, p. 314, 1989) work at Guitarrero Cave suggested
mobile populations that exploited a wide range of environments. In northern
Chile, bones of sea fish were found in preceramic middens and coprolites at
sites 100 km inland and at altitudes of t500 m above sea level (Meighan and
True, 1980, pp. 137, 197). At Lauricocha cave (Cardich, 1958, 1964) and the
Junfn region (Rick, 1980), however, arguments have been put forth for year-
round occupation, and Rick has suggested the development of specialized hunt-
ing of vicufia during the Preceramic. Thus, two models, one suggesting long
distance movements or interactions and the other arguing for locally based sub-
sistence strategies, have been developed for the Andean sierra with the likely
possibility of different strategies in different regions.
Wheeler (1984) has argued for the first domestication of camelids between
8000 and 5500 B.P. in Junfn, with stock herding shortly afterward. But further
south, in Ayacucho, selective hunting--perhaps a form of game management--
was still practiced in the Chihua Phase (ca. 6450-5250 B.P.) (MacNeish et al.,
1983, p. 10), with no domestication until the very end of the Preceramic (Cachi
Phase; ca. 5050-3700 B.P.), when stone corrals are in evidence. At Huaficoto,
in the central highlands, faunal remains indicate that deer hunting continued to
be the main source of animal meat in the Late Preceramic (Chaukayan Phase,
6100-5700 B.P.) (Burger, 1985, p. 532) with camelids only displacing deer in
the analyzed samples in the Early Horizon (ca. 2550-1750 B.P.), long after the
introduction of pottery and other major cultural changes.
Besides camelids, guinea pigs (cuy) are the other important highland
domesticated animal which were important sources of meat in later prehistory
and beyond. Cuy remains are absent at Preceramic coastal sites, present in
Ayacucho (Piki/Chihua Phases, 7750-5250 B.P.) (MacNeish et al., 1983, p.
9) and at Guitarrero Cave (Complex IV), and abundant at Kotosh (Wing, 1977,
1980, p. 164), and their rate of introduction to areas outside of theirpuna hab-
itat also appears to vary (Lynch, 1980, p. 314).
For both camelids and guinea pigs, then, the archaeological data suggest
early highland domestication followed by gradual introduction through time to
lower elevations, reaching the coast quite late in prehistory (Wing, 1980;
396 Quilter
Burger, 1985, pp. 275-276), There are variations, however, in the places and
rates of introduction, just as the data appear to suggest that different overall
subsistence strategies were followed in different regions of highland Peru. The
consequences of these patterns for later cultural developments remain to be
addressed in future work. The present data do appear to suggest that those
regions where low intermontane valleys were occupied and farmed relatively
early--Ayacucho, the Callejon de Huaylas, and the Huallaga Valley--were more
quickly integrated into intraregional cultural systems than those areas where
relatively broad-based hunting and gathering subsistence remained the dominant
mode of production, such as Junfn. But while regional exchange and vertical
interdependency became important in later prehistory, and begin to emerge in
the Late Preceramic Period, the data available for coastal subsistence suggest
that local resources provided the bulk of the food.
Evidence for the first use of some domesticated plants is slightly earlier
for the highlands in comparison to the coast. In Ayacucho, domesticated gourd,
quinoa, and possibly squash (Cucurbita andina) are present in the Piki Phase
(ca. 7750-6350 B.P.), with common beans, achiote, tree gourd, lucuma, coca,
and possibly potatoes introduced by the Chihua Phase (ca. 6450-5250 B.P.).
At Guitarrero Cave Capsicum chinense and Phaseolus vuIgaris were apparently
cultivated as early as 10,550-9950 B.P. (Smith, 1980, p. 110). Early dates
(7950 + 180, Beta-12,385, and 7920 +_ 120, Beta-12,384) for the cultivation
of squash, peanuts, plums (Bunchosia armeniaca), and quinua (Chenopodiurn
quinua) also have been cited for sites in the upper Zafia and Nanchoc Valleys
in far northern Peru (Dillehay et al., 1989, p. 751). At present, there are prob-
lems with regard to the dating of some of these early plants in that they exhibit
morphological characteristics that date them as early but with radiocarbon assays
that have produced very recent dates (J. Rossen and T. DiUehay, personal com-
munications, 1991).
The environment is somewhat wetter on the western slopes of the Andes
in the Nanchoc region than farther south and the area can be viewed either as
a point of diffusion from tropical areas to the north or east or as a tropical
ecotone area itself, if environmental conditions in the past were wetter than
those which sustain the present thorn forest. The data from Nanchoc thus may
conform to Spinden's (1917; see Lathrap, 1977) ideas on the tropical origins of
South American cultivated plants.
There is a remarkably great length of time between the Nanchoc and Gui-
tarrero Cave dates and the earliest sure evidence of the use of some of these
cultivars, such as peanuts and beans, in central coastal Peru, where some of the
earliest examples of monumental architecture are to be found. Farther north in
Ecuador, analyses of phytoliths appear to confirm debated macrofossil evidence
of maize cultivation under way by about 7000 B.P. (Pearsall and Piperno, 1990).
On the Far South Coast, archaic lifeways appear to have continued into the Late
Preceramic Period and beyond (Wise, 1990), suggesting that the direction of
change in subsistence strategies was from north to south. However, continuing
research in northern Chile suggests early domestication of some important plants
there (Rivera, 1980, 1984, 1991), and more research will be needed to explain
the spread or lack of it of domesticated plants from one Andean region to the
other and the apparent peripheral status of the Central Andes, which apparently
adopted many domesticates late yet became the core area in the development
of hierarchical societies.
Late Preceramic coastal dwellers appear to have subsisted on a mixed
economy of seafood and wild and domesticated plants (Bonavia, 1982; Weir et
al., 1988; Quilter et al., 1991). The evidence currently available suggests that
fish and mollusks provided the main source of animal protein. Fishing technol-
ogy was sophisticated and likely done both close to and far from shore (see
Quilter, 1989a). Fish typically taken included requiem shark (Carcharhinidae),
ray (Mylobatidae), sea catfishes (Ariidae), herring (Clupeidae), anchovies
(Engraulidae), mullet (Mugil cephaIus), weakfish (Cynoscion sp.), and corvina
(Sciaena deliceosa) (Quilter et al., 1991, Table 1). Whales were probably
exploited when they beached themselves, while sea lions and sea turtles could
be taken when they mated on shore in January. Both sand-dwelling (mostly
clams, e.g., Mesodesma sp.) and rock-dwelling (primarily Alacomia sp. and
Mytilus sp.) mollusks as well as crustaceans, such as crabs, were consumed by
coastal peoples, although they were probably not significant dietary compo-
nents. Those species of shellfish common to beaches closest to coastal sites
appear to be the primary ones consumed. Other animals played relatively minor
roles in coastal subsistence. Deer remains are relatively rare at late sites, while
birds appear to have been taken when in abundance but not on a regular basis,
judging from their variable appearance in the archaeological record such as at
Los Gavilanes, where they are numerous in some strata but not others (Wing
and Reitz, 1982, p. 191).
The meat diet thus appears to have been broadly based on a variety of
animals. Opportunistic exploitation of seasonally or randomly available
resources was common, as is the case for most nonindustrialized food econ-
omies. Food considered relatively unimportant today may have played an
important role in the overall Preceramic diet. For example, several hundred tons
of freshwater crayfish (Parastacus spp.) are harvested annually in modem
coastal rivers now much restricted due to irrigation practices (Tsunekawa 1988),
and these resources and others may have contributed significantly to Late Pre-
ceramic diets.
Cultivated plants (Figs. 4 and 5) played an important role both as foods
and for industrial purposes as in the case of gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) con-
tainers and cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.) fishing line and textiles. Squashes
appear to have been domesticated in the Middle Preceramic, and chili peppers
398 Quilter
Achira
(Cannaedulis)
Grass
(Pennisetumsp. & others) 0
Achupalla Ji~ma
(TillandsiaIatifolj.~ (pa~,.hyrrhizustuberosus) @
Al~arroba
(Pr-osopi~sp,)
Amaranth
O ~ (Lucum~bifera) @
Pacae
(Amaranthu,ssp.) (lnga FeuiUei) @
Cactus
(Cereus sp.)
Pac~a
(Fucraea sp.) 0
Cat-tail Squash
(Twha aneustifolia) (~ueurNta spp.) 0
Cotton Pepper
(Gossypiumbarbadensg) (Capsicum sp.) 0
Gourd Sedge
(La~enariasiceraria) (C~rus sp. & Scirpus sp.) 0
Willow
• e
Domesticated Domestication Wild
( ~ 0
Uncertain
Fig. 4. Commonly occurring Late Preceramic plants,
Present
~) FamilyLevel
0 Not Reported
Avacado
(Persea americana) OOOOIOQIO
CommonBean
(Phaseolusvulgaris) OOOOOOO
Lima Bean
(Phaseolus lanatus) O00OO00
Jack Bean
(CanavaliasiP.) 0000000
Chirimoya
(AnnonaCherimolia) 0000000
Guava
(PsidiumGaa_iava) 0!0:00,0:0 •
Manioc
(Manihotesculenta) ©OM©O0O0
Peanut
(Arachissp,) ©000000
Potato
(Solanumtuberosum) 00000@@
(SlpwoeemtoPeCatba':tatas) O0 O0 0 0 0
UnidentifiedBeanPodsarereportedfor Huaynun4
Fig. 5. Late Preceramic domesticated plants with varied distributions.
are clearly present by the Late Preceramic (Jones, 1988). New cultigens and a
greater emphasis on farming in general occur in the Late Preceramic, but they
appear to be part of a slow, steady growth in use from earlier times, rather than
a revolution in subsistence economies.
Plants that are found in only very small quantities or not at all before the
Late Preceramic but made their appearance during this time include beans
(Phaseolus lunatus, P. vulgaris, Canavalia sp.), tree fruits [Lucuma bifera
(lucuma), Psidium Guajava (guava), lnga Feuillei (pacae)], and tubers
[Pachyrrhizus tuberosus (jicama), Canna edulis (achira)]. Domesticated pota-
toes (Solanum tuberosum) and sweet potatoes (lpomoea batatas) have been
reported from Huaynun~i, near Casma (Ugent et al., 1982, 1983). Of course,
this list also includes cotton, as already indicated. Smith (1988, p. 144) suspects
that split cottonseeds found at La Galgada were opened by humans in order to
consume the oil-rich seeds and Hutchinson (cited by Bonavia, 1982, p. 344)
has noted that cottonseed is also rich in sugar.
It is possible that cotton could have been managed before full domestica-
tion took place, with growth of trees in "orchards" (see Saner, 1950, p. 534).
At Huaca Prieta, Stephens (in Bird et al., 1985, pp. 234-235) noted the pres-
ence of fuzzy seeds in Preceramic levels and tufted ones in the ceramic strata.
The tufted variety prevails among modern cultivars and allows easier removal
of fibers by hand. However, there is a clear trend of increasing size of seed,
boll, and fiber in all of the levels at Huaca Prieta, suggesting that at least man-
agement and probably cultivation were under way in the Late Preceramic.
Evaluation of the relative importance of these and other foods in diets is
difficult to make since the beans and tubers leave small amounts of residue,
while the tree fruits leave relatively abundant amounts, primarily in the form
of seeds. It is also difficult to estimate whether the tree fruits were under full
domestication or "managed" without much human intervention in their repro-
duction, and it is also possible that some of the achira and jicama could have
been wild. Further study of the possible use of cottonseed is important since
except for some fish, such as anchovies, Preceramic diets were relatively poor
in fats, and sugar was scarce.
There are variations in the presence or absence of different cultivated or
managed plants at coastal Late Preceramic sites (Fig. 5). At present, it is uncer-
tain whether such differences represent real patterning of the introduction of
different plants to regions of the Peruvian coast, the results of environments
favoring one or another plant in different areas, the effects of cultural and post-
depositional processes at different sites, or variability in methods of recovery
and study of plant remains by different archaeologists. For example, in addition
to Nanchoc and Guitarrero Cave, plant remains at Los Gavilanes (Bonavia,
1982) are strikingly different from those found at other Late Preceramic sites,
with plants there that do not occur elsewhere in Peru until later in prehistory.
400 Quilter
Given the fact that there was a definite lag in the domestication and use of
highland animals elsewhere, it may not be surprising that a similar phasing of
use and spread of plant cultivars occurred as well.
The subject of the first use of maize (Zea mays) in the Andes is of great
interest due to its assumed importance as an essential crop in later prehistory.
Claims for early maize have been made for both Ecuador [ca. 7000-8000 B.P.
(Stothert, 1985)] and Chile [ca. 6800 B.P. (Rivera, 1980)], while MacNeish
and colleagues (1983, p. 9) suggest that maize may have first been used in the
Ayacucho region late in the Chihua Phase (ca. 6450-5250 B.P.). Evidence of
Preceramic maize at about the same date or slightly later has been claimed for
Los Gavilanes, Aspero, and Guitarrero Cave (see Bonavia and Grobman, 1989).
In addition, isotopic analysis of human bone from highland Peru has confirmed
that maize was present in the Late Preceramic Period at Huaricoto [Chaukayan
Phase, ca. 4150-2750 B.P. (Burger and Van Der Merwe, 1990, p. 91)]. Despite
criticisms (R. Bird, 1987; Vescelius, 1981a,b), the evidence for Preceramic
Andean maize is increasing. However, maize does not appear to have been a
major dietary constituent at many Late Preceramic sites as it is found in very
small amounts, with rare exceptions (Bonavia 1982), and the isotopic analysis
of the Huaricoto bone indicated maize played a minor role in diets.
In addition to domesticates, a large number of wild, and possibly managed,
plants were utilized by Preceramic peoples. These include Amaranths and
Chenopods as well as a number of unidentified grasses that appear to have been
wild. The roots of marsh sedges (Scirpus sp. and Cyperus sp.) were eaten, and
tomatillos (Physalis sp.), various tubers, and other lomas and valley plants, as
well as marine flora such as algae, and probably sea plants enriched the diet.
Studies of coprolites from Huaca Prieta (Callen and Cameron, 1960; Bird
et al., 1985, pp. 239-240) support the argument that diets were primarily com-
posed of wild and domesticated plants and fish. Cucurbit, chile pepper, and two
types of beans were definitely identified as well as tentative identification of
Canna and fibrous roots, possibly of cat tail or similar plants. In addition, the
stomach contents of a burial showed evidence of mussel, snail, and sea urchin
shells as well as crab claws and a considerable amount of vegetable remains,
including a large quantity of peppers. The same general emphasis on seafood,
collected plants, and a few cultigens was also found in coprolites from five sites
on the central coast (Weir et al., 1988). This pattern generally held true for 10
coprolites from E1 Parafso, although there appeared to be a somewhat greater
emphasis on riverine resources, and one coprolite had a considerable amount
of mammal meat residue (Jones, 1988; Quilter et al., 1991).
Preceramic cultivation systems are not well-known. Coastal "sunken"
gardens excavated close to the water table may have been in use in the Chilca
Valley in the Late Preceramic, but they do not appear to have been used much
elsewhere (Benfer et al., 1987; Parsons and Psuty, 1975). The excavators of
La Galgada report the presence of canals (Grieder and Mendoza, 1985, p. 93)
and believe that irrigation was practiced. On the other hand, many Late Pre-
ceramic sites are located near floodplains, suggesting that if irrigation was used,
canals and other infrastructural components were relatively simple. Such sys-
tems were vulnerable to destruction by later agricultural activities and so evi-
dence of them is difficult to find.
Our current picture of diets in Late Preceramic Peru is one of a diversity
of foods based upon a mixed strategy of foraging, fishing, horticulture, and
hunting. It is likely that new cultigens were adopted in different parts of Peru
at different times, but avocados, maize, peanuts, and others did not achieve
relative importance until much later in prehistory.
There are a number of important questions that remain to be answered.
What factors encouraged some highland peoples apparently to restrict their
resource procurement to relatively small regions while others went farther afield
for food? When, how, and why did such patterns change? More research is
needed regarding the apparent temporal lags in the adoption of some domesti-
cated plants and animals in certain parts of Peru and not others. While both
terrestrial and marine resources likely were important dietary components, es
pecially for coastal populations, we must determine more precisely the roles of
specific resources from these zones as well as develop general, theoretical
models of the adoption of domesticated plants in the Central Andes.
Technology
Construction
Late Preceramic building materials included cane, logs, stone, and adobe.
Cane or fiber matting was used for roofs and floor covers. Logs and poles served
for bracing doorways and as roof beams and were made from any suitable mate-
rial available including lucuma, willow, and acacia (Prosopis juliflora), while
tree limbs, branches, and cane were employed for the construction of house
walls. Given the relative scarcity of wood, any large plant that could provide
house posts or beams was used, or even bound groups of branches (S. Pozorski
and T. Pozorski, 1986, p. 389). On the coast, serviceable material was even
procured from the slopes of the Andes, such as Fourcroya, which grows at
altitudes between 1450 and 3500 m (Fung Pineda, 1988, p. 78).
The use of stone depended upon its availability. At Aspero large rounded,
river cobbles were used for construction, while at E1 Parafso, stone was quarried
from nearby hills, often 30 m or less from the construction site. The river cob-
bles were used unmodified, while quarried rock was roughly trimmed. Both
types of stone were covered with clay plaster. At Huaricoto, a large platform
was made by creating a core of mixed clay and unmodified stones with a retain-
402 Quilter
ing wall of large stones braced by smaller rocks in a clay matrix mortar (Burger
and Salazar-Burger, 1985, p. 122).
No detailed studies are available describing the composition of various
earths used in building construction. A rather coarse mud appears commonly to
have served as a primary coating for stones, while finer layers, resembling plas-
ter-like coatings, were used to finish walls and floors. These materials were
often colored white, pink, or light blue (Quilter, 1985, p. 290) and red and
yellow paint was reported as present on the exterior walls of Unit I at El Parafso
(Napoli, 1967, p. 53). Adobe bricks do not appear to have been common at
Preceramic sites as they were in later epochs. Lumpy balls of various shapes
tending to ovoid forms and averaging 21 cm in length were found as fill, how-
ever, at E1 Parafso (Quilter, 1985, p. 295).
One of the most diagnostic features of coastal Late Preceramic and Initial
Period architecture is the use of "bagged fill" (shicra) in construction (Fig. 6).
The shicra consist of looped net bags made of unprocessed or minimally treated
sedges and filled with rocks, either river cobbles or quarried stone, depending
on availability. These modular units were used to fill rooms and other structures
for construction and rebuilding. Study of a small sample of eight bags from a
single room at E1 Parafso yielded a mean weight of 25.77 kg (Quilter, 1985, p.
295). Excavations in other rooms suggested that the average weight of shicra
varied between about 17 and 30 kg, and this may have been due to separate
work crews filling different rooms.
Fig. 6. Shicra (bagged fill) emptiedof rock fill, found at E1 Parafso.

The dry recitation of facts regarding construction given above belies the
impressive size of Late and Terminal Preceramic public architecture, which is
discussed more below. Coordination of efforts was essential to the construction
of these large architectural complexes. This must have included standard units
of measurement in order to erect large buildings efficiently. Data from E1 Par-
also suggested that a standard measurement unit of a division or multiple of a
"preceramic meter" between 80 and 100 cm was used (Quilter, 1985, p. 294).
Detailed reporting of measurements for other early architecture is only available
at La Galgada (Grieder et al., 1988) and Kotosh (Izumi and Temda, 1972). At
these sites (see also S. Pozorski and T. Pozorski, 1979, p. 351) measurements
are reported that commonly use 5- or 10-cm units. Whether this reflects actual
construction standards or the rounding-off of measurements by archaeologists
is unknown, and until studies are specifically done to examine units of Prece-
ramic measurement systems, most conclusions other than that such systems
were apparently in use would be premature.
Stone Tools
Chipped stone tools are common in the highlands but relatively rare on the
coast. In both domestic contexts, such as at Alto Salaverry (S. Pozorski and T.
Pozorski, 1979) and in refuse at large architectural complexes, they are quite
rare. At Asia, only four chipped stone points/knives, were found (Engel, 1963,
p. 56). Hardwood darts were recovered in association with spearthrowers at the
earlier Paracas site (Engel, 1963, p. 56, f.n. 21), and it is almost certain that
such weapons as well as slings were in use in the Late Preceramic. The relative
rarity of chipped stone tools on the coast is a further indication that subsistence
economies there were oriented toward farming and fishing, while the highlands
maintained a mixed economy that included hunting in an important role. Stone
points are found in Late Preceramic levels at highland Kotosh but decrease
through time and are absent in the final two ceramic phases at the site (Izumi
and Terada, 1972), perhaps correlating with the decreased role of hunting there.
The available information suggests that stone tools were made to produce
a serviceable edge, with bifacially worked choppers and scrapers being com-
mon, as well as minimally retouched flakes (see Bonavia, 1982, pp. 77-100;
Bird et al., 1985, pp. 77-91). Previous attempts at using projectile points for
relative chronology on the coast (Lanning and Hammel, 1961) have been cri-
tiqued (Chauchat, 1988), and a reevaluation of the problem for many parts of
Peru remains to be done, although the highland series have remained unchal-
lenged (e.g., Cardich, 1958, 1964).
Most of the raw materials for chipped stone tools appear to have been
local, including river and beach cobbles, commonly of quartzite, basalt of vary-
ing degrees of fineness of grain, chert, and the ubiquitous "greenstone" cited
in many archaeological reports, which is similar in workability to a fine-grained
404 Quilter
basalt. The exception to this is obsidian, of highland origin but found at coastal
sites, especially on the South Coast (e.g., Vescelius and Lanning, 1963). Burger
and Asaro (1977) have conducted trace element analyses of obsidian that define
three large, ancient interaction spheres in which obsidian was exchanged. The
pattern of intrahighland and highland-South Coast exchanges established in the
Preceramic, with relatively little obsidian on the North and Central coasts, con-
tinued throughout prehistory.
Ground stone artifacts are common at Late Preceramic sites. Many of them
are large ovoid cobbles which were modified through use rather than deliber-
ately shaped. Although no detailed assessment has been made, the mano and
metate appear to have been used more commonly than the batan, or rocker
stone, which became the most popular tool for grinding grain and other foods
later in prehistory. Other stone artifacts included various kinds of net sinkers--
often simply a grooved pebble or drilled slab of stone--as well as hammerstones
and pebbles ground along one edge. Rare items such as a drilled stone resem-
bling a pipe bowl fragment (Engel, 1963, Fig. 165) or a finely made pecked
stone bowl (Engel, 1963, Fig. 145) are also found. Modified fiat cobbles, some-
times grooved, served as axes (Feldman, 1980, p. 147), and small, flat round
cobbles served a variety of purposes, from grinding pigment to opening mol-
lusks (S. Pozorski and T. Pozorski, 1979, p. 356, Fig. 13; Quilter, 1985, p.
285).
Elaborate Preceramic ground stone objects include the remains of five mor-
tars (some with pestles) made of dense, fine-grained metamorphic stone, found
at La Galgada (Grieder, 1988a, pp. 99-101). In addition, a stone cup with an
engraved, grooved-step motif was found there. Made of a grainy, gray sand-
stone, it is believed to be an import and the style of its designs resembles Kotosh
Waira Jirca pottery (Grieder, 1988a, p. 101). At Aspero, a four-legged grinding
stone was found with an infant burial on the summit of a platform mound (Feld-
man, 1980, p. 147, Plate 12). Fung Pineda (1988, p. 71) has noted that a similar
artifact was found in an early ceramic context at Shillacoto, in the highlands
(Kano, 1972, pp. 148-149). So, too, notched, polished stone axes also may
have been exchanged over long distances. They are found at Kotosh from the
earliest levels through the remainder of the occupation (Izumi, 1971, Table 2).
Shell, Bone, and Wood

Few utilitarian tools were made of shell with the exception of fishhooks,
commonly cut from thick mussel shells. Sickle-shaped shell hooks (and one of
bone) were found with line attached at Asia (Engel, 1963, Fig. 129), and at
Huaca Prieta a thorn hook with cord was found (Bird et al., 1985, Fig. 168).
Mollusk valves, usually mussels, served as handy small containers in ancient
Peru, as in many other cultures, and shell paint cups were found at Huaca Prieta
Late Preeeramic Peru 405
(Bird et aI., 1985, p. 166). Omaments, including pendants and disk-shaped

beads, were commonly made of shell as well as other materials.
Teeth, horn, and bone served a wide variety of purposes from ornamen-
tation to utilitarian tools. At Asia, a large carved tooth may have been used as
a container (Engel, 1963, p. 142), while shark teeth were attached to the work-
ing end of a club (Engel, 1963, Fig. 138). The large size of whale bone made
it a useful material for shaping into picks, axes, and other tools (Engel, 1963,
p. 61). Mammal bones (probably sea lion and deer) were split and used as awls,
sometimes with only minimal modification. More work produced spatulas, chis-
els, and needles (see Engel, 1963, p. 61). Distinctive tools resembling flat awls,
commonly with a perforation at the proximal end, were in use for manufacturing
twined textiles by at least the Middle Preceramic (Quilter, 1989a, pp. 32-34)
when they were also worn around the neck in the manner of ornaments. Their
functional use apparently was complimented by a symbolic role as in evidence
by a decorated shell pendant resembling a textile tool found at E1 Parafso
(Fig. 7).
Cut bird and mammal bone tubes are present at Late Preceramic sites. At
Asia, some of these were found strung as necklaces (Engel, 1963, p. 53). Some-
times, the ends of these tubes were ground smooth, and it is possible that they
were used to inhale hallucenogenic snuff, since palettes likely used for this
purpose also have been found (Engel, 1963, p. 59).
Various pointed sticks, pegs, and other objects of unknown use commonly
are found on the arid coast. Wooden objects include spearthrowers, spears,
possible harpoon foreshafts (Engel, 1963, Fig. 136), trays, and tubes as well
as other items. Hardwood sticks, pointed or beveled, were likely employed in
digging wild plants, in agriculture, and to collect mollusks (see Engel, 1963,
pp. 55-67; Bird et al., 1985, pp. 220-227; Grieder, 1988a, pp. 95-96). At
Aspero, Feldman (1980, p. 145) found a number of short sticks with marks
indicating that they were lashed together with string in an arrangement similar
to that found in modem crab traps.
While objects for everyday use are well preserved in the arid coastal envi-
ronment, elaborately carved wooden objects are rare. Perhaps this is due to the
nature of available woods, their scarcity, or the emphasis on creative expression
in other media, such as textiles. An exceptional find of wooden artifacts was
made at Aspero. Part of a carved wooden bowl and about 135 flat, carved sticks
were found deposited in a pit dug along the centerline of the Huaca de Los
Fig. 7. Bone pendant incised and filled with blue material, found at E1 Pamfso.
406 Quilter
Sacrificios. The bowl was broken and partially burned but two frogs carved on
the outside in low relief remained on the preserved fragment. The sticks varied
in size from 1.5 to 8.5 cm. While more than half were undecorated, the rest
had been carved with a variety of lines, bumps, chevrons, and other geometric
designs (Feldman, 1980, pp. 136-145). A few undecorated sticks which gen-
erally resemble those found at Aspero have been illustrated for Asia (Engel,
1963, Fig. 181) but ethnographic analogues for these artifacts are unknown.
Industrial Plants and Fiber Crafts
Plants likely used for utilitarian purposes such as the soapberry (Sapindus
saponaria L.) and horsetail (Equisetum sp.), possibly used as a scouring pad,
have been found at E1 Para~so, and medicinal plants still in use today such as
Rapanea have also been recovered. At Aspero, Feldman (1980, p. 175)
recovered the remains of Luffa operculata, a wild cucurbit that produces fruit
now sometimes used in a dried form as a sponge. Cactus spines served as
needles, fish hooks, and in combs.
Gourds were the principal containers. They could be cut in a variety of
ways to serve as bottles, open-mouthed bowls, scoops, and ladles (e.g., Grieder,
1988a, Fig. 94 B). They were occasionally but not frequently decorated using
fine-line carving and pyroengraving. (Bird et al., 1985, p. 228; see Grieder,
1988a, Fig. 94c). Perhaps the most renowned Preceramic artifacts are the two
pyroengraved gourds found with a burial at Huaca Prieta (Bird et al., 1985, pp.
70-74). Gourds were useful not only as containers but also as net floats. At
Huaca Prieta, Bird (et al., 1985, p. 225) discovered the remains of a large seine
net with eight long-necked bottle gourds tied to it as floats. In addition, pieces
of gourd were made into enigmatic disks. Small disks were used to plug the
gourd floats at Huaca Prieta, but large ones, sometimes with perforations at
their margins, range in size from 3 to 7 cm (Bird et al., 1985, pp. 226-227)
and their use is unknown (see Quilter, 1989a, pp. 28-32).
Twine and cordage were made from sedges, cactus (Cereus sp. and oth-
ers), and Furcraea sp. The ubiquitous bromeliads of the coastal region (e.g.,
Tillandsia latifolia Meyen) were a primary source of fuel and also served as
fibers for cordage (Grieder, 1988b, p. 155). Some of the most common mate-
rials found at Preeeramic sites are fragments of basts [Fourcroya (occiden-
talis?); milkweed (Asclepias spp.)] (see Bird et al., 1985, pp. 102-105) and
rushes which were used for a wide variety of purposes. The rushes are com-
monly referred to with the generic term, .junco, but are actually either Scirpus
totora, Scirpus sp., or Cyperus sp. In addition, objects made of human hair,
usually cords or string, occur regularly but infrequently at coastal sites.
In addition to the shicra bags, already mentioned, a variety of baskets and
mats, cordage, clothing, and many other objects were made from wild fibers.
Only four Late Preceramic site reports discuss fiber arts in detail (Bird et al.,
1985; Bonavia, 1982; Engel, 1963; Grieder et al., 1988), and most of the fol-
lowing is taken from them.
The use of baskets may have been highly variable during the Late Precer-
amic. A total of 272 basket fragments was found at Huaca Prieta (Bird et al.,
1985, p. 92) and basket fragments appear to be fairly common at La Galgada,
though the total number of fragments is not reported (Grieder, 1988b, p. 152).
But only two basket fragments were found at Asia (Engel, 1963, p. 52), and
none were found at Los Gavilanes (Bonavia, 1982).
The basketry that has been recovered consists of twined and woven vari-
eties as well as examples with alternating combinations of the two techniques.
Twill weave is present but not common. As is also the case with matting and
finer junco and bast textiles, occasional examples of baskets with cotton wefts
are found such as two instances at Huaca Prieta, one of which was done in
designs resembling those on cotton textiles (Bird et al., 1985, Fig. 62). A fine
example of an almost-complete basket of oblique interlaced totora was found
at La Galgada (Grieder, 1988b, Fig. 100).
Net fragments found at many sites may represent carrying devices that
could have served many (though not all) of the same purposes as baskets. Both
knotted and looped varieties and small and large meshes are found. The use of
nets in economies which emphasized fishing might partly explain the absence
of baskets at some of these sites but it is likely that the use of basketry was tied
to specific economic or other factors which produced the observed variability.
Mats were used for a wide variety of purposes such as floor covers and
roofing material and, probably, as wraps and sleeping pallets. Burials were
commonly wrapped in them. Of 76 mats found at Huaca Prieta, 7 were woven
and the rest twined (Bird et al., 1985, p. 98). A total of 155 specimens was
recovered from Asia, all of which were twined. Mats were plain twined,
although two cases of split-paired twining were found at Huaca Prieta (Bird et
al., 1985, p. 99).
The outstanding hallmark of the Late Preceramic Period is the use of cotton
textiles (Fig. 8). The appreciation of the accomplishments of Late Preceramic
peoples was first stirred by the work of Junius Bird and his assistant, Milica
Dimitrijevic Skinner. Careful examination of what, at first glance, appeared to
be plain white cotton cloth revealed elaborate designs. Once made of colored
yarn which faded, the designs themselves had been twined into the textile and
were reconstructed by recording the patterns of the transposed-warp yarns used
to make them (Skinner, in Bird et al., 1985, pp. 146-190).
An adequate accounting of the variety of cotton textile techniques would
require much more space than allotted here, and detailed discussion is best left
to experts in the field. The following represents a summary of some of the
significant features of the craft and art of textile work in the Late Preceramic
Period. The best discussion is given in Bird et al. (1985).
408 Quilter
Fig, 8, Cotton textile and its design, found at Huaca Prieta. (Reproduced courtesy of De-
partment of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Cat. No. 41.2/1205.)
Twining, in which weft yarns turn around the warps rather than interlace
with them as in weaving, was the predominant Preceramic technique for cotton
textiles. Weaving is rare but present in small items, such as belts. Cotton appears
to have been used first as wefts in textiles of junco and similar materials and
then, later, for entire textiles. Different categories of textiles are based on the
handling of warps, and the major ones are plain twining, split-pair twining,
twining with transposed warps, and twining with supplementary warps (Skin-
ner, in Bird et aI., 1985, p. 112). This simple statement does not accurately
convey the rich variety of textiles produced, however, especially when addi-
tional features such as combinations of techniques (including embroidery), var-
iations in selvage treatment, and pigments, dyes, and design varieties are added.
The most common designs on Preceramic textiles include geometrics such
as zigzag bands (Enget, 1963, pp. 33, 35) and geometricized bird, serpent,
feline, and human figures (e.g., Grieder, 1988b, pp. 166-181). At Huaca Prieta,
rock crabs and shrimp are also depicted (Skinner, in Bird et al., 1985, pp. 146-
194). These designs were commonly made by looping at La Galgada and by
the use of transposed warps at Huaca Prieta. An Escher-like, interlocking style
in which one animal is the mirror image of another and body parts fill spaces
between the openings in another figure is quite common in Late Preceramic

textiles, a style which regained popularity in the Early Intermediate Period (ca.
2150 B,P.-1400 B.P.) on the Central Coast, There is enough unity in general
designs and techniques to suggest that ideas and technology were shared in a
common cultural system throughout much of the Central Andes in the Late
Preceramic.
Natural variations in cotton color from white to dark brown were used.
Red pigment was observed on textiles from Los Gavilanes (Bonavia, 1982, pp.
104-105) and Rfo Seco (Wendt, 1976, p. 39), while at least two shades of blue
(light, "powder" blue and " n a v y " blue) and a deep red were found in yarns
at E1 Parafso. The same colors are reported for Huaca Prieta as well as various
shades of brown and tan (Bird et al., 1985,pp. 142-144). These colors were
found at La Galgada as well as yellow, which was quite common, and a rare,
bright emerald green (Grieder, 1988b, pp. 180-181). Red, orange, and blue
colored wool yarn is reported from Asia (Engel, 1963, p. 101).
Finally, feather work, used for spectacular effects in later prehistoric times,
first appears in the Late Preceramic Period. Examples of feather working have
been found at Asia (Engel, 1963, p. 39, Fig. 80) and as a likely dedicatory
offering at Aspero (Feldman, 1980, pp. 135-136, Fig. 37), while feather down
was found on floors at La Galgada (Grieder, 1988,pp. 73-75) and at El Parafso.
Birds could have been kept in almost any temperate region of Peru and parrots
are known to have occupied the lomas. Some of the more exotic plumage, such
as the red and yellow feathers found at Aspero, may have been imports from
tropical regions.
In summary, Late Preceramic peoples were masters of textile art and had
already pioneered many advanced techniques, which were to be elaborated to
even greater extents with the introduction of the heddle loom in the Initial
Period. These textiles likely served a range of purposes from the utilitarian
pursuit of making a living to fulfilling roles as valued prestige goods in social
interactions. Variations in techniques and styles that have chronological or
regional patterning remain to be studied in depth.
Clothing, Adornment, and Items of Personal Use
Many of the textiles discussed above are represented by fragments. Burial
data, especially in evidence at Asia and La Galgada, suggest that many of the
items from which such fragments come were cloaks or blankets. No examples
of shaped and sewn garments have been reported for Late Preceramic sites,
although examples of different cloths sewn together are present (Engel, 1963,
p. 40). None of the burials found at La Galgada exhibited the remains of any
body clothing other than mantles, mats, large nets, interlaced belts, and head
coverings. So, too, no distinct clothing was found at Rfo Seco, where large
numbers of burials were found (Wendt, 1976, p. 40),and at Asia the most corn-
410 Quilter
mort textiles found were large, cloak-like pieces of cloth, belts, and an occa-
sional cap (Engel, 1963).
While Preceramic representations of humans are rare, clay figurines found
at Aspero (Feldman, 1980, p. 152, Fig. 40) provide suggestions as to how
cloaks may have been worn (Fig. 9). A figurine of a male shows a thigh-length
skirt that rises above the waist, with a large band depicted at stomach level.
This band may represent a rolled section of a larger cloth. The figure also wears
a large, flat-topped hat, apparently with side and back flaps on it, and has braided
hair falling down its front to the level of the nipples. It also exhibits a large
,.'.:..: : ......:;f,,.£,=.~.,:
55:.:::..'~~.',..i¢'~'~:~
~.~.;i-,~:;:: ,~:~. , ..
__~'2:5:
:%:;:~;'~z:"
~lcm~
Fig. 9. Aspero figurine. (Reproduced cour-
tesy of Robert A. Fe|dman.)
necklace of distinctive, rectangular-shaped beads. It is thus likely that the large

mantles found in various Preceramic graves were shaped by folding and rolling
for different kinds of costume and the belts commonly found in graves may
have been used in aid of supporting such apparel.
Other fiber clothing includes sandals (Bird et al., 1985, Fig. 161; Grieder,
1988b, Fig. 98), armbands, and tassels (Engel, 1963, pp. 44-45). Small bags,
probably to hold personal belongings, are ubiquitous for the time period. They
were specially made and include occasional examples of purse-like objects of
sewn barkcloth (Grieder, 1988b, p. 153). The famous Huaca Prieta gourds were
found in a small bag in association with a female burial.
Head coverings appear fairly frequently in burials and there are net caps
as well as the turban-like hat discussed above. Beaded caps may have been high
status items such as one decorated with white beads found at La Galgada
(Grieder, 1988, pp. 76, 82). A similar cap, decorated with flat, trapezoid-shaped
beads, was found on a young infant placed with other items as an offering at
the Huaca de los Sacrificios at Aspero (Feldman, 1980, pp. 114-117).
While the Aspero figurine depicts long, at least partly braided hair, else-
where hair may have been worn short (Engel, 1963, p. 69), although at La
Galgada there is evidence that the hair of burials was cut short at the time of
death (Grieder, 1988,p. 75). Grooming was carried out by the use of combs;
examples made of rows of huarango or cactus spines bound with cotton yam
have been found (Engel, 1963, p. 60). Skulls are occasionally encountered
which appear to have been deliberately deformed, but no detailed studies have
been made, and if the practice did exist, it was not widespread. Trephination
was observed in two instances at Asia, and one skull had been trephined twice
(Engel, 1963, p. 69), but again, the practice was rare. There is no evidence for
tattooing in the Late Preceramic, although despite the excellent preservation of
organic remains, the recovery of large sections of skin is rare for burials of the
time period.
Large bone pins with flat, decorated ends which appear to have been worn
in women's hair (Grieder, 1988, Fig. 74) were found at La Galgada. Some of
them are inlaid with large pieces of a turquoise-like material, while others are
plain or bear geometric incisions. Grieder (1988a, p. 83) notes that while these
pins could have served to fasten clothing, none have been found in contexts
that indicate this practice. Similar pins of wood and bone have been found at
Los Gavilanes (Bonavia, 1982, Foto 27a,b) as well as in the Preceramic Mito
Assemblage at Kotosh (Izumi, 1971, Fig. 90).
When the Spanish encountered the Inka nobles they referred to them as
orejones because of their large ear plugs. Preceramic ear plugs made of wood
were found at Asia (Engel, 1963, p. 54) and La Galgada (Grieder, 1988, Fig.
65), and the latter bore traces of white shell glued on its exterior and had a
center hole for inclusion of a stone or other material.
412 Quilter
There are a wide variety and great number of beads and pendants from
Preceramic sites, from simple mollusk shells exhibiting little modification to
highly polished and decorative stone beads. As in many cultures, any impres-
sive natural object such as large teeth or claws could be used as decoration.
Shell and bone were the most common raw materials for manufactured beads,
with stone appearing less frequently. A wide variety of shapes is known, rang-
ing from tubular to disk and other shapes. A necklace made of bone pendants
carved to resemble claws was found at La Galgada (Grieder, 1988, Fig. 78).
Patterns in bead sizes and materials have yet to be studied in detail and might
provide evidence of standardization in exchange systems in Preceramic Peru.
There are rare occurrences of Spondylusprinceps shells or shell artifacts
at Preceramic sites. Today, this thomy oyster with a bright red shell and interior
rim is found nearest to Peru in the warm offshore waters of southern Ecuador
(Paulsen, 1974), and all indications suggest that its distribution has been con-
stant for at least five millennia. In later Peruvian prehistory Spondylus was con-
sidered extremely valuable, as food of the gods, and it is almost a certainty that
it was also highly valued during the Preceramic. While Spondylus is rare at
most Preceramic sites, there was a fair amount found in the high status burials
at La Galgada (Grieder, 1988a, pp. 94-95), suggesting that it was in circula-
tion, but carefully curated by those lucky enough to own it.
A third highly valued material in Late Preceramic Peru was a red, com-
pacted ferruginous diatomite stone (see Grieder, 1988a, p. 87). It is also infre-
quently found, but when encountered it is usually carved into distinctive double-
holed, rectangular beads with biconvex cross sections. Such beads have been
reported for Aspero, Bandurria, Rfo Seco, and Los Chinos, on the North Coast,
and they apparently are depicted on the necklace of the Aspero figurine, dis-
cussed above.
No source has yet been identified for this stone. Given its rarity, in addition
to the infrequent discovery of artifacts made from it, as well as the distinctive
style in which it was carved, it is likely that this bead style was a high prestige
item in Late Preceramic Peru. At La Galgada, however, the material was also
found in the form of long, curving, flat rectanguloid beads, one of which still
contained a circular green stone inlay (Grieder, 1988a, p. 87). The red color of
both the diatomite stone and Spondylus shells may have been tied to particular
religious beliefs found elsewhere in the use of red pigment in burials and offer-
ings and extending well back beyond the Late Preceramic Period. Furthermore,
the distinctive biconvex, rectanguloid, double-holed shape of the stone beads
is also found in some examples in Spondylus, again at La Galgada (Grieder,
1988a, p. 90), suggesting a symbolic relationship of the stone and the shell
based in their red coloration. The distinctive bead style appears to have been
reserved for only the finest of materials, further suggesting that it was associated
with prestige systems.
Raw materials for lapidary work besides those already mentioned included
turquoise-like green stones, especially common at La Galgada as inlays. Iron
pyrite, anthracite, and, possibly, magnetite as well as material identified as
amber were materials used for beads, pendants, inlays, or miscellaneous objects
at La Galgada (Grieder, 1988a, p. 83). A dark blue material resembling lapis
lazuli has been found as an inlay, probably crushed and mixed with a glue, in
two objects at E1 Paraiso (see Fig. 7). The closest source for lapis, however,
is extreme southern Peru or Chile, and it has not been definitively reported as
present at Preceramic sites.
In addition to beads, a wide variety of miscellaneous small items is present
at Late Preceramic sites. These include an especially fine inlaid shell pendant
of a rabbit and outstanding examples of carved and inlaid disks (some of which
may be Initial Period) found at La Galgada (Grieder, 1988, pp. 88-94). Some
of these may have been fetishes, and unusually shaped natural objects, such as
rocks, are reminiscent of huacas (sacred objects) described for the Inka. Rock
crystal is occasionally found and may have been associated with shamanistic
practices.
Mortuat~y Practices
Compared to Middle Preceramic burials, those of the Late Preceramic
exhibit more formalized interment practices and more numerous and elaborate
grave goods. Middle Preceramic burials are generally characterized by flexed
bodies buried beneath or sometimes on the floor of houses. The dead were
usually wrapped in one or more junco mats and sometimes finer textiles accom-
panied by offerings of everyday objects such as textile tools, projectile points,
and so forth (Quilter, 1989a). Late Preceramic burials continued the tradition
of wrapping the dead in textiles, following a trajectory that led to the elaborate
mummies of later prehistory. Another trend that continues from Middle through
Late Preceramic is the burial of children, either as offerings, such as at Aspero,
or with or near adults in cemetery areas. This practice seems to associate chil-
dren with concepts associated with fertility (see Quilter, 1989a), which culmi-
nated in the use of the young as sacrificial victims during Inka times.
It is surprising and unfortunate that relatively few burials have been found
at Late Preceramic sites. Five burials were found at E1 Parafso, only one of
which was an adult. They were found on floors inside Unit I and the adult was
buried below ground next to the front wall of the structure. (Ojeda, personal
communication, 1983). Similarly, only a few nondedicatory burials were found
at Aspero, where they were found in midden or lying on the floors of buildings
(Feldman, 1980, pp. 114-123). Again, at Alto Salaverry, a relatively small site,
two burials were found, one in the fill of a platform and the other in domestic
refuse (S. Pozorski and T. Pozorski, 1979). What special circumstances, if any,
led to the deposition of these dead in locales associated with monumental archi-
414 Quilter
tecture or in domestic architecture are, of course, unknown, but no cemetery

areas for the population at large have been found for E1 Parafso, Aspero, or
Alto Salaverry.
The greatest number of burials for a Late Preceramic Site has been found
at Asia (Engel, 1963), where 49 funeral bundles were excavated. These were
placed below the floor of a rectangular walled compound and treated in gener-
ally the same manner as their Middle Preceramic ancestors--flexed bodies
wrapped in textiles. The greater number of artifacts, mostly of quotidian nature,
may simply be the result of a more sedentary life-style than existed in the Mid-
dle Preceramic. However, an analysis of the frequency of textile offerings
(Moseley, 1978, p. 13) indicates that a few individuals were given dispropor-
tionately more and finer grave goods than the majority of interments. The fact
that these richer burials were found in the same structure as those with fewer
goods, however, suggests that they represent higher-ranking members of the
same social group, probably the inhabitants of the structure in which they were
buried. Significantly, what appear to be trophy heads as well as headless bodies
were found at this site (Engel, 1963, pp. 94, 99, 100, 1t5), indicating the
earliest evidence for this tradition, as well as indicating raiding or warfare in
the region.
Another Late Preceramic site that yielded numerous burials is Rfo Seco
(Wendt, 1964), where 42 burials were found (13 adults, 10 children, 19 infants).
Unfortunately, specific details of the location of the human remains excavated
at the site, in or near six platform mounds, are not given in the available report.
However, Wendt (1976, p. 32) does note that both Spondylus and double-holed
red beads were found with one burial (or, at most, two).
The remains of 27 adults with an uncertain number of younger individuals
ranging from juveniles to young infants were found at La Galgada (Malina,
1988). Most of the adults were extended rather than flexed, and they were placed
in finely made stone and adobe chambers that had formerly been used for cer-
emonial purposes on the summits of two large mounds. Many of the dead
appeared to have been arranged in groups of three or more. Specialized mor-
tuary practices are in evidence, such as the cutting of the dead's hair and its
placement next to the body in a basket or bag. Rare and fancy artifacts found
with the dead, such as inlaid bone pins, stone cups, red double-holed beads,
and other items, are evidence, in combination with the special place and mode
of burial, that these individuals had high status in the society of their time. The
fact that it is unlikely that all of the individuals in any one tomb died simulta-
neously suggests that the crypts were kept open so that all the members of a
kin unit designated to be buried together could be placed in a chamber (Grieder
et al., 1988, p. 196), and groups of chambers were stacked on top of one another
as the mounds rose through time, as former ceremonial rooms were converted
into tombs and new ritual chambers were built above them.
The available data on mortuary practices indicate the development of non-

egalitarian social system~ in Late Preceramic Peru. While finer chronological
controls as well as more burials are necessary to delineate trends and to examine
the question of ranking more fully, current evidence suggests that some people
had higher status than others. The way in which status was gained and the
degree to which status separated an individual who had it from his or her fellows
may have varied from place to place or through time. At Asia, it appears that
achieved status may have been the rule, while at Rfo Seco the little evidence
available suggests a narrowing of status positions to one or two individuals,
although lack of information encourages caution in interpretation.
The La Galgada data are important both because burials were found in
monumental architecture and because the information is reported in the greatest
detail for any Late Preceramic site with more than a handful of burials. It is
significant that numbers of individuals were entombed in ceremonial chambers
and that many chambers are found for any one excavation level and for the site
as a whole. This suggests that while some members of society had a higher
status in life than others and that their high rank was recognized by special
funeral arrangements, the focus of power in La Galgada society was not nar-
rowly focused on a small ruling group but likely spread through the senior ranks
of important corporate kin groups such as lineages or clans.
This seems especially true from the fact that while the grave goods found
with these dead were elaborate for the culture from which they came, these
items do not express extraordinary wealth except, perhaps, for access to some
exotic goods such as the red stone. So, too, while a comparative sample of
human remains from burials not placed in ritual chambers would be useful, and
an expert's judgment would help, the robustness of La Galgada male skeletons,
signs of arthritis, and other pathologies seem to indicate that the dead in the
chambers were not exempt from hard physical labor in their lives. As with so
many other aspects of Late Preceramic Peruvian archaeology, future research
will be necessary to clarify the evidence for social differences during the time,
especially as in evidence through burials.
Summary
Our current view of Late Preceramic achievements shows human societies
that had learned to exploit local environments quite successfully and had devel-
oped distinct social and ideological means to reproduce themselves and their
societies. While much basic descriptive work remains to be done, a chief con-
cern for future work is the delineation of culture change in both temporal and
spatial dimensions. To what degree is observed variability real or the result of
an incomplete account of the archaeological record? For example, present evi-
dence suggests that long-distance exchange for exotic goods was taking place,
416 Quilter
yet subsistence economies appear to have remained relatively localized and slow
to change. Additionally, the two great strengths of archaeology in Peru are also
potential weaknesses.
First, the excellent preservation of archaeological remains in the coastal
environment biases our views of the relative importance of that region as
opposed to the highlands, where preservation is not as good. In addition, the
ability to recover remains that would have vanished from the archaeological
record in other world regions may encourage biases regarding the precocious-
ness of early Peruvian societies. For example, while it is true that textiles played
an extremely important role in Peruvian civilization from very early times, this
does not necessarily mean that they did not play similar roles in other early
societies for which we have proportionately fewer remains to study.
Second, Andeanists have a rich source of ethnohistoric data on the societies
that occupied western South America immediately before the Spanish Con-
quest, especially the Inka. While the Andean region is not unique in the avail-
ability of such material, archaeologists working in Peru and neighboring
countries commonly attempt to search for the earliest evidence of such things
as "verticality" and other organizational and ideological systems known for
late prehistoric times. While this is a right and proper thing to do, the danger
exists that an overeager search for such systems will blur or distort detection of
earlier, different behavioral and ideological patterns before later forms were
developed. Despite these caveats, however, few Andeanists would sacrifice the
preservational qualities of coastal sites or the ethnohistoric record with an argu-
ment that a clearer picture of the past could thus be gained!
THE SOCIAL AND I D E O L O G I C A L WORLDS OF LATE

P R E C E R A M I C PERU AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF C O R P O R A T E
ARCHITECTURE
Fewer than a dozen Late Preceramic sites have been investigated to any
great extent, and published reports on them vary in the degree of detail pre-
sented. Most of this work has concentrated on large-scale architectural com-
plexes. In contrast, few data are available on domestic architecture outside of
the context of monumental sites. Attention has been paid to the larger sites,
partly because many scholars have thought them to be the first evidence of
hierarchized societies in ancient Peru, although the interpretation of such sites
is open to debate.
There is a high degree of variability in Late Preceramic monumental archi-
tecture and controls for temporal, regional, and social factors that might under-
lie such differences are poorly developed. Generally, monumental sites used
combinations of truncated pyramids, terraces, and sunken pits or courts, often
with the use of a ventilated central fire pit, and interplayed rectilineality with
circular and/or rounded architectural concepts. In addition, the spatial arrange-

ment of structures, in relation both to the landscape and to each other are prom-
inent and varied characteristics of Late Preceramic architecture. These
architectural canons appear to be elaborations on earlier themes and simpler
constructions as in evidence in the upper and middle Zafia Valley on the far
North Coast (Dillehay and Netherly, 1983; Dillehay et al., 1989), Piedras
Negras, near the Santa Valley in coastal Peru (Deza, 1988), and, perhaps early
public constructions in semitropical forest areas such as Real Alto in Ecuador
(Lathrap et al., 1977).
The themes found in these early public constructions--terraces, sunken
rooms, and infant burials--are elaborated in the Late Preceramic Period. In the
Supe Valley, the sites of Piedra Parada and Aspero represent relatively early
examples of corporate architecture in the Late Preceramic Period (Feldman,
1980, 1985). Piedra Parada consists of at least four flat-topped mounds, with
upper and lower terraces on some mounds and, in front of at least one structure,
evidence of a sunken, circular plaza. Aspero has three principal mounds whose
sizes are due partly to their construction on top of natural hills, as at Asia
(Engel, 1963), where a similar pattern of apparent random placement of mounds
is found, and the same holds true for Rio Seco (Wendt 1964, 1976), and site
CA-09-04 in Zafia (T. Dillehay, personal communication, 1991).
Late and Terminal Preceramic monumental sites generally are arranged in
a system of imperfect bilateral symmetry. For example, at Salinas de Chao, a
series of terraces ascends the hill slope, with central stairways in Unit B (Alva,
1986), a pattern similar to that found at Huaynumi (T. Pozorski and S. Pozorski,
1990), while at E1 Parafso most of the complex forms a rough U shape com-
posed of separate buildings (Figs. 10 and 11). At Salinas de Chao, however,
different masses of more or less symmetrical architecture are placed next to each
other in less than symmetrical order, and at El Parafso smaller buildings appear
outside of the overall U pattern. These appear to be due to site growth in which
the original intent at symmetry was not maintained. At Aspero (Feldman, 1980)
the frog bowl and marked sticks offering were found in a pit on an axial line
with the infant burial found on the Huaca de Los Sacrificios (Feldman, 1980,
pp. 136, 141), even though the overall site plan does not conform to any readily
observable organized principle.
At Aspero, the main mounds appear to have been built in locales which
take advantage of the heights of hills. However, the principal mounds at both
Piedra Parada (Feldman, 1980, p. 98) and E1 Para/so (Quilter, 1985, p. 282)
are oriented to N 25 °E. This alignment oriented the sites toward the NE and
SW maxima of the Milky Way, and the axis perpendicular to this orientation is
directed to the rising of the sun at the Summer Solstice (December) in the east
and the setting of the sun of the Winter Solstice (June) to the west as calculated
for the years ca. 3450 B.P. (Urton, personal communication, 1991). This sug-
418 Quilter
77o07~30"
77o07,30"
Fig. 10. Map of E1 Parafso.
gests that astrocosmological concepts known to have been important for the
Inka were established in Preceramic times. Other sites, however, appear to have
had different orientations (cf. Carlos Williams, 1980, 1985). At Kotosh, Late
Preceramic (Mito) temples are oriented to north and south, while at Huaricoto
ceremonial hearths appear to point up or down the valley or, possibly, to snow-
capped mountain peaks (Burger and Salazar-Burger, 1986, pp. 75-76).
©
L~
-4
420 Quilter
Trends in architectural styles are not entirely clear. Burger and Salazar-
Burger (1985, p. 134) note that at Huaricoto larger and more substantial ritual
chambers were built through time, but these trends are not unilinear. The same
pattern holds true for La Galgada, although in the final stages of occupation, in
the early Initial Period, separate chambers in the biggest (North) mound were
replaced by a U-shaped temple complex with elevated platforms on three sides,
and a similar pattern may have occurred in the South Mound, although the
preservation of the final building stages was not as good as that in the larger
building (Grieder and Mendoza, 1988, pp. 43-67). Aspem is one of the oldest
monumental sites excavated and so the use of natural hills might be interpreted
as an early technique in mound construction. However, the dates for Asia, where
the same technique was employed, are among the latest for Late Preceramic
sites, although only one of several mounds was excavated, leaving the question
of the date for original construction open. There does appear to be increasing
symmetry of rooms and larger central rooms employed in Late Preceramic--
Initial Period architecture through time, such as can be seen in the sites exca-
vated in the Casma Valley (S. Pozorski and T. Pozorski, 1987; T. Pozorski
and S. Pozorski, 1990), but there appear to be exceptions, and only future work
will be able to clarify what is now a rather complicated picture of variability.
The use of sunken plazas, courts, or floors is a major element in Late
Preceramic architecture. Richard Burger and Lucy Salazar-Burger (1980, 1985,
1986) have identified the Kotosh Religious Tradition as the religious system
which was the principle on which much of Late Preceramic and early Initial
Period architecture was built. The religion expressed itself in the construction
of ceremonial hearths commonly sunken below the surrounding floor level of
an enclosing chamber (Fig. 12) and measuring between 3 and 7 m in maximum
width. This area was sacred and kept clean of everyday materials, while offer-
ings were placed in the fire during rituals. As noted above, an essential part of
the Kotosh Religious Tradition was the deliberate closing and sealing of ritual
chambers and the construction of new ones on top of them. At La Galgada the
sealing of chambers was linked to mortuary practices during the heyday of the
site, while at Huaricoto and Kotosh its chambers were never used for such
purposes.
Evidence for the practice of the Kotosh Religious Tradition is found at
many sites, especially in the Peruvian highlands. Elsewhere, religious architec-
ture sometimes appears to represent variations or outgrowths of the Kotosh sys-
tem. For example, at E1 Parafso, Unit I has a large sunken, almost square, pit
(4.5 × 4.25 m), the floor of which shows considerable burning, as opposed to
the smaller multiple hearths of ovoid form found at Huaricoto or the circular
hearth in a sunken rectangular form found at the type site. It has been suggested
that the Kotosh Religious Tradition was widespread and practiced at major cer-
emonial centers but later maintained only as a "Little Tradition" at small sites,
Fig. 12. Cut-away view of stylized Kotosh Religious Tradition

ritual chamber.
such as Huaricoto, while the "Great Tradition" of large centers developed new
ideologies and forms of worship (Burger and Salazar-Burger, 1980).
The activities that took place inside the ceremonial chambers involved a
number of people gathered around a central fire and making offerings. The fact
that benches are quite common in these structures suggests that the ceremoni-
alism carried out in them took place over a fairly long period of time--probably
several hours, if accommodation was made for seating. Given the dimensions
of the benches in chambers reported for the various sites in which they occur,
a maximum of 10 or 12 adults probably could have been seated in an average
chamber, although there is variability in the size of these rooms and different
sizes may be related to groups of different sizes that met in them.
Offerings found in hearths at Huaricoto included marine shell, meat, and
clear quartz (Burger and Salazar-Burger, 1985, p. 121). Sacrality may have
been confirmed through the sprinkling of bird down as found on floors at La
Galgada and at E1 Para/so. Graffiti found on walls at E1 Parafso, Cardal (Burger
and Burger, 1990), and (Early Horizon) Bat~in Grande (Shimada, 1986, pp.
177-180) suggest that they may have been the result of religious activity, per-
haps done during a drug-influenced state. Snuff trays are found at Preceramic
sites, and coca and alcohol were used for rites in later prehistory, so it is likely
422 Quilter
that participants in rituals were under the influence of drugs; it has also been
suggested that chilis were fed to fires to produce tears symbolic of water and
its regenerative properties (Grieder and Bueno Mendoza, 1985, p. 107). The
presence of nonutilitarian canals adjacent to hearths at Huaricoto indicates that
rites to control water and agricultural activity may have been tied to the activ-
ities in rooms at some sites (Burger and Satazar-Burger, t985, p. 129).
There is no overt iconographic symbolism in the form of paintings or friezes
in these ceremonial chambers. One exception to this is the Templo de Los Manos
Cruzados at Kotosh, which contains a pair of molded clay crossed arms below
niches on each side of the doorway flanking the rectangular chamber. The var-
iation of left arm over right and the reverse in the pair is an example of the
complimentary and opposing nature of religious symbolism commonly found
in the Andes and elsewhere. In the Templo Blanco at Kotosh small, crude,
anthropomorphic figurines, a small vessel, and a small object resembling a gourd
or squash, all made of unbaked clay, were found in niches (Izumi, 1971, p.
64). They were likely used in association with the rituals carried out in the
chamber and probably associated with rites of regeneration and fertility, as also
is in evidence by child burials at Aspero and Piedras Negras. Ceremonial arti-
cles were on a small, personal scale, appropriate to the small size of the group
involved in the ceremony, rather than large public symbols. Social solidarity
was reinforced through personal communication and the intimacy of sharing a
sacred experience rather than through appeal to an objectified social reality pro-
jected outward, as separate from the people themselves who were involved in
rituals, as is the case in monumental works of art.
The large size of monumental sites has led to the inference that centralized
planning was essential to their construction, and this centralized planning is
usually assumed to indicate the existence of a ranked or stratified society. But
it also has been suggested that a dozen people working full-time could have
built a Kotosh temple in less than a month (Burger and Salazar-Burger, 1986,
p. 7t), while millions of person-hours were needed to build large centers (Rav-
ines, 1979; Patterson, 1985, p. 66).
An important issue that remains to be addressed with regard to the con-
struction and use of public architecture is the number of buildings and amount
of space used at any one time in the history of a site. As archaeologists we are
looking at the final building stages of most structures and they are more impres-
sive than a site may have appeared at any time during most of its use. Without
doubt, planning and organization of labor were necessary for construction of
the impressive edifices of the Terminal Preceramic but the critical question for
understanding the social implications of the architecture is how highly orga-
nized and hierarchized such systems were.
At present, little has been done to examine the ways in which labor might
have been organized in the building of sites. The apparent use of standardized
measures and, perhaps, weights has already been raised, but such systems do
not necessarily indicate social hierarchy. It has been suggested that shicra were
used as a means of labor tax (Feldman, 1980, p. 212), a proposition that assumes
or implies an overarching hierarchy. There is no evidence other than the bags
themselves, however, to demonstrate that a count may have been kept of the
rate of work. The likelihood that rooms were filled with bags of different aver-
age weights may suggest that relatively small social units were responsible for
filling individual rooms. If the rooms were the habitations or ceremonial quar-
ters associated with such kin groups, as appears likely at least for chambers of
the Kotosh Religious Tradition, filling could have been accomplished without
much of a centralized, higher authority giving orders.
Differing weights of shicra may actually indicate that each worker used
whatever volume of stone was most comfortable to move. If track was being
kept of the amount of labor being done by individuals or groups, it may have
been on the basis of tasks, such as the filling-in of a room, rather than in the
number of bags made or hours on the job. In addition, Bernardino Ojeda (per-
sonal communication, 1983) has noted that the method of tying bags, by twist-
ing junco cords around one another, is such that the shicra could not have been
easily made before they were filled with stone. Fibers were gathered from marsh
areas, brought to the quarry, and then twisted around the stones as they were
placed in the mesh, so that the bag and its fill were assembled simultaneously.
While a number of alternative methods are possible, the most efficient arrange-
ment of labor for these tasks might be to have separate work crews specializing
in quarrying the stone, making bags, and carrying them to the room to be filled.
While carriers could help in making bags, efficiency would be greatest if they
only carried shicra. This organization of labor could lend itself to one in which
the strongest adult males served as carriers, women and perhaps children made
bags, and older men quarried stone. While it never may be possible to dem-
onstrate that this system was in effect, it does suggest how labor could have
been organized on a family or corporate kin-group level without the need for a
highly structured social system (see Burger and Salazar-Burger, 1986; Diltehay,
1990).
At Et Parafso a large stone accompanied by offerings was found enclosed
in a wall in Unit I (Fig. 11) (Engel, 1966a, p. 68). The stone resembles Inka
huacas, which were rocks or other natural objects commonly believed to rep-
resent corporate group ancestors. The E1 Parafso stone was covered in red pig-
ment and wrapped with cotton cloth. Accompanying it were gourd bowls filled
with food and a miniature shicra. Instead of stones, the bag was filled with
ovoid white cakes wrapped in leaves. Analysis of these materials by myself and
Dean Katahira of the Ripon College Department of Chemistry has revealed that
424 Quilter
the cakes are composed of time. The leaves are definitely not coca, and although
they resemble small pacae leaves, no sure identification of them has been made
to date.
This E1 Paraiso offering presents a number of important points for consid-
eration. First, it establishes a clear precedent for the concept and form of huaeas
as found in later prehistory. Second, it suggests that some form of leaf chewing
with lime as an agent likely was in use before the widespread adoption of coca.
Finally, it suggests that the corporate enterprise of constructing monumental
sites was imbued with an aura of sacrality. The miniature bag is a symbolic
statement of the relationship between human labor and ritual concems, perhaps
in the same way that ceremonial chrome shovels are used for ground-breaking
by dignitaries in the inauguration of modem buildings--an instrument of labor
is given embellishment for ritual use.
While the organization of the filling of rooms may be open to debate, the
reason for filling them merits consideration. All large architectural complexes
apparently went through the process of enclosure of old structures and rebuild-
ing on top of them, a practice that continued at least into the Early Horizon
(Burger and Salazar-Burger, 1980; Shimada et al., 1982). It is reminiscent of
temple rebuilding in Mesoamerica and, like it, was probably tied to concepts
of renewal and perhaps associated with calendrical events.
But while they consumed a great deal of surplus labor, these activities did
not necessarily require a highly ranked social hierarchy and could have been
built through lineage or clan systems without the need of the single overarching
authority of a state system. Large pueblos in New Mexico and Arizona might
easily be viewed as "monumental architecture" requiting highly organized
social systems to build and maintain them if ethnographic sources were not
available to tell us otherwise. When hierarchy is indeed manifest in later pre-
history "temple burial" (Izumi and Terada, 1972, p. 176) was less important
than temple expansion and associated ideological concepts may have shifted
from maintenance and renewal to growth and development.
Given the size and arrangement of some Late Preceramic buildings, it is
probable that larger, community-oriented ceremonies did take place, but the
overall emphasis for many sites appears to have been the ritual activities of
smaller groups. There is not even a clear pattern of arrangement of the separate
ritual chambers within the larger site plans at Kotosh or La Galgada, suggesting
that the social relations between the groups represented by such structures were
also not highly formalized. But burial in a chamber in a larger structure shows
a shift in ideology from the Middle Preceramic custom of house burial (Quilter
1989a). Individuals were beginning to be thought of somewhat less in terms of
their specific place of residence and their immediate kin but with the symbolic
representation of their corporate kin group--the subterranean chamber--and this
group and chamber were contained within the larger context of the monumental
Late Preeeramic Peru 425
structure and what it represented. Furthermore, the fact that no burials were
found in chambers at Kotosh, Huaricoto, or the earliest levels at La Gatgada is
of interest. At La Galgada, sacred spaces that formerly (and, apparently, else-
where) remained empty at the end of their uses and the beginning of new build-
ing phases were later appropriated as sepulchers for emerging power groups in
the sociopolitical system: a once relatively egalitarian religion was being
manipulated by high-status groups in a more ranked social system. The fact that
this custom was not adopted at Huaricoto or Kotosh suggests that the emergence
of more ranked social systems in their regions may have occurred or were
expressed in different ways.
Other Late Preceramic sites do not share the pattern of Kotosh Religious
Tradition architecture, suggesting different social forms were in operation. The
organization of rooms revealed for the last occupation of Unit I at E1 Para/so is
suggestive of changing sociopolitical structures (Figs. 10 and 11). A suite of
ceremonial rooms (Fig. 11A, 2, 3), which was originally closed off from the
rest of the chambers and may have even once been part of a separate building,
was linked to the rest of the complex. The pattern of movement possible in the
structure during its latest period of use was such that the interior chambers were
accessible from three separate outside entries (Fig. 11, 7). The single ceremo-
nial chamber indicates a very different pattern of ceremonialism than the mul-
tiple rooms at La Galgada, suggesting a narrowing or concentration of activities,
at least for those who used this one building among many. At the same time,
however, there is potentially great freedom of movement both into the building
and within it (Chiswell, personal communication, 1990). The architectural evi-
dence may represent a focusing of authority or power within a narrower social
circle, although one which still remained relatively open in terms of its relation
to other individuals and groups.
By the early Initial Period, the site of Cardal shows a standard " U "
shape,while its arms are filled with sunken circular plazas (Burger and Salazar-
Burger, 1990). This suggests that the organizing principles at similar sites were
considerably different from that shown at Preceramic La Galgada. The over-
arching principles which bound early Initial sites of the U form may have been
such that they were seen as something qualitatively different from the sum of
parts or the small social unit writ large. A different approach, but perhaps meet-
ing similar ends, is to be found in Casma (S. Pozorski and T. Pozorski, 1987),
where an early Initial Period structure, Huaca A, is more symmetrically orga-
nized than E1 Parafso and is fronted, in the distance, by the mound of Moxeke,
which advertises its ceremonialism through the use of greater height and elab-
orately molded and painted public art. But it does not appear that one religious
tradition, at least as evidenced by architecture, simply succeeded the other.
Sunken courts, terraces, truncated pyramids, use of topographical features, cir-
cles, rectangles, and squares remain in constant use throughout Andean prehis-
426 Quilter
tory". Peruvian ceremonialism and religion are marked by continuity perhaps

more than by change, and the process of culture change is more one of the
transformation and reinterpretation of older traditions, for the most part and
with some notable exceptions, than the complete replacement of one system by
another.
Despite differences in ceremonial architecture in Late Preceramic Peru,
dualism is a common organizing principle such as in two ceremonial structures
at La Galgada, the pair of crossed arms at Kotosh, and symmetrical designs in
cotton textiles. The binary structure of community organization expressed in
later prehistory (though sometimes manifest in asymmetrical power relations)
may have already have been in operation on some level during the Late Pre-
ceramic Period.
Many questions remain to be addressed regarding the social and ideolog-
ical systems of Late Preceramic Peru. The origin, spread, and possible diver-
sification of the Kotosh Religious Tradition remain to be explored. General
regional and temporal patterns in public architecture are only faintly outlined at
present. A clearer picture of Late Preceramic centers in the highlands is very
much needed. Whereas on the coast, Late Preceramic sites were apparently
abandoned, the locales of contemporary sites in the highlands remained impor-
tant so that they were repeatedly built upon, obscuring earlier structures. This
suggests not only that different cultural processes may have been taking place
in sierra and coast but also that the roles of such centers may have differed,
and, of course, there were likely different kinds of centers on an intraregional
level as well. Finally, Peruvianist archaeologists discuss "centers" in great
detail but we have very little information currently available on the nature and
number of noncenter sites. Future work on these issues will considerably
advance the study of the sociopolitical and economic roles of public architecture
in Late Preceramic Peru.
CULTURE PROCESSES IN LATE PRECERAMIC PERU

The late 1940s and 1950s witnessed the discovery of Late Precemmic
achievements. The 1960s and 1970s saw development of a model to explain
them. Lanning (1963) first proposed that the lomas dried up near the end of the
Middle Preceramic. This forced populations into the river valleys and along the
coast and fostered specialized farming and fishing communities. Large monu-
mental centers were thus seen as central places that facilitated economic inter-
change between fishing communities spread out linearly along the coast and the
perpendicular line of farming villages running up the coastal valleys (Lanning,
1967, p. 71).
The Maritime-Terrestrial Debate focused attention on an important aspect
of Late Preceramic Peru, but other issues received less attention than they
deserved. Research suggested that the lomas may have been overexploited by
humans rather than desiccated due to climatic change (see Quilter, 1989a, p.
23). Excavations that were carried out at monumental architectural centers
tended to focus on the tops of pyramids and similar structures, and thus the
integrative role of religion in the regional system was emphasized, but the pre-
cise role or use of the complexes was uncertain.
Few large-scale excavations of Late Preceramic monumental sites have
been accomplished. However, a number of smaller, separate studies have been
made which, when taken together, offer a fundamentally different picture of the
nature of large Late Preceramic sites and of the processes by which they came
about from the model developed 20 years ago. The change in perspective is due
to new information regarding the nature of the monumental architectural sites,
their relationship to small settlements in their regions, Preceramic subsistence
economies, and analysis of lomas degradation. Much of this model has been
developed through my own work at E1 Parafso, review of previous studies in
the region, and a study of available information on settlement patterns for the
Late Preceramic (Quilter, 1989b).
The discovery of buried, burned midden at E1 Para/so suggests that a larger
resident population may have been at the site than previously thought. In addi-
tion, the total number of potentially contemporary sites in the greater E1 Parafso
region is very low, and a review of the available calibrated radiocarbon dates
suggests that some of them may indeed not be contemporary with the large
monumental site. If contemporary sites exist, they may be under later occupa-
tions or buried in the floodplain, but for now, they are rare to absent from the
archaeological record. In short, a review of the evidence suggests that there
may be fewer outlying, small communities and more people at E1 Parafso than
previously thought. Indeed, the major population center in the region was prob-
ably E1 Parafso, and there is considerable evidence that other monumental sites
supported large resident populations such as Asia, Aspero, Los Gavilanes,
Huaynun~i, and Rio Seco.
E1 Paraiso's role as a population center is further supported by the fact that
rocky-shore mollusks appear to be considerably underrepresented in the refuse
of the site in terms of the amount of meat that they contributed to the diet in
relation to sandy shore species (Quilter et al., 1991). Sandy beaches are closest
to E1 Parafso, but one would expect a fairly significant showing of rocky shore
mollusks in trash deposits if the site had functioned as a regional center, even
though mollusks in general played a relatively minor role in the diet. The fact
that rocky-shore mollusks are proportionately insignificant as food suggests that
the people of the site relied more upon shellfish from nearby beaches and that
there were few people in outlying communities bringing mollusks from rocky
shores to E1 Parafso. The relatively simple subsistence economy of E1 Parafso,
not much different from that of earlier times, also diminishes a view that would
428 Quilter
attempt to place it as a qualitatively different social entity than a large, relatively

egalitarian community.
A review of settlement data adds one more perspective to understanding
the reasons for the establishment of large monumental Preceramic sites on the
Central and North coasts of Peru: the South Coast has no such sites for the time
period. Part of this might be due to the fact that the coastal topography south
of Lur/n does not lend itself to many large valleys which have wide floodplains,
as exist north of it. But this answer is not entirely satisfactory, since some do,
such as Chincha and Cafiete.
Furthermore, even though there are no large Late Preceramic sites, there
are sites of the period on the South Coast, but mostly they are in the lomas
(Quilter, 1989b), at least according to the data available (Engel, 1980, 1984).
Thus, we are faced with the likelihood that if the lomas continued to thrive on
the South Coast during the Late Preceramic, they also did so on the Central and
North coasts as well. This does not necessarily preclude the possibility that
some sort of environmental degradation occurred near the end of the Middle
Preceramic Period, but it suggests that if it did happen, the lomas likely reju-
venated rather quickly; the fact that lomas plants have been found in the E1
Para/so midden is at least one indication that the tomas did indeed continue to
exist in the Late Preceramic.
If the above is correct, then Iomas degradation cannot be easily ascribed
the role of prime mover in the intensive occupation of the Central Coast river
valleys during the Late Preceramic. At best, it might be relegated to an initial
" k i c k " that sent cultural processes more rapidly down a path in which they
were already headed. If so, then we are left with the question of why people
moved from relatively productive occupation of the lomas to intensive and con-
centrated settlements in river valleys, such as at E1 Parafso, where they appar-
ently continued a subsistence economy (at least, initially) not too much different
from one they had pursued in the fog fields.
Cotton production could be carried out to any significant extent only in the
river valleys. There is a veritable explosion of designs and technical devices in
cotton in the Late Preceramic, and it has already been shown how cotton played
such an important role in prestige systems and life in general in the time period.
At present, studies are insufficient to identify clearly regional styles and tem-
poral variations in textile arts. What can be said, however, is that fancy textiles
were made even at little, out-of-the-way fishing villages, such as Huaca Prieta
(Bird et al., 1985), as well as at large architectural complexes that were not
located in ideal locales for the growing of great amounts of cotton, such as La
Galgada (Grieder et al., 1988).
La Galgada is an interesting case in point. It is a large architectural com-
plex which clearly utilized ceremonialism as a means of developing and main-
taining its importance. Its location, up-valley in the rain shadow of the western
slopes of the Andes, suggests that irrigation agriculture was likely in use. Even
with irrigation, however, it would have had severe limitations imposed on it
with regard to the amount of agricultural goods it could have produced. But it
was in an ideal location to capitalize on interregional exchange, especially
between the coast and the highlands.
Lack of studies at higher elevations impedes development of a clear under-
standing of interregional exchange systems, and the preservation of cotton tex-
tiles would be a rarity in many areas of the sierra. Given the different
environments and resources of high- and low-altitude zones, the logical assump-
tion is that exchange would have included subsistence items. As noted above,
obsidian is rare on the Central and North coasts but was actively exchanged
within the highlands and to the South coast. Wool is present but relatively rare
on the coast (see Bonavia, 1982, p. 201). On the other hand, evidence is avail-
able that maritime products such as shellfish and, likely, less well-preserved
fish, salt, seaweed (Burger, 1985, pp. 276-277), and other foods were making
their way from coast to highlands. Tubers found at Anc6n probably were grown
in the highlands and reached the coastal site through exchange systems (see
Moseley, 1985, p. 41).
There is clearer evidence of long-distance exchange for what were likely
prestige goods. These include items already mentioned such as tropical bird
feathers and a variety of stone objects, including bowls, mortars, grinding
stones, and the distinct, biconvex, double-holed red beads. Other semiprecious
stones, obsidian, and miscellaneous goods also suggest long-distance contacts
and there were likely many other goods, both durable and perishable, which
were exchanged between the diverse ecological zones of the central Andes.
This is not to say that cotton production and exchange systems should be
viewed as the primary factors in the transformation of early Peruvian society.
Theoretically, at least, cotton production might have been successful with dis-
persed settlement patterns, without the need for centers such as E1 Parafso or
La Galgada. On the other hand, such central nodes in exchange systems may
have been encouraged if the emphasis on exchange was interregional rather than
intraregional. The increase in status items such as fancy stone cups or beads is
part of larger social processes, however, and given the current available evi-
dence, it seems that the dynamics of social change in Late Preceramic Peru
were centered in competition between kin groups rather than social classes.
Much of this same social system appears to have continued into the Initial
Period, with growing emphasis on public displays of authority (e.g., Burger
and Salazar-Burger, 1990) at monumental sites and, probably, monopolization
of power by fewer kin groups than in the more open, fluid social dynamics of
the Late Preceramic. Perhaps a model of long-distance exchange of relatively
430 Quilter
few luxury items between senior members of corporate kin groups might also
explain why subsistence systems were relatively conservative, including use of
new domesticates.
How such dynamics worked in the social transformations that took place
in the Terminal Preceramic remain to be investigated in depth. At least part of
the answer may lie in a better understanding of events occurring on the periph-
ery of the Central Andes, in Ecuador, Chile, northwest Argentina, and Bolivia.
For some time it has been noted that Ecuador (and Colombia) was "preco-
cious" in the implementation of ceramic technology, with the development of
sophisticated pottery styles long before their adoption in the Peruvian heartland
(e.g., Lathrap et al., 1975, p. 53), and Ecuadorian influence or even direct
trade is in evidence in the carving styles of the Huaca Prieta gourds (Lathrap et
al., 1975, p. 1t0, Fig. 593). New evidence from Chile suggests the possibility
of cotton domestication and other intensification of labor at a very early time
(Rivera, 1991). There is also possible evidence of population movements over
vast areas of South America, from tropical forest regions to the altiplano and
coastal desert (Rivera, 1984), rekindling an interest in the significance of migra-
tion and its causes as a factor in explaining prehistory. Many areas that were
little explored or poorly reported are now revealing evidence of dense early
human populations, including lowland eastern Bolivia (Erickson, 1991). Con-
tinent-wide or even larger vistas are commonly used to discuss the Old World
past, such as the origins of Neolithic cultures or the barbarian migrations at the
end of the Roman Empire, and we may be soon approaching South American
prehistory with similar perspectives.
For the present, however, the chief topic disputed by students of the Late
Preceramic involves a shift in the Maritime-Terrestrial debate from a discussion
concentrating on the nature of subsistence economies to the central question
that first sparked discussion--the origin of the state.
One group of scholars argues for "complex preceramic antecedents"
occurring before the emergence of "theocratic" states first in evidence in the
Casma Valley (S. Pozorski, 1987, pp. 18, 21). This view sees the state occur-
ring after the adoption of irrigation agriculture, and it relies upon models devel-
oped by Robert Carneiro (1970) on the importance of environmental
circumscription and the role of warfare (Haas, 1987; S. Pozorski, 1987). This
school of thought also cites the impressive monumentality and complexity of
Terminal Preceramic and Initial Period architecture as evidence for social hier-
archy (S. Pozorski, 1987, p. 20), claims the existence of an Initial Period site
hierarchy in Casma of at least three levels (S. Pozorski, 1987, p. 23), and
accepts radiocarbon dates as sensitive enough to distinguish between prehistoric
events occurring in different parts of Peru by as little as two centuries (T. Pozor-
ski and S. Pozorski, 1990, p. 23).
The liberal interpretation of Terminal Preceramic and Initial Period culture

histories and processes is countered by a more conservative view, and even a
less than fully attentive reader probably will have inferred by this point that I
am among those with such a perspective. While it is possible that there was
considerable diversity in social formations during the time period in question
and that some populations in some regions may have been more hierarchically
organized than others, the conservative view holds that there is no secure evi-
dence of the state in Peru until much later in prehistory, and personally, I believe
that it is not until the Early Intermediate Period that there is conclusive evidence
for states in Peru.
More luxury trade items in the Late Preceramic do suggest that increased
ranking of social units and probably individuals in them was occurring (see
Feldman, 1987, p. 13). Despite the excellent preservation of the Peruvian coast
however, burial data, one of the chief sources of information on social orga-
nization, are relatively scarce. Where it does exist, such as at La Galgada
(Grieder et al., 1988), the emphasis appears to be on many groups of individ-
uals rather than what might be interpreted as a royal family or similar small and
distinctively elite group. At Initial Period Cardal, large numbers of burials were
recently discovered (Burger, 1991) in impressive architecture but few signs of
the kinds of high-status markers one would associate with an elite group were
found.
As noted above, the large-scale architecture and other rich data recovered
from coastal Peruvian sites might very well impress archaeologists more because
of preservation factors, leading to assumptions of complexity that either might
equally apply elsewhere if preservation were as good or allow for exaggerated
views of the past because of the wealth of data. In addition, the conservative
view of the Terminal Preceramic and Initial Period distrusts reliance on radi-
ocarbon dates to sharply separate past events (see S. Pozorski and T. Pozorski,
1990, 1991; Quilter, 1991). This distrust is due to the fact that public architec-
ture sites are huge, thus creating sampling problems, because large sites were
subject to multiple rebuilding stages that often included using midden and other
old material for fill, and because confidence ranges for radiocarbon dates still
require significant lengths of time that are inadequate or inappropriate to use
for making fine-grained chronologies. Such distrust also leads to uncertainty
regarding settlement hierarchies and sequences of events on either local or
interregional levels.
As a summary of current knowledge of Late Preceramic Peru, it is both
impossible and inappropriate to present here all of the nuances and implications
of arguments on the origins of the state in Peru. In conclusion, it can be said
that considerable progress has been made in advancing knowledge from the
recognition of the time period's existence and importance less than half a cen-
432 Quilter
tury ago to providing a general view of the substance and diversity of the
accomplishments of ancient peoples of the time and region. Future studies will
certainly clarify many current controversies and provide new ones.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Becky Wubker and Karen Milewski, anthropology-sociology student
assistants at Ripon College, were of great help in various tasks that produced
this paper. A version of the settlement patterns section of this paper was pre-
sented at the 1989 AAA meetings in Washington, D.C. Thomas Patterson's
comments at that meeting were most helpful in improving the section on Culture
Processes. Scott Clark served as a valuable source in discussing labor organi-
zation in the construction of monumental architecture. Coreen Chiswell sug-
gested many interesting ideas regarding traffic flow in Unit I at E1 Parafso.
Robert Feldman and the Department of Anthropology, American Museum of
Natural History, are thanked for permission to use figures that appear in this
work. Richard Burger continues to be a wise counsel in matters ancient and
new. He and Karen E. Stothert were kind to read a draft of this article and offer
useful suggestions. Bemardino Ojeda E. gave me a detailed tour of the E1 Par-
also site and explained much regarding work and discoveries there. Dean Kata-
hira has been of great help in analysis of the E1 Parafso lime cakes and their
wrappings. Sarah Quilter, as always, is thanked for her support. As a synthesis
of other's work, this paper has gained from the kindnesses of Tom Dillehay
and Tom and Shelia Pozorski, who were most kind in sending me information
on some of their important recent findings as well as copies of their articles.
The former relinquished his anonymity as a reviewer of this article and offered
many helpful suggestions, as did Richard Burger and a third reviewer, who
remains anonymous. Gary Urton was extremely helpful in working on the orig-
inal contribution of astronomical alignments at El Parafso and Piedra Parada
and is most sincerely thanked. Other original contributions based on my own
work at E1 Parafso were made possible by the National Science Foundation
(Grant BNS-83-03680) and funds supplied by the Continental Coffee Products
Company (a wholly owned subsidiary of Quaker Oats), where Mr. James Ban-
kard was of great support and help. Many Peruvian colleagues helped in innu-
merable ways, but Duccio Bonavia, Jaime Deza, Bernardino Ojeda E., Rolando
Paredes E., and Jorge Silva S. are especially thanked, and Ramiro Matos M.
pointed out that an earlier version was coastal-centric.
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Journal of WormPrehistory, VoL 5, No.

Late Preceramic Peru

This paper presents a synthesis of current knowledge of Late Preceramic Peru

D I M E N S I O N S OF THE FIELD: SPACE, TIME, AND F O R M

t Departmentof Anthropology-Sociology, Ripon College, 300 Seward Street, Ripon, Wisconsin

0892-7537/91/1200-0387506.50/0 © 1991 Plenum Publishing Corporation

S~inas de__ChoJo ~"~__ La G~ada (

LosChim= (chi~o~)~--"-" .7 G~,~-~o c ~ ~

Ancdn & Vent~ ~.

[-• Middle Preceramic

Aspero Piedras Negras

Fig. 2. Chronologicalspansof uncorrected radiocarbondates for Late Preceramicsites. Bars

Lumbreres, 1969/1974 Lanning, 1967 Lanning, Patterson, Quilter,1989

°:'o";roj:_( ALL DAT]~S "B,C. '~ AND BASED ON

F i g . 3. C h r o n o l o g i c a l systems for the Peruvian Preceramic.

LATE PRECERAMIC ACHIEVEMENTS

people of Late Preceramic Peru. Following this, I turn to a discussion of recent

Fig. 4. Commonly occurring Late Preceramic plants,

Fig. 6. Shicra (bagged fill) emptiedof rock fill, found at E1 Parafso.

Shell, Bone, and Wood

(Bird et aI., 1985, p. 166). Omaments, including pendants and disk-shaped

between the openings in another figure is quite common in Late Preceramic

necklace of distinctive, rectangular-shaped beads. It is thus likely that the large

tecture or in domestic architecture are, of course, unknown, but no cemetery

The available data on mortuary practices indicate the development of non-

THE SOCIAL AND I D E O L O G I C A L WORLDS OF LATE

circular and/or rounded architectural concepts. In addition, the spatial arrange-

Fig. 10. Map of E1 Parafso.

Fig. 12. Cut-away view of stylized Kotosh Religious Tradition

tory". Peruvian ceremonialism and religion are marked by continuity perhaps

CULTURE PROCESSES IN LATE PRECERAMIC PERU

attempt to place it as a qualitatively different social entity than a large, relatively

The liberal interpretation of Terminal Preceramic and Initial Period culture

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S~inas deChoJo ~"~ La G~ada (