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160 pages, 39 photos, 22 drawings, 2 maps, 6 x 9 inches, 1987
$27.95 paper, 1-58729-462-1, 978-1-58729-462-4
“The Pozorskis’ commendable volume on the Casma is the first published overview of all the major early monuments available to an English-speaking audience. As such it is a critical resource for addressing the origins of New World social complexity, for teaching South American archaeology, and for Andean specialists.”—American Antiquity
“...adds considerably to our knowledge of the prehistory of an important area of the Peruvian coast.”—Robert A. Feldman
The Casma Valley of Peru’s north central coast contains the largest New World structure of its time period—2500 to 200 BC—as well as one of the densest concentrations of early sites. In this detailed and thought-provoking volume, Shelia and Thomas Pozorski date each major early site, assess this important valley's diet and subsistence changes through time, and begin to reconstruct the development of Casma Valley society.
Fifteen sites are surveyed, including Pampa de las Llamas-Moxeke, the earliest planned city in the New World. The Pozorskis then synthesize their own fieldwork and previous work in the Casma Valley to chart its development during the critical time when civilization was emerging. The result: a scenario which is somewhat revolutionary in the context of more traditional views of Andean prehistory.
Early Settlement and Subsistence in the Casma Valley, Peru adds substantially to the growing body of evidence that the earliest development of Andean civilization occurred on the coast rather than in the highlands. This volume presents comparative data for students of emerging civilizations worldwide and will be of value not only to Andean and New World archaeologists but also to everyone interested in the emergence of complex societies.
Shelia and Thomas Pozorski are professors of anthropology at the University of Texas-Pan American. Both have worked in the coastal valleys of Peru for over thirty years.
CONTENTS
1. Introduction
Environmental Setting
Project Objectives
2. Casma Valley Sites Excavated in 1980
Methodology
Huaynuná
Las Haldas
Preceramic Las Haldas
Early Initial Period Las Haldas
Las Haldas Initial Period Mound Complex
Early Horizon Las Haldas
Pampa de las Llamas-Moxeke
Tortugas
San Diego
Pampa Rosario
3. Early Sites Surveyed within the Casma Valley
Sechin Alto
Taukachi-Konkan
Sechin Bajo
Cerro Sechin
Sechin Alto Complex
Huerequeque
Pallka
Huaca Desvio
La Cantina
Chankillo
4. The Prehistory of the Casma Valley and Its Impact on Studies of Early Andean Prehistory
Previous Sequences for Casma Valley Prehistory
A Revised Sequence of Events in Casma Valley Prehistory
Summary and Conclusions
References Cited
Index
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