ARCHAIC PERIOD ON THE SOUTHERN PERUVIAN COAST: FROM THE HUNTERS AND GATHERERS TO AGRICULTURALISTS
Abstract
The article examines the Middle Archaic Period (8–4,5 BP) on the southern coast of Peru (South America). The purpose of this work is to provide an overview of the history of research on the southern Peruvian coast, to highlight its features and international scope, and to demonstrate the fundamental role played by natural and climatic factors in the development of societies. The study also aims to illustrate the importance of an effective economy based on foraging and agriculture, as well as the key role of material culture and burial practices in growing societies. The conclusions drawn from this research and the published materials are still preliminary. They allow us to track a very interesting development in hunter-gatherer cultures. These cultures gradually increased the extraction of marine resources, settling in the lower streams of rivers and along the coast. This led to the development of initial agriculture, and later movement due to changes in climate, to the middle streams of rivers. It is important to note that this pattern (shift from maritime resources to agriculture) is different from the processes in the northern and central parts of the Peruvian coast. It can be considered as an original (local) model. To further explore this model, it will require not only acquiring additional archaeological evidence and dating, but also addressing a number of questions regarding the evolution of stone, wood, and bone technologies, burial practices, and the nature of agriculture (autochthonous, hybrid, or imported).
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