Montane Foragers: Asana and the South-Central Andean Archaic

344 Pages·1998·40.54 MB·English

by  Mark S. Aldenderfer

Montane Foragers

Montane Foragers
Asana and the South-Central Andean Archaic
By Mark S. Aldenderfer
'fJ
University of Iowa Press Iowa City
UniversityofIowaPress,IowaCity52242
Copyright© 1998bytheUniversityofIowaPress
Allrightsreserved
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedorusedinanyformorbyanymeans,
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beenpossibletoreach.
Printedonacid-freepaper
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Aldenderfer,MarkS.
MontaneForagers:Asanaandthesouth-centralAndeanarchaic/byMarkS.
Aldenderfer.
p. em.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-87745-621-6
1.AsanaSite(Peru).2.IndiansofSouthAmerica-Peru-AsanaRiver
Valley-Antiquities. 3.IndiansofSouthAmerica-Peru-AsanaRiver
Valley-Food.4.IndiansofSouthAmerica-Peru-AsanaRiverValley
Anthropometry. 5.Huntingandgatheringsocieties-Peru-AsanaRiver
Valley.6.Mountainecology-Peru-AsanaRiverValley. 7.Excavations
(Archaeology)-Peru-AsanaRiverValley.8.AsanaRiverValley(Peru)
Antiquities.I.Title.
F3429.1.A78A45 1998
985'.2-dc21 97-40225
98 99 00 01 02 C 5 4 3 2 1
To theApus,
who areforever mindful-
In agesture ofreciprocity, withgratitudefor theirinspiration,
theirrevealing themselves through thegift ofAsana,
andtheirteachingme to replace whatI takefrom the earth.

Contents
Preface IX 6
The DiscoveryandInitialPermanent
Acknowledgments Xl11 Settlementofthe Highlands 136
1 7
High-MountainEnvironments Growth, EmergentComplexity, and Decline:
as aHumanHabitat 1 Asana from 8700 to 5000B.P. 175
2 8
The South-CentralAndes and the OsmoreBasin RapidTransformation:
as aHumanHabitat 26 Asanafrom 5000 to 3600B.P. 228
3 9
TheArchaicPeriodArchaeologyofthe Asana andModels ofMontane Foraging 276
Western Flanks ofthe South-CentralAndes 51
References Cited 309
4
FieldandAnalyticalMethods 76 Index 325
5
The Geological SettingofAsana 116

Preface
Throughoutthetwentiethcentury,thearchaeologyoffor ogyperformed in the mountainous regions ofthe world,
agingpeoples has undergone aprofound transformation, for there have been a number ofoutstanding studies of
moving from an antiquarian fascination with "primitive" foraging peoples in these environments, especiallyin the
peoplesandtheirmaterialculturetoabroadlybased,eco Andes. Butitremains the casethatfor muchofthe disci
logicallygroundedsciencemoreconcernedwithprocesses pline,thearchaeologyofhigh-elevationforagershasbeen
ofcultural change, adaptation, and evolution. While the seenmoreas acuriosity,thechronicleofanadaptationto
wellspringsofthistransformationaremanyandcomplex, an extreme, evenmarginal environmentthoughtto be of
one ofthe principal means bywhich we in the discipline little importance to the development of more complex
haveforged thisnewunderstandinghasbeenthroughthe societies.Thuswhilepotentiallyimportantfromastrictly
continuous geographical expansion of the scope of our historical perspective, the archaeology ofhigh-elevation
studies. Sincethe 195Os, archaeologistsallovertheworld foragingpeopleshasbeenofsecondaryimportancewhen
haveworkedinamultitudeofenvironmentsandhabitats, viewedasapotentialsourceoftheoreticalknowledgeabout
including the tundras and ice ofAlaska and Siberia, the foraging peoples.
humid, sodden tropical forests of South America and In some ways, it is true that high mountains are ex
SoutheastAsia,thedesertsofMricaandAustralia,andthe treme, even marginal environments. At elevations above
temperate regions ofNorth America and Europe. From 2,500m,humansnotacclimatizedtothealtitudebeginto
these far-flung studies, and through the comparison of experienceanumberofphysiologicaldefects,rangingfrom
empirical data recovered from a number of theoretical shortness ofbreath, headache, and nausea to, in very ex
perspectives,notonlyhavewedramaticallyincreasedour treme instances, death due to pulmonary edema. Even
fundamental knowledge ofthe details ofthe evolution of people native to the highlands can experience a chronic
our species in these diverse environments but ofgreater disease looselylabeled as "mountainsickness,"whichcan
importancewehavebeguntodefinethesalientfeaturesof seriouslyimpairtheirhealthandcanbecuredonlybyde
environmentandecologythatstructurehowforagersmake scenttothelowlands.Theenvironmentitselfpresentssig
a living as well as the range and diversity ofhuman and nificant extremes. Topographyis rugged, and elevational
culturalresponsestothestructuralfeaturesofenvironment. changes, which can be abruptand dramatic, can place ef
During this expansion, however, one major habitat fective andseriousconstraintsontherangeofmobilityof
the high-elevation, mountainous region-has been gen humangroupsaswellasaddserioushazardstomovement
erallyneglected and therefore unfortunatelyhas contrib ingeneral.Insomemountainousregions,seasonalchanges
uted relatively little to our broadened understanding of in temperature and weather are so severe as to prevent
the ecological foundations ofa foraging lifeway. This is humans from living in them year-round. These changes
not to saythat there has not been high-qualityarchaeol- mayalsosignificantlylimittheavailabilityandquantityof