Casma Occupation at Pan de Azúcar de Nepeña: Findings from the 2017 and 2018 PIAPAN Field Seasons

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Casma State Material Culture and Society: Organizing, Analyzing, and Interpreting Archaeological Evidence of a Re-emergent Ancient Polity" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In 1968 and 1973, Donald Proulx conducted surface surveys of the Nepeña Valley, registering sites spanning different time periods and cultural occupations. One of these sites, registered as PV31-29, is Pan de Azúcar de Nepeña, a Casma site consisting of a fortified hill topped by an adobe stepped platform surrounded by 13 mounds and three cemeteries. Since 2014, research by the author has focused on understanding the Casma occupation at this site based on preliminary surface surveys, photogrammetry, and excavation. Aside from the evident Casma occupation, evidence suggests a Chimú presence based on a multiplicity of findings including commingled Chimú-Casma material culture as well as prevalent amounts of isolated elite Chimú material. Based on our findings we suggest that Casma-Chimú interactions existed at Pan de Azúcar de Nepeña, before, during, and after the time of Chimú conquest around A.D. 1350. This paper centers on findings from the 2017 and 2018 field seasons and explores Casma occupation at Pan de Azúcar de Nepeña in examining architecture, ceramics, and burial practices as well as providing preliminary interpretations for the extent and degree of Casma-Chimú interactions in the western end of the Nepeña Valley.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Casma State Material Culture and Society: Organizing, Analyzing, and Interpreting Archaeological Evidence of a Re-emergent Ancient Polity   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23823