Analyzing Stone Fish Net Sinkers in the North Coast of Peru: Inquiring its Functional and Symbolic Aspects.

Summary

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

Maritime communities flourished along the northern coast of Peru for thousands of years due to the abundance of marine life, which inspired these communities to create specialized tools to aid in the fishing process. One of these tools was cotton fishing nets of which the attached stone sinkers are more commonly found in midden deposits. This study analyzes the variability of the fish net sinkers from two sites in Huanchaco, Peru: Pampa La Cruz, and Jose Olaya, Iglesia Colonial. Additionally, this study will compare the differences in stone net sinkers between cultural occupations spanning over centuries starting with the earliest of the Salinar occupation (400-200 B.C.), the Virú (B.C. 100 – 450/500 A.D.), and the Moche (450/500 – 800/850 A.D.). By analyzing the similarities and differences between the fishnet sinkers, one can infer the types of fishing nets used by maritime communities and their subsistence and social implications. In addition, fishnet sinkers found in ceremonial contexts had evidence of being intentionally broken in half, showing that they were possibly part of elaborate rituals. Studying these lithics gives insight into the integral nature of fishing in people's daily lives and the ceremonial practices that occurred in these Andean maritime communities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38933.0