Microartifact Analysis: An Application at Pampa La Cruz, Huanchaco, Peru

Summary

For decades archaeologists have been trying to develop methodologies that will help them determine what activities took place in and around ancient structures. Since people tend to clean activity areas, especially those that are used repeatedly, visible artifacts are rarely discovered in the context where they were originally used. Microartifact analysis focuses on the tiny fragments (<1 cm) of ceramics, bone, lithics, shell and other microartifacts that are produced as a result of human action. These tiny fragments are much more likely to remain in or near the context where they were originally produced because they are too small to be easily gathered and are often trampled into the soil matrixes of ancient surfaces. This study applies microartifactual sampling, processing and analytical techniques to characterize and compare the activities that took place on ancient surfaces at the site of Pampa la Cruz in Huanchaco, Peru. By examining the ubiquity of various microartifact categories per liter of excavated surface matrix, we isolate loci of food production, suggest which types of local and non-local foods were consumed, theorize about cooking practice and waste disposal, and examine traffic patterns in and around two Gallinazo structures.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20579