Guitarrero Cave

Guitarrero Cave: Early Man in the Andes is a product of the environmental approach to archeology that had its beginnings in postwar Britain. Guitarrero Cave is a key site for reconstructing the way of life of the early inhabitants of South America and the survey results about the cave demonstrate the long history, continuity, and even conservatism that characterize Andean culture.

This book is organized into four parts encompassing 12 chapters. Part I describes the stratigraphy, chronology, setting, and excavation activities of the cave. This part also presents the results of pollen and paleoenthnobotanical analysis, along with the vegetation and land use near Guitarrero Cave. The subsequent parts explore the plant and faunal remains, as well as the archaeological findings, specifically the bone, wood tools, cordage, basketry, and textiles of ancient Andes settlers. The last part examines Guitarrero cave in its Andean Context.

This book will be of value to archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, and researchers.

Contenu

List of Contributors
Preface
Acknowledgments
I The Site: Its Relationships with the Environment, Past and Present
1 Setting and Excavations
The Larger Setting
Guitarrero Cave: The Site
Excavations
References
2 Stratigraphy and Chronology
Complex I
Complex P
Complex II
Complex II?
Complex III
Complex IV
3 Pollen Analysis and Paleoethnobotany
Pollen Zonation and Inferred Paleoenvironment
Chronology and Correlations
Paleoethnobotanical Speculations
Appendix Sedimentological Analysis of Pollen Samples
Sampling and Laboratory Procedure
References
4 Vegetation and Land Use near Guitarrero Cave
Land Use on the Cordillera Negra Slope
Vegetation of the Valley Bottom
Reconstruction of the Original Vegetation
Land-Use History
References
II Prehistoric Use and Modification of Plants and Animals
5 Plant Remains from Guitarrero Cave
Current Farming Patterns
The Archaeological Plant Remains
Method of Study
The Plant Remains
The Significance of the Plant Remains
Origins of Cultivated Plants in South America
Significance of the Guitarrero Cave Deposit in Highland Peruvian
Archaeology
References
6 Ancient Peruvian Highland Maize
Methods of Study
Maize Remains in Complex III
Maize Remains from Complex IV
Discussion
Conclusion
References
7 Variation in the Cultivated Beans
8 The Faunal Remains
The Faunal Sample
Methods of Evaluation
Characterization of the Guitarrero Fauna
Characterization of the Faunal Remains of Other Sites in the Callejón De Huaylas
Comparison With Other Highland Sites
Dietary Reconstruction
Distribution of Skeletal Elements
Evidence of Animal Domestication
Summary
Appendix Land Snails
III The Artifacts
9 Artifacts Made from Stone and Other Inorganic Materials
Projectile Points
Other Bifacial Artifacts
Scrapers and Perforators
Heavy Scrapers and Choppers
Blades
Cores
Hammerstones
Possible Grinding Stone
Scratched and Grooved Rocks
Spheroidal Stones
Beads and Pendants
Miscellaneous Decorative Items
Notes on Ceramics
References
10 Done and Wood Tools
Bone Artifacts
Wooden Artifacts
References
11 Cordage, Basketry, and Textiles
Cordage
Internal Correlations
External Correlations
Textiles
Internal Correlations
External Correlations
Acknowledgments
References
IV Guitarrero Cave in Perspective
12 Guitarrero Cave in Its Andean Context
Index