Identifying Use and Consumption Patterns through a Quantitative, Qualitative, and Comparative Analysis of Mollusks at Huaca Menocucho, Moche Valley Peru

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Excavations at Huaca Menocucho in the Moche Valley, Peru, revealed occupation sequences from the Initial period to the Middle Horizon with large amounts of malacological remains. Quantitative, qualitative, and comparative analyses are being conducted to interpret the role of gastropods, bivalves, and other mollusks at the site. A quantitative analysis will calculate the malacological material registered in order to determine which marine species were the most consumed, which predominated during each occupational level, how they were utilized, and how these marine resources arrived to the middle Moche Valley. A qualitative analysis will classify diagnostic shells based on taxonomy to identify use patterns of whole, fragmented, burned, pigmented, and cut shells of each species present. Finally, a comparative analysis will be drawn with other sites of the valley. Our current hypothesis indicates that marine resources were processed at the site for consumption and subsequent reuse for nonfood purposes. While some malacological remains appear to be local, marine mollusks likely arrived to the site through trade networks. Environmental changes and intravalley network variations would have altered the predominance of marine species in the area during each occupational level.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37122.0