South America (Geographic Keyword)
1,226-1,250 (1,291 Records)
Archaeologists working in the lower Amazon have been identifying a particular ceramic style with a vast regional distribution, including the Caribbean, the Guyanas, the Amazon estuary and, more recently, the lower Amazon floodplain. This paper will discuss the distribution and varibility of this style in the lower Amazon, its correlation with Carib speaking groups, and the possible contexts, processes and practices that generated such dispersion.
Understanding the occupation history of oversized pit houses in the southern Brazilian highlands: Bayesian modelling and high resolution chronology of the Baggio 1 site (2016)
The function of the oversized pit houses constructed by southern proto-Je groups in the southern Brazilian highlands has been a matter of debate for decades. In this paper, we contribute to the debate by presenting a unique sequence from House 1 of the Baggio 1 site in Campo Belo do Sul, Santa Catarina state. For the first time, we obtained a large number of radiocarbon dates for twelve occupation floors in an oversized pit structure. We applied Bayesian modelling to develop a fine-grained...
Underwater archaeology in Lake Titicaca, Bolivia: Use of the littoral zone in the Tiwanaku period (AD 500-1150) (2017)
Since 2014, the project of underwater archaeology in Lake Titicaca (ULB), gives priority to the study of the Yampupata strait between the Island of the Sun and the Copacabana Peninsula. This research strategy was chosen because of different elements: First of all, the Island is a homogenous insular territory whose affordable dimensions (14,3 Km2) allow underwater activities. Secondly, one of the main characteristics of this territory is its dense, complex and continuous occupation which has been...
Unearthing the Deep Roots of the Long-term Human History and Environmental Interaction in the Atacama Desert (2017)
New archaeological evidence demonstrates that by 12,800 years ago, bands of hunter-gatherers effectively occupied the hyperarid basins of the Atacama Desert. The selection of the habitats they exploited and the location of their activity areas were constrained by specific environmental circumstances that coincide with positive moisture anomalies that provided abundant resources. The distributions and properties of which were likely managed by these people to create complex landscapes using...
Unexpected Social Complexity in the mid-Zaña Valley, North Coast, Peru (2016)
Based on recent fieldworks, this paper argues for a major rethinking of the Gallinazo-Mochica relationship. Investigations in the mid-Zaña Valley have revealed unexpected architectural and social complexity at the site of Songoy-Cojal. The predominantly residential Cojal shows an abundant co-presence of stylistically Gallinazo and Mochica remains. In addition to fineline decorated ceramics perhaps from farther south, there is a strong Gallinazo-like presence, which may be characteristic of in...
Unraveling the Relationship between Color and Meaning of Cords in Matching and Related Inka Khipu (2016)
Colors of cords in Inka khipu are of great interest because it has long been understood that they were meant to convey specific meanings, namely indicating the individual category being encoded in a particular position on a khipu. Colonial authors such as Calancha and Garcilaso de la Vega made claims regarding what certain colors symbolized, but studies of extant khipu have yet to definitively correlate colors with specific meanings. Before we can begin to understand the correlation between...
Untangling Wari Colonization, Trade, and Administration in Coastal Arequipa from the Site of Quilcapampa, Siguas Valley. (2017)
The seventh century AD marked a period of great social change in the coastal valleys of Arequipa, Perú. During this time, an increase in violence, population growth, and social complexity was met with foreign influences from the Wari state of the central highlands. While scholars have long asserted that Arequipa fell under Wari control at this time, the evidence for direct state control has never been demonstrated conclusively in the region. This presentation reports the results of our...
Upward Mobility Among Smallholders of the Desert North Coast of Peru (2016)
Mobility among smallholders or campesinos is a crucial element for understanding the development of both ancient and modern-day Peru. In the case of the ancient agricultural landscape of Mocán, the movement of people, products, and possibly plants, lead to increasing network complexity eventually culminating in the area’s incorporation into an important coastal polity. Archaeological evidence suggests changing approaches to landscape and water management over the 2,000 years of occupation in the...
Urban Planning, Neighborhoods, and the Organization of Residential Space at the Early Horizon Center of Caylán, Coastal Ancash, Peru (2015)
This paper examines and compares the spatial organization of residential compounds in order to reconstruct patterns of neighborhood and urban life at the Early Horizon of Caylán (800-1 BC), Nepeña Valley, north-central coast of Peru. Systematic surface mapping combined with limited horizontal excavations indicate that the urban core of the ancient city was composed of more than 40 residential complexes articulated through a series of streets and corridors. Detailed first-hand mapping of streets...
Use of Aquatic and Stone Tools at Three Colombian Caribbean Sites near Canal del Dique (2016)
This work derives from research in the ongoing research project "Evaluation of Zooarqueológica de Concheros cerca al Canal del Dique". We present the preliminary results of the archaeological research of three sites sampled near Canal del Dique: Monsú (5000 a.C.), Puerto Hormiga (4000 a. C), and Leticia (a shellmound from the 12th century A.D.). Samples of animals remains were recovered from 1/8 inch mesh screening. These samples were analyzed for taxonomic, taphonomic, and quantification...
USING BINFORD’S FRAMES OF REFERENCE TO MODEL HUNTER-GATHERER MOBILITY AND GROUP SIZE IN THE ANDEAN PUNA (2016)
Hunter-gatherer lifeways dominated the Salt Puna of South America for at least 5000 years before domesticated animals and plants appear in the archaeological record. The ruggedness of the landscape (with a baseline elevation of 3300 masl), the low ET and the distribution of resources dependent on a decreasing E-W rainfall gradient surely had an impact on prehistoric landscape use and mobility of ancient hunter-gatherers. In this poster we follow Binford (2001) in arguing there is a link between...
Using LiDAR and Environmental Suitability Models to Predict Probable Locations of Ancient Settlements in Manabí, Ecuador (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In recent years, LIDAR has gained popularity among archaeological researchers for its capability to reveal ancient settlement features hidden beneath dense vegetation coverage in heavily forested areas. More often, these studies have revealed undocumented monumental architecture and in some cases modified landscapes such as agricultural terraces, canals, and...
Using LiDAR to Reconstruct 19th-c. Plantation Landscapes in French Guiana (2022)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Plantation landscapes in French Guiana are almost entirely obscured by the dense rainforest vegetation that overtook the region in the decades following emancipation in 1848 when the search for gold and other economic initiatives gradually replaced plantation agriculture. While remote sensing has revolutionized archaeological...
Using Traditional and Nontraditional Isotopic Tracers of Diet and Mobility of Brazilian Shell Mound Populations (ca. 8000–1000 years BP) (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The study of shell mounds can shed light on human occupation and adaptations at coastal environments worldwide. In South America, human groups occupied the territory close to the Atlantic Ocean for millennium (ca. 8000 to ⁓1000 years BP), building hundreds of shell mounds, some with impressive dimensions. After 2000 BP, it is assumed that these populations...
Uso de un Espacio Sagrado: Excavaciones de la Sacristía de una Reducción Colonial en la Sierra sur del Perú (2017)
Los espacios rituales han sido desde siempre lugares importantes dentro de las comunidades humanas pues son la expresión material de sus creencias y su fe. En el caso del Virreinato del Perú, la invasión española del siglo XVI significó un cambio radical en la concepción y materialización de la religiosidad practicada, donde la construcción de edificios de carácter religioso encarnó el cambio de vida y costumbres de los pueblos conquistados. Esta ponencia explora el espacio arquitectónico de la...
Valley of No Masters: Exchanging Experiences at the Valley of the Masters, Northeastern Brazil (2018)
Field schools, and Methods and techniques in Archaeology classes are mandatory steps to achieve Master’s or a PhD degree in most graduate programs in Brazil. We, as instructors noticed a certain mismatch in students’ behavior in regard to decision-making in both situations: reticence during field activities, boldness during class discussions and debates. This dichotomy seemed to be related to field experiences in which the students had fewer opportunities to engage with other "more...
Variability in northern and southern Preceramic lomas sites of coastal Peru (2015)
Lomas formations in coastal Peru form when moisture off the Pacific Ocean condenses on hill slopes that rise between approximately 400-800 masl. These formations are distributed over broad regions in the southern part of Peru, but become more dispersed as one moves north. Depending on their extent, lomas formations can support a broad range of plant and animal life. As a major resource zone prior to the advent of agriculture, lomas were exploited by hunters and gatherers throughout this period...
Variations in Cranial Vault Modification at Uraca, Majes Valley, Peru (2015)
Cranial vault modification was a prevalent type of body modification practiced throughout the ancient Andes. It was achieved by binding the head during childhood, which left the crania permanently altered into adulthood. Different methods of binding led to visually different forms of modification, which likely marked membership in different ethnic groups. Researchers have documented three major modification styles in the Andes: tabular oblique, tabular erect, and circumferential. Recent...
Variations in Initial Period Ceremonial Architecture at the Caballo Muerto Complex (2016)
The Caballo Muerto Complex is well known for the presence of numerous Initial Period platform mounds thought to have functioned as temples. What is less known, is that some of the mounds, including Huaca Herederos Grande and Huaca Cortada were associated with smaller-scale buildings that also seem to have functioned as religious structures. In this paper, I discuss investigations of a square abode building found at the base of Huaca Cortada. Excavation of the structure demonstrated that the...
Variations in Mochica Metalwork (2017)
In the last thirty years, archaeological investigations on the north coast of Peru have produced a wealth of new information leading to nuances in our understanding of Moche sociopolitical organization (AD 200-800). These discoveries have included excavations of intact tombs of Moche male and female elites, interred with their ritual regalia and other grave goods. Metal ornaments made up an important part of this regalia, yet our understanding of Moche metallurgy technology and its relationship...
Vassals or Friendly Confederates: Disjuncture and Identity Imposition in the Late Horizon Northeastern Andean Montaña (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Indigenous Stories of the Inka Empire: Local Experiences of Ancient Imperialism" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Borderlands, like the eastern Andean slopes between highland states and lowland complex chiefdoms, are frequently a destination for peoples fleeing from state control and characterized by complex multiethnic landscapes. Archaeological studies in northeastern Peru, however, often assume a mega-ethnic group,...
Venezuela between Spanish and English: an identity formed through images (2017)
Previous analysis of ceramics from the historic center of Barcelona in Venezuela demonstrated that the decorative motifs of English ceramics and other European countries influenced the shaping of the identity of Barcelona during the 19th century. In this paper, we compare the Barcelona study with collections with the Historical Center of Caracas, in order to establish whether this change and unification of patterns and customs in everyday life was also reflected in the capital of Venezuela. This...
The view from above: changing experiences of the built environment during the Andean Late Intermediate Period (2016)
The highland Andes underwent major transformations in settlement organization between AD1000-1300, in the first half of the Late Intermediate Period. Settlement patterning shifted to higher altitudes, and in some areas, new sites were accompanied by defensive features. Most research has focused on the structural pressures that led to these changes, such as an increase of violence in the wake of Middle Horizon polity collapse, or a shift to pastoralism as a result of climate change. This paper...
A View from the Hinterlands: Early Colonial Objects in Mortuary Contexts in Northern Highland Ecuador (2017)
In this paper I re-visit a particularly interesting find made in the Pimampiro District of northern highland Ecuador a number of years ago. It consisted of a traditional shaft tomb burial that contained an unusual assemblage of items, which included seemingly obvious Late Period Caranqui and Panzaleo wares together with a set of four Nueva Cadiz beads. How and why did these precious European objects penetrate this seemingly remote region at such an early date to be inserted into such a basic...
A View from the Past: A Reanalysis of Archaeological Collections from the Sama Valley and its Implications for Current Models and Chronologies of the Southern Andean Valleys (2017)
Although limited in area compared to the neighboring Moquegua, Caplina, and Azapa valleys, the Sama valley (Departamento Tacna, Peru) with its the warm temperature, perennial water sources and arable flood plain creates hospitable conditions for highlanders who settled the valley as early as Late Horizon period. In his 1567 visita, Garci Diez de San Miguel notes the presence of a Luqapa colony and an Inca Tambo at the site of Sama Grande near the modern town of Sama-Inclan. In addition, survey...