Civilizations emerged independently in many regions of the world and scientists wish to understand the underlying processes which led to the development of such complex societies. The comparison of individual cases and the search for similarities and differences provides a powerful method to gain such insight. Archaeologists have long focused on the Andean region because here, in contrast to multiple regions in the Old World, it appears that no extra-regional contacts with other developing societies were involved. Thus the Andes provide a 'pristine' case. In Peru, the heartland of Andean civilization, the widely assumed scenario is being rewritten. It was believed that the first Andean civilization appeared in the Early Horizon (1000-200 BC) period. However more intensified research into the proceeding Initial Period (2100 - 1000 BC) has revealed an ever earlier Pacific based florescence marked by monumental construction, irrigation agriculture, ceramics, woven textiles and coastal-inland subsistence exchange systems. Most recently, to archaeologist's surprise, excavation at the site of Caral in the Supe Valley and the publication of associated radiocarbon dates made it immediately clear that the hallmarks of complex society in Peru began much as probably 1,000 years earlier still.
With National Science Foundation support Drs. Thomas and Shiela Pozorski will explore this issue through excavation at the inland Casma Valley site of Huerequeque. They will better define the main preceramic occupation at the site and use these data to evaluate models of the rise of early social complexity. They will also define the role of the site as a likely precursor to the developmental trajectory that characterized Initial Period sites. The work will have the potential to shed light on critical aspects of early civilization and Huerequesque is particularly appropriate because the site is well preserved and not overlain by extensive later occupation. Grant funds will be used to support excavation, concurrent analysis of artifacts and more specialized analyses.
The fieldwork will include collaboration with Peruvian and U.S. colleagues in the excavation, analysis and interpretation in both the field and laboratory. The results will be disseminated in a timely manner to interested local citizens, Andean scholars and the global archaeology community.
