The Carved Gourd Vessels of Huaca Prieta: Evidence of Valdivia Art in Central Andean Archaic?The two carved gourd vessels discovered by Junius B. Bird in tomb no. 903 at Huaca Prieta, Chicama valley, have 1ong been considered as foreign elements in a cultural context that at first did not appear to be very complex (Bird 1948). Because of some design resemblances with contemporary Valdivia ceramics in southwest Ecuador, Edward P. Lanning (1967) proposed a northern derivation for both gourds and his suggestion has since been accepted widely. On the basis of iconographic evidence that has become available more recently, the present study intends to show that both gourds are legitimate examples of late Archaic central Andean art. / Los dos mates encontrados por Junius B. Bird en el entierro 903 de Huaca Prieta, valle de Chicama, se consideraron por mucho tiempo como extraños en un contexto cultural cuya complejidad no era aparente al principio (Bird 1948). Efectivamente, su decoración excisa hace recordar algunos motivos de la ceramica Valdivia en el Ecuador. Esta fue la razón por la cual Edward P. Lanning (1967) propusiera una filiación norteña de los mates, la que ha sido recalcada por varios autores. El estudio presente trata de reubicar estas obras dentro del arte arcaico centroandino.