Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca: Findings from the 2018–2023 Field Seasons

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca: Findings from the 2018–2023 Field Seasons" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This symposium will present the work of four field seasons of ongoing work at the site of Pañamarca, Nepeña Valley, Peru. Pañamarca contains an array of adobe monumental platforms, walls, and temples. The first mural discoveries at the site were revealed to the world in the 1950s, which included a famous mural of a Moche priestess. Recent work has focused on defining the cultural chronology of the site through AMS dating, exploring the farming landscape of the surrounding valley, and excavation, conservation, and documentation of remarkably preserved painted architectural surfaces dating to the Moche period (500–850 CE). Overall, the new discoveries confirm that the site played an important role in the region well before and after Moche presence. The work also supports our theory that during the Moche period, Pañamarca was a place of unusual creativity and a crucible for artistic invention. The artists and patrons of Pañamarca did not conform to what otherwise is thought to have been a very rigid society and artistic Moche style.

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  • Documents (7)

Documents
  • Archaeological Illustration and Imaging: Documentation of Pañamarca’s Archaeological Project (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jose Ochatoma Cabrera. Pedro Neciosup. Evan Tamez-Galvan. Tim Trombley.

    This is an abstract from the "Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca: Findings from the 2018–2023 Field Seasons" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. For decades now, with the appearance of analogue photography, and more recently of digital technologies, a debate has arisen about the functionality, advantage/disadvantage between different archaeological recording techniques—considering that their main objective is to capture as accurately as possible the...

  • Conservación de la arquitectura en tierra y pinturas murales de Pañamarca (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Blanca Sánchez. Megan Salas. Gianella Pacheco. Alex Clavo. Cesar Velasquez.

    This is an abstract from the "Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca: Findings from the 2018–2023 Field Seasons" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. La Conservación de la arquitectura en tierra y pinturas murales del proyecto "Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca" en las temporadas 2022 y 2023, se desarrollaron en paralelo a los trabajos de excavación, teniendo en consideración la vulnerabilidad estructural así como la fragilidad de los murales pictóricos,...

  • The Hall of the Braided Serpents (La Sala de las Serpientes Trenzadas): New Discoveries on Pañamarca’s Moche Plaza (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Michele Koons. J. Antonio Ochatoma Cabrera. Amy Gillaspie. Alex Clavo Cruz. Jessica Ortiz Zevallos.

    This is an abstract from the "Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca: Findings from the 2018–2023 Field Seasons" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Excavations in 2023 revealed a previously unexcavated structure in the southern corner of the Moche plaza at Pañamarca. Here we present our findings related to this building, which contains large, well-preserved pillars with anthropomorphized snakes on all facades and the life-sized painting of a Moche...

  • Long-Term Geomorphological History and the Farming Landscape of Pañamarca (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Hugo Ikehara Tsukayama. Marco Pfeiffer Jakob. Josefina Concha O'Ryan. Michele Koons. Lisa Trever.

    This is an abstract from the "Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca: Findings from the 2018–2023 Field Seasons" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In this presentation, we discuss the results of the geomorphological survey carried out parallel to the archaeological fieldwork in 2018 and 2019. The analysis of geological profiles at alluvial terraces, satellite imagery, and radiocarbon dating produced a 9,000-year sequence showing the high dynamism of the...

  • Nuevos hallazgos de la Sala del Imaginario Moche en Pañamarca (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jessica Ortiz Zevallos. Lisa Trever. J. Antonio Ochatoma Cabrera. Gabriela De Los Ríos. Michele Koons.

    This is an abstract from the "Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca: Findings from the 2018–2023 Field Seasons" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Durante las excavaciones realizadas en los años 2022 y 2023 en la Sala Hipóstila, ahora llamada Sala del Imaginario Moche, ubicada en la parte oeste de Pañamarca, se identificaron seis pilares, cinco de ellos, por lo menos, conteniendo representaciones de personajes humanos, animales y mitológicos, los cuales...

  • Objects Conservation and Materials Analysis at Pañamarca (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Megan Salas.

    This is an abstract from the "Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca: Findings from the 2018–2023 Field Seasons" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In addition to the painted architectural surfaces recently unearthed at Pañamarca, a wide array of objects have been found in recent excavations. The objects found at Pañamarca demonstrate that the site has an excellent preservation environment. This paper will present conservation approaches to some of the...

  • Pañamarca through Time: Before, during, and after Moche (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Lisa Trever. Hugo Ikehara Tsukayama. Jessica Ortiz Zevallos. Michele Koons. J. Antonio Ochatoma Cabrera.

    This is an abstract from the "Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca: Findings from the 2018–2023 Field Seasons" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Although it is now best known for earthen architecture bearing iconic wall paintings in late Moche style (ca. 600–850 CE), Pañamarca was a monumental center of great importance in the lower Nepeña Valley of north-coastal Peru from at least 150 BCE through the 1400s CE. In this paper, we present the evidence...