Urban Organization and Agricultural Practices at Las Huacas, Chincha Valley (AD 1100-1570)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In modern times the Chincha Valley is one of the most productive agricultural valleys of Peru, and its offshore islands were rich in guano — bird excrement that is a potent fertilizer — that was exploited by foreigners from the Colonial into the Republican Periods (AD 1523-1879). While the importance of the valley’s agriculture and resources is well known throughout history, how agriculture was practiced in the valley during prehistory is not well understood. Historic accounts state that the Chincha were an important province under the Inca and that groups lived in specialized settlements of fisherman and farmers, but there is no detail on how land-use was organized under the Inca (AD 1400-1532) and during the preceding Late Intermediate Period (AD 1100-1400). Furthermore, exactly when and how residents began using guano as a fertilizer has not been addressed. This poster presents new excavation data from the site of Las Huacas (a 100 ha. agricultural center) that provides insight on the sequence of occupation at the site and site organization. This data is then paired with isotopic data from plant, animal, and human remains from previous excavations that can shed light on the use of guano.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38686.0