The Dirt on Cultural Diversity: Examining Occupation Floor Surfaces in the Moquegua Valley

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Exploring Culture Contact and Diversity in Southern Peru" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The recent rise in the availability of literature on the topic soil chemical analysis has inspired growing interest in evaluating soils at archaeological sites to gain a more detailed picture of the lives and culture of the people that once lived there. Through soil analysis, we can better define areas once used for residential space activities like cooking, workshops and refuse disposal, and identify spaces used for ritual activities as well. The Moquegua Valley has been home to a variety of cultures, making it an ideal setting for exploring cultural development through time. This study examines its cultural diversity and change through the application of X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy by performing multi-element chemical analyses on soil samples from the occupation floor surfaces of both Middle Horizon and Late Intermediate Period Sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Exploring Culture Contact and Diversity in Southern Peru

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26004