The Middle Horizon Occupation of Pan de Azúcar de Nivín, Middle Casma Valley, Peru

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.

Since 2017, the Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica Nivín has conducted architectural mapping, limited test excavations, surface collection, and analysis of associated materials from sites located in the middle Casma Valley. The research goals are to clarify the cultural affiliation of the groups that occupied the Nivín region, examine the material expressions of cultural identity in the area, and to focus on the ways local groups articulated their material culture with broader sociopolitical phenomena in the region. Stylistic analysis of pottery fragments combined with the architectural layout indicates the presence of Middle Horizon and early Late Intermediate components at Pan de Azúcar de Nivín. Radiocarbon measurements preliminarily place the occupation of the site between 950 and 1150 CE. In this paper, I will introduce the study region, the work conducted during the last two years, and discuss preliminary results. These results are based on the attribute analysis and distribution of the ceramic fragments collected from the surface and excavations at different architectural features within Pan de Azúcar de Nivín. Finally, this research provides an opportunity to define and compare Pan de Azúcar de Nivín with other neighboring Middle Horizon and Late Intermediate Period groups, in particular the Casma.

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): 23070