The Late Preceramic period (3500 1800 BC) of coastal Peru witnessed the earliest examples of monumental architecture for the Americas. The presence of monumental architecture has been interpreted as the product of complex societies at the chiefdom or state level. But prior research has focused in this ceremonial monumental architecture. In contrast, research at the site of Bandurria proposed a bottom-up approach focusing on the people who built and used this architecture, with the household as the basic social unit.
Excavations at Bandurria explored the residential occupation of the site, and revealed a sector of monumental architecture unreported by previous researchers.
In the domestic sector, evidence of two types of domestic structures: a quadrangular stone structure associated with a small ceremonial platform and smaller oval hut made of perishable materials. Oval houses were occupied by 2 or so people; the proximity of some oval structures suggests that a household unit consisted of at least two of such structures. The quadrangular structure held a larger floor, and was related to ritual activities such as unbaked clay figurines. Estimates of household size indicate 5 inhabitants for the quadrangular structure. From the analysis of the two types of domestic structures the households at Bandurria were composed of the nuclear families.
Chronologically, both structures were occupied at the same time. The artifact assemblages from the domestic sector exhibit little variety and low density. All the excavation units share similar artifact types in low proportions. One significant difference is the presence of figurines depicting human figures found in the quadrangular stone structure, another difference is a different access to marine resources.
In the monumental sector, excavations were centered in one of the mounds (mound 1) uncovering evidence of architecture made entirely of round cobble stones and mud mortar. Chronologically the construction of mound 1 is later than the domestic occupation was in use when the site was abandon circa 3400 BP.
The results from Bandurria challenge the models that characterize the Late Preceramic society as a complex chiefdom or state. Alternative models have are proposed to fit the domestic data within a larger explanatory framework.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-08152011-100206 |
| Date | 16 September 2011 |
| Creators | Chu Barrera, Alejandro Jose |
| Contributors | Marc P. Bermann, Mark B. Abbott, Robert D. Drennan, James B. Richardson, III |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-08152011-100206/ |
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