Early Settlements and Networks of the Formative South-Central Andes: Sunken-Court Distribution and Variation through Systematic Imagery Survey and Targeted Ground-Checking

Summary

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

By the Middle Formative period (1000–500 BCE), the first permanent architecture appears along the shores of Lake Titicaca in the form of sunken, semi-subterranean courts. These were centers of important public and religious activities and are indicative of emergent forms of permanent political leadership and hierarchies. Thanks to their monumental size, these features are highly visible in the archaeological landscape. Sunken courts have been reported across much of the Titicaca Basin, yet most of what we know about them is limited to excavations at larger sites. This poster reports preliminary results from a systematic satellite survey of sunken courts in the northern Titicaca Basin and adjacent eastern valleys of southern Peru, covering a total area of 17,000 km2. Survey methods and characteristics of sites captured in the study are first reported, followed by an analysis of regional patterns. Results focus on the distribution of several previously unreported sunken courts whose distribution along key corridors of movement suggest a well-established network connecting populations of the Titicaca Basin and the eastern valleys.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37324.0