TY - JOUR
T1 - Far from the shore: comparison of marine invertebrates in midden deposits from two sites in the Norte Chico, Peru
AU - Creamer, Winifred
AU - Haas, Jonathan
AU - Jakaitis, Edward
AU - Holguin, Jesus
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge sup port from the National Science Foundation (Collaborative Research Grants 0211010 and 0542088), the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies at Northern Illinois University, The Field Museum, and wonderful friends of the Proyecto Arqueológico Norte Chico. Constructive comments from reviewers and Jon Erlandson improved the article. Any errors are the responsibility of the authors.
PY - 2011/5
Y1 - 2011/5
N2 - Groups occupying the coast of Peru prior to 6000 BC exploited varied ecological niches including intensive use of maritime resources. By 3000 BC plant cultivation was widespread along the coast, including beans, chili peppers, peanuts, and cotton, watered by canal irrigation. In the Norte Chico region, an extraordinary concentration of sites have been identified that date to the third millennium BC. Midden samples include abundant marine shell and fish bone, but few terrestrial species. We compare marine invertebrates from two sites, one within a few kilometers of the shore, the other 23 km inland. Examining the abundance and diversity of species, we assess possible procurement strategies. The data show little difference with distance from the coast. Shell remains reflect exploitation of both sandy and rocky intertidal zones, primarily for clam and mussel species but with smaller numbers of many other edible species, a strategy of broad-spectrum opportunistic gathering.
AB - Groups occupying the coast of Peru prior to 6000 BC exploited varied ecological niches including intensive use of maritime resources. By 3000 BC plant cultivation was widespread along the coast, including beans, chili peppers, peanuts, and cotton, watered by canal irrigation. In the Norte Chico region, an extraordinary concentration of sites have been identified that date to the third millennium BC. Midden samples include abundant marine shell and fish bone, but few terrestrial species. We compare marine invertebrates from two sites, one within a few kilometers of the shore, the other 23 km inland. Examining the abundance and diversity of species, we assess possible procurement strategies. The data show little difference with distance from the coast. Shell remains reflect exploitation of both sandy and rocky intertidal zones, primarily for clam and mussel species but with smaller numbers of many other edible species, a strategy of broad-spectrum opportunistic gathering.
KW - ISAS
KW - Zooarchaeology
KW - Coastal
KW - Complex society
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U2 - 10.1080/15564894.2011.582071
DO - 10.1080/15564894.2011.582071
M3 - Article
SN - 1556-4894
VL - 6
SP - 176
EP - 195
JO - The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology
JF - The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology
IS - 2
ER -