The 2014 Excavations at Cerro Tortolita, an Early Intermediate Period Ceremonial Center in the Upper Ica Valley.

Summary

This paper reports on the 2014 field season at Cerro Tortolita, a predominantly Early Intermediate Period (EIP) site in the Upper Ica Valley. While the site has been known archaeologically for at least four decades, no systematic investigation has ever been undertaken there. Our work documented the numerous sectors of the site and through vertical excavations established a preliminary chronology. We found that the site has an extensive ceremonial/ritual component including a U-shaped platform mound, several plazas, terraces with numerous activity areas, and a large residential sector. Chronologically, the site dates mostly to the EIP, and predominantly Early Nasca. Analysis of ceramics suggests that many appear to be a local derivation of the classic Nasca style. We hypothesize that Cerro Tortolita served as a secondary ceremonial/pilgrimage center, one that attracted residents primarily from the Ica Valley and aim to further test this hypothesis with future work.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• From Foragers to Empires: Recent Research on the South Coast of Peru

Keywords

Spatial Coverage